Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-01-21
sEoUL's QUEEREST.
The One-Eyed Woman in the Grass
Green Cloak.

George KEENAN,, in the Outlook.
From NV point of view the principal, and
almost the only, charm that Seoul has for
the newcomer lies in the novelty of the cos
tunes that it presents. 1t is not interesting
architecturaIly and 1T Is detestably and
diseustingly unclean; but its street scenes.
particularly in the unmodihed parts OF the
old town. are unlike anything to be found
elsewhere in the east. l nave ALREADY re-
ferred to the strange impression made by
a populati ton clothed wholly in white, TO the
grotesquely absurd headgear of the mourn
ers, to the partly naked women and to the
effeminate, girlish appearance or the boys
but In Seoul there is another figure which
is quite as striking as any or these, and
that is the One-eyed woman In the grass
green cloak.
Just as you are beginning to get accus-
toned to the woman in white, with her
handbreadth shoulder jacket, her bunchy
skirts and her semi-nude appearance, you
run up agains the woman in green, whose
costume is bizarre enough to give you a
fresh shock of surprise. Her outer gar
ment, which is all that can be seen, may be
roughly described as green silk water
proof with white neck yoke and sleeve
cuffs, held together in front by means of
four long ribbon tie-strings Two of these
strings are bright scarlet and two dull.
reddish purple, and they hang down in
front nearly to the ground.
A grass green waterproof, trimmed with
ing enough, even If 1t were worn in the
American way; but 1t Is not SO worn. On
the contrary, the neck, yoke collar is
thrown over the head. and the cloak is
drawn around the face SO as to conceal all
except one eye, while the sleeves, which are
mere shams, without openings for the arms,
hang down from the wearer's ears. Any
thing more extraordinary than this grass
green burnoose, with its scarlet and purple
strings and its dangling, white-margined
ear sleeves, would be hard to imagine; and
when, in q crowded street or market place
you see dozen of these poly-chromatic
apparitionS and an equal number OF basket
headed mourners gliding noiselessly to and
fro in throng Of white-robed ghosts who
are tanning themselves or smoking long,
stemmed pipes. you feel like rubbing your
eyes to make sure that you are awake.
These women in green are the wives of
men who belong to what may be called the
Korean middle class. and their costume Is
additionally said to have had its origin in
ruse de .guerre practiced by the women
of Seoul when the city was attacked by the
enemy at night in the absence Of all its
male defenders. The wives of the latter. II
Is said. caught up weapons, threw their
husbands Jackets over their heads, and
manned Tor womaned) the walls; and there
they fought SO bravely. or made such a
brave show OF fighting, that the alta cking
force. taking them for men, abandoned the
assault and withdrew.
In commemoration of this Achievement
the women and their descendants were per-
mitted to wear as badges of honor the
jackets that they had thrown over their
heads when they rushed to the walls. This
story invented to At an observed fact: hnf
the persistence Of color in this particuiar
garment, while all other clothing remains
white. and the transformation OF useful
sleeves into conventional shams which now
hang down from the ears. seem to indica r.
survival Of aoms ancient and sisnificant
custom.