Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1905-05-25
|s0Ill,S QUEEREST.
rx.d Woman In the erase
Green Cloak.

Eyed Woman In the erase
Green Cloak.
nv point Of view the prtnci-
= almost the only charm that
sas for the newcomer lies in the
~ the costumes that 1t pre-
says George Kennan. writing
tho capital Of Korea In the Out
"1t Is not interesting architec-
and it Is detestably and dis
civ unclean. but it's street scenes,
uarly In the unmoditied parts of
4 town, are unlike anything to be
elsewhere in the east. / have
~ referred to the strange I'm
on made by population clothed
= in white, to the grotesquely alb
headgear Of the mourners, to the
naked women anG to the effemi-
pirIish appearance Of the boys,
In Seoul there Is another figure
h is quite as striking as any of
and that is the one eyed woman
e grass green cloak.
,st as you are beginning to get ac-
bmed to the woman In white, with
handbreadth shoulder jacket, her
Inv skirts and her seminude ap-
ance. you run up against the wom-
green, whose costume is bizarre
oh to give you a fresh shock Of
rise, Her outer garment, which Is
hat can be seen, may be roughly
lrlbed as a green silk waterproof,
white neck yoke and sleeve cuffs,
together in front by means Of
long ribbon tie strings. Two Of
se strings are bright scarlet and two
reddish purple, and they hang
In In front nearly to the ground.
A grass green waterproof trimmed
kh scarlet and purple ribbons would
striking enough even if 1t We're
In in the American way, but 1t Is
so worn. On the contrary, the
Ek yoke, or collar, Is thrown over
head and the cloak is draw around
face so as to conceal all except one
while the sleeves, which are mere
ms without openings for the arms,
ng down from the wearer's ears.
ythlng more extraordinary than this
lss green burnoose, with it's scarlet
1 purple strings and It's dangling
lite margined ear sleeves, would be
ID to imagine, and when In crowd
street or market place you see
zen of these polychromatic appar1-
Us and an equal number of basket
.ded mourners gliding noiselessly to
/ fro In a throng Of white robed
)sts who are tanning themselves or
oklng long stemmed pipes you feel
e rubbing your eyes to make sure
t you are awake.
These women in green are the wives
men who belong to what may be
led the Korean middle class, and
ir costume is tradltionally said to
7e had its origin In ruse de guerre
cticed by the women of Seoul when
city was attacked by the enemy at
ht in the absence of all it's male
enders. The wives Of the latter, it
aid, caught up weapons, threw their
stands jackets over their heads and
nned Tor womaned) the walls, and
re they fought so bravely. or made
b a brave show of fighting, that the
ack1ng force, taking them for men.
lndoned the assault and withdrew
In commemoration Of this achieve
Mt the women and their descendants
re permitted to wear as badges Of
lor the jackets that they had
own over their heads when they
he'd to the walls. This explanation
the green cloak sounds like a story
ented to tit an observed fact. but
persistence of color in this partic
r garment while all other clothing
lains white and the transformation
useful sleeves into conventional
ms which now hang down from the
8 seem to indicate survival OF
ae ancient and significant custom"