Gat (hat)

Gat
Korean name
Hunminjeongeum
갓
Revised Romanizationgat
McCune–Reischauerkat

A gat (Korean: 갓; Korean pronunciation: [kat̚]) is a Korean traditional hat worn by men along with hanbok (Korean traditional clothing) during the Joseon period. It is made from bamboo or horsehair with a bamboo frame and is partly transparent.

Most gat are cylindrical in shape with a wide brim on a bamboo frame. Before the late 19th century, only noble class men could wear gat, which represented their social status and protected their topknots.

Artisans who make gat are called ganniljang (갓일장), from gannil (갓일, a compound of two words gat and il (work); "gat making") + jang (장; 匠 "artisan, craftsperson, master of a craft").[1] As gannil requires artisanship throughout a complex series of techniques involving an array of materials, it has been designated as Intangible Cultural Property No. 4 on December 24, 1964.[2]

  1. ^ "Ganniljang (갓일장)". SNU PRESS.
  2. ^ "Gannil (Horsehair Hat Making)". Cultural Heritage Administration.