JENINGSj 



KOREAN HEADDRESSES 



153 



In the Korean civil service examination, one of the requisites is 

 the examination cap, or yu kon, composed of a piece of coarse black 

 cotton stuff, shaped like a grocer's paper bag, 9 inches high and 7 

 inches in diameter. It is worn by students only at the literary 

 examinations, held yearly for the preliminary grade (fig 8). This 

 hat is reputed to be made in the shape of the mountain near which 

 Confucius was born, and was introduced from China several cen- 

 turies ago, probably during the Ming dynasty. 



Fig. 8. — Civil service examination hat. (No. 77,057.) 



The court or official hat, samo, is 7 inches high with a high ter- 

 raced crown of stiff lacquered paper and woven bamboo, covered 

 with black sateen (fig. 9). It fits tightly over the forehead, and 

 at the back on either side there are curved, ear-shaped wings of 

 gauze that project horizontally forward. This is practically the 

 coronet of Korea and can be worn only by the nobility on official 

 occasions, but officers of the government wear such hats during an 

 audience with the King. The wings are said to have been made to 

 resemble ears bent forward in the act of listening to catch every 

 word of command the King may utter. The royal hat or crown 



