[ Back of The Robe ]
[ Front of The Robe ]
Fabric dyed, silk-screened
and
freehand
machine
embroidered calico robe
|
II.
"Marriage Of Convenience"
Background Story
The
Prince couldn't understand the Japanese culture, whereby marriage was
allowed between cousins, in-laws and brothers and sisters. He
thought only animals and barbarians would behave in such a way.
The Prince and his country were powerless against the
Japanese.
Deep inside his heart he despised him. Korean
culture did
not permit marriage between their royal family and people from other
royal countries. They wanted only pure blooded Koreans to
rule.
Even today, Koreans are proud of their pure blooded race, to
the
extent that they are mysophobic (intensely fearful of dirt).
This
'purism' is a very strict rule, for immediate family purity and the
entire family genealogy. People are judged on the quality of
their genealogy.
Oaths are sworn on the strength of their genealogy (the way
westerners swear on the Bible) and it carries the same weight as
swearing on your own life. Even more than normal Koreans, the
Royal family must remain pure, without exception. The Prince
was
forced to marry and procreate with a Japanese Princess. The
Japanese tried to mix the blood of the Korean Royal family with their
own. Not only was she not a Korean, but she was the
enemy.
The Koreans believed that the Japanese Princess was a
temptress
who would dirty the Royal lineage. Even her royal blood could
not
provide any conciliation to the Korean people. They were
married
on the 28th of April 1920, signifying the end of 500 years of purism.
Description
The
dragon on this robe is in the traditional Korean marriage colors of
red and blue. The Japanese national flower is the cherry
blossom,
and so I have embroidered it onto the robe to represent the Japanese
Princess (the Prince's wife) and the power of Japan over Korea.
The background colors on this robe are tones of gray and
black,
representing Korea's domestic situation. Along the baseline
of
the robe, there are again the dark figures symbolizing the powerless
Korean people. The shape of the dragon shows the confusion
being
experienced by the Prince about his situation.
|
