How to Make the 갈옷. Part 1: The Recap

What follows is a several part series describing my experience with the process of making the traditional brown clothes worn by Jeju-ites of old.

For those of you who are familiar with my personal history with Korea, you're already aware of how I happen to know about 갈옷. For you folks, feel free to skip this brief recap and join again for part 2 of this series.

For the rest of you, I will provide the Cliff's Notes recap herewith to get you up to speed. Thank you for reading my essay.

Spring 1997. I take a break from substitute English teaching in Seoul and make my way southward down the Korean Peninsula. On a ferry from Wando to Cheju-do, I happen to meet an interesting Korean fellow ("The Master") who invites me to his "traditional Korean museum" of a house. I end up spending two full weeks at his house living, eating, working like one of the family.

And thus began a long and interesting relationship with the Master.

The Master is an expert at many traditional Korean arts, including using persimmon juice to dye fabric. He married his wife, a former mega K-pop star, after she returned from studying fashion design in New York City. She designs the 갈옷 using her flair and the occasional modern twist, and the Master dyes the fabric. The 봅데강 brand clothes are made at their house and sold in several stores in Cheju City and Seoul.