제주 여성 장인, 선비의 품격을 짓다 편집하기 (부분)

===Eng===
One of the essential items worn by adult men when going out during the Joseon dynasty was the gat, a traditional hat that signified dignity and social status. The craft of making this hat is known as gat-il (gat making), a specialized traditional technique that is today designated as the National Intangible Cultural Heritage “Gat-il.”

The production of a gat involves several distinct stages. First, the crown of the hat is woven using horsehair, a material taken from a horse’s tail or mane. This process is called chongmoja, in which the delicate horsehair strands are carefully braided to form the body of the hat. Separately, the wide brim of the gat is created through the yangtae process, where thin bamboo strips—split into extremely fine pieces—are woven into a circular structure. The crown and the brim are produced independently, and in the final stage, called ipja, the two parts are assembled into a single hat. During this step, silk is applied and the surface is finished with lacquer, completing the elegant form of the gat. When worn with a topknot and a manggeon (a mesh headband used to secure the hair), the hat formed a key part of a gentleman’s attire in Joseon society.

The craft of making gat was practiced in several regions of Korea, and Jeju was one of the places where this tradition continued to be maintained. In Jeju, women artisans played an important role in producing parts of the hat, particularly the crown and brim. Artisans such as Kim In, Osongjuk, Kang Sunja, Go Jeongsaeng, and Jang Sunja helped sustain these techniques through generations of teaching and apprenticeship.

Jeju’s connection to this craft is also related to its natural environment. The island was well known during the Joseon period as a major region for horse breeding. Because horsehair was an essential material for making gat and manggeon, the availability of this resource naturally supported the development of related craft practices. In coastal villages, women who produced items such as manggeon even sang work songs known as “Iyeonmaeng Ginsori,” a type of labor song associated with this craft activity.

Through the skilled labor of artisans, the availability of horsehair, and the refined techniques of gat making, the hat that symbolized the dignity of Joseon scholars was carefully crafted and passed down through generations.