Samo & Jokduri

Samo & Jokduri (사모와 족두리)

Traditionally worn headdresses are known as samo (사모) and jokduri (족두리).They were often worn by children during the Chuseok holiday along with other traditional clothing such as the hanbok. Samo refers to the headdress typically worn by men and jokduri refers to the headdress worn by women. Although these headdresses are typically worn during Chuseok, samo and jokduri have long since been an integral part of Korean culture, particularly during ceremonial occasions and national holidays.

During the Joseon period, various kinds of headwear became an important part of Korean culture-specifically in terms of distinguishing rank. In other words, different headdresses were worn by different groups of people depending on their social status, age, and the occasion of the celebrations. Samo headdresses were usually worn by government officials, and their shape (for example, the flaps that are included in some designs) was used to designate rank amongst Koreans and other officials. Samo were also allowed to be worn during wedding ceremonies, since during the Joseon period, Koreans were allowed to wear articles of clothing that were above their normal societal ranking during these ceremonies. Jokduri, which are crown-like headdresses, are typically worn by women during the wedding to complete their ceremonial attire, and the designs and style of such headdress differed from family to family.

Samo (사모)

Jokduri (족두리)

During Chuseok, children often are seen wearing Samo and jokduri(족두리) during celebrations along with other traditional clothing. Using black felt paper, or other similar materials you have at home, you can make your own samo(사모) and jokduri(족두리) headdress!

Try making your own at home!

For the Samo headdress you will need to gather a black felt or paper material that is long enough to go around the head. Make sure that the felt is long enough to wrap around the head before cutting out a thinner rectangle and connecting it together to form a circular headband shape using glue, tape or even a stapler. Then, cut out a thicker rectangular piece that will be used to connect the front and back of the circular headpiece to form the top curved structure of the Samo. These two rectangular pieces should match the picture in Figure 1. Cut out another long rectangular piece, but this time curve the edges so that it looks similar to Figure 2. This will act as the flap on your Samo piece, and will be taped or glued to the back of the Samo. Now, you are all done with your traditional Samo! You may use stickers or other felt decorations to decorate.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

For the Jokduri(족두리) headdress, we will also be using black felt material and a hairclip in order to secure it to the top of the head. For this headdress, you will simply need to cut out a hexagon from the black felt and attach the hair clip to the bottom with glue (you can use hot glue as well but be careful!). You can decorate the top using stickers, felt decorations or anything else that you would like!

Figure 1

Figure 2

Alternative Materials:

For the Black Felt: construction paper, old cereal boxes, newspaper (you can color them using paint, markers, or crayons)

For the Stickers & Felt Decorations: you can draw your own stickers by drawing designs on paper, cutting them out and gluing them onto your headdress

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