Colours
Colour
Red
적赤jeok
The yang colour of the south, believed to drive off evil and long reserved by law.
- Direction
- South (남) · Fire (화)
- Hex
#B82647
Yang energy; wards off evil
Wedding and court cloths (다홍, 홍); 1469 ban on commoners' red-dyed bo; red satin palace 겹보.
History & tradition
Five-phase colour theory; Joseon sumptuary rules from 1469
Red is the colour of the south and fire, the strongest yang colour, used in folk practice to repel evil (red bean porridge, chillies on a 금줄). It was a privileged colour: in 1469 (예종 1) commoners were forbidden red-dyed clothes and wrapping cloths (홍염복). Red wrappers (홍보) became the bride's colour in wedding gift wrapping.
Red remains the main colour of wedding wrappers and the bride's side of the blue-red pair.
Sources for this entry
황黃hwang