Colour
Five cardinal colours
Blue, red, yellow, white and black: the five direction colours, used together to invite fortune.
- Direction
- all · Five Elements (음양오행)
- Hex
#0B6DB7#B82647#F9D537#FFFFFF#000000
Cosmic harmony; warding off misfortune and inviting fortune
The encyclopedia names 청·적·황·백·흑 as the main bojagi colors, linked to 음양오행 and to folk belief. 오색보 is a color category.
History & tradition
Yin-yang and five-phase thought (음양오행), adopted in Korea through Three Kingdoms and Joseon
The five cardinal colours map onto the five directions and phases. In Korean folk practice their combined use was meant to bring harmony and keep misfortune away, and the Encyclopedia of Korean Culture names them as the main colours of embroidered bojagi; 오색보 is one of its colour categories. The same scheme appears in dancheong, festive food and children's 색동 clothes.
The five colours remain a common emblem of Korean tradition in crafts, design and gift wrapping.