The beginning of K-beauty: Beauty secrets of the Goryeo Dynasty

 

Let's return to Korea 1000 years ago. 

Photo Credit: Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo,SBS

After the beauty of the Silla Kingdom (신라), today we are to explore the mysteries of the Goryeo (고려) Dynasty (918-1392).

A Glimpse into Goryeo: Unveiling Ancient Korean Beauty

Photo Credit: Cultural Heritage Administration

During the Three Kingdoms period (1st century BC to 7th century AD), the ideal of the female was sensual, as it was believed to represent fertility. In contrast, in the period of the dynasty of Goryeo, the ideal of beauty increasingly revolved around elegance. At the same time, make-up habits changed. In this period, lower-class women who worked in taverns, for example, wore more colourful, stronger make-up. This meant that, as a form of discrimination, ladies of the ruling class began to wear lighter make-up. 

They also spent a lot of time caring for their skin to achieve perfect skin. Upper class women used light peach-coloured powder and only used yeonji (연지) on their lips. During special events such as weddings, brides wore yeonji on their cheeks and foreheads. This was later called gonji (곤지).

 Portraits from this period give an insight into beauty trends during the Gorzeo dynasty. Women's eyebrows were arched and thin, according to the diameter of the eye. In order to have a uniform appearance, they used the same red yeonji to blush the mouth as they used to paint on their face, chin and forehead.

Empowered Elegance: The Social Status of Goryeo Women

The women of the Goryeo dynasty had much more freedom than later the women of the Joseon-era society. Women were allowed to keep their surnames, were economically independent, and had the right to surnames, were economically independent, could own their own property, and all brothers and sisters were equal in inheritance. Women were also allowed to remarry after the death of their husbands. Women were also responsible for looking after their elderly parents. 

For this reason, the husband often moved into his wife's house. Although women were not allowed to participate in economic and governmental affairs within the family, it is recorded that the women of Goryeo were active and independent members of the household who were not afraid to make their voices heard.

Photo credit: Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo, SBS

From Elegance to Confucian Constraints: The Transition to Joseon

Compared to the Silla ideals, the essence of beauty in Goryeo was elegance. Softer, more natural make-up was used and more emphasis was placed on proper skin care. In terms of women's rights, Goryeo was much freer, with wives and daughters in the household on an equal footing with the male members of the family. However, with the gradual spread of Confucianism, by the time of the Joseon Dynasty, women's rights had been significantly diminished. 

How the status of women and the ideal of beauty changed will be discussed in more detail in the next part of the series K-beauty's Beginning,which will delve deeper into these changes.