1876～1945년 인쇄매체로 분석한 한국 근대 여성 장신구의 수용과 전개

The Influence and Acculturation of Jewelry in Korea during 1876 to 1945

This is a study on the influx and acculturation of jewelry in Korea during 1876 to 1945 based on print media. It examined the feature, influx, manufacture and distribution of jewelry in social and economic contexts particularly in relation to Japan. Gemstones appeared in the commercial treaty concluded between Korea and Japan in 1876. A stone‐set ring of presumably western style was advertised in Whangsung(皇城) newspaper in 1903. Korean traditional craft workshops such as Hansung(漢城) were established. From 1910 to 1919, various rings appeared on advertisements and they were made of solid gold, 18K gold or platinum. Hansung craft workshop was reformed to Leewangjik(李王職) craft workshop and concentrated more on sales under the direction of Japanese. Korean traditional metal workshops were also advertised vigorously and they made rings in styles influenced by western jewelry. In the first half of the 1920s, there were a lot of advertisements for imitation gold, imitation diamond rings and imitation platinum rings. The newly introduced imitation gold was also used to manufacture Korean traditional ornaments. However, jewelry advertisements declined distinctively after 1925 while articles on jewelry continued to increase due to the commercialization of print media. During 1930 to 1936, jewelry advertisements became much less frequent while jewelry articles kept being reported. From 1937 to 1945, as Japan was reorganized on a war footing, jewelry industry rapidly withered and most of jewelry disappeared as they were collected for war. Jewelry and gemstones flowed into Korea mainly through import and smuggling. Foreigners, women studying abroad and overseas travelers also brought them into the country. Records showed that there were Japanese artisans in Korea. This fact strongly suggested that western style jewelry in Korea was introduced by Japanese. The center of jewelry distribution was Seoul. Many sales promotions were tried such as discount, refund, compensation, free gift, direct import and warranty card. Telephone order and delivery service were also available using a transfer account at post office or payment on delivery. Department stores and peddlers also distributed jewelry. The Korean jewelry industry was highly affected by Japan. The prosperities of Japan thanks to the First World War caused a remarkable rise of jewelry advertisements in Korea, and the following depression resulted in the increase of inexpensive jewelry advertisements and again the decrease after 1925. In Japan, the import tariff of gemstone was raised by 100 percent in 1924 and lowered by 10 percent in 1933, and the rates were adopted by Korea in 1930 and 1935, respectively. After the Sino Japanese War in 1937, policies executed in Japan were applied to Korea in the same way, causing the fall of the jewelry industry.