Why the Korean Gat Costs $15,000: A 600-Year-Old Traditional Hat
"Oh, my Korean Gat!" — that was the title of a Korean documentary. And for good reason. The Gat (갓), a traditional Korean hat worn by Joseon-era noblemen, is one of the most visually striking and technically astonishing objects in all of Korean craft history. A single Gat can cost several million Korean won — and the finest examples exceed 20 million won (roughly $15,000 USD). Why? Because making one can take up to a year, requires over 50 individual steps, and demands skills that take more than a decade to master.
You may have already seen the Gat without knowing it. If you watched the Netflix zombie thriller Kingdom, you saw it on the heads of Joseon aristocrats. If you've seen the Netflix animation K-Pop Demon Hunters (케데헌), you spotted it there too. And if you've watched the traditional music group Leenalchi, you've seen it there as well. A Canadian tourist at Gyeongbokgung Palace summed it up perfectly: "Korean cowboy hat!"
But the Gat is far more than a fashion accessory. It is a masterpiece of traditional engineering — and its story is one of patience, precision, and a craft that is quietly disappearing.
Korea: The Nation of Hats
Long before the world noticed the Gat, foreign visitors to Joseon Korea were already astonished by the sheer variety of Korean headwear. Joseon was, quite literally, "the Kingdom of Hats."
The hats of Joseon weren't mere accessories. They signaled social rank, marital status, profession, and occasion. Historians estimate that Korea had as many as 4,000 types of hats — a number that left Western observers speechless.
"The variety and many uses of Korean hat fashions are something that even the people of Paris would do well to learn about."
— Charles Varat, French ethnologist
"When it comes to hats, Korea could give advice even to Aristotle. For Koreans, the hat has already transcended being a mere accessory — it is a symbol of who they are."
— De Lanezerle, French painter of King Gojong's official portrait
"It is impossible to list every form of Korean hat. The variety is so great it may reach some 4,000 types."
— Henri Galli, French author of War in the Far East
"Koreans consider their hat a companion for life. From the moment of marriage onward, they are rarely without one."
— Jean de Pange, French author of Joseon
Among all of these thousands of hat types, the Gat stood at the very top — the defining symbol of the Joseon sadebu (scholar-official) class.
What Exactly Is the Gat?
The Gat — also called heungnim (흑립, Black Hat) or chillip (칠립, Lacquered Hat) — is a wide-brimmed hat made primarily from bamboo fiber and horsehair, finished with black ink and lacquer. It was the formal outdoor hat of Joseon's scholarly aristocracy, worn whenever a nobleman appeared in public.
The Gat's origins stretch back to the Three Kingdoms period — murals in the ancient Goguryeo tomb Gamsinjong already show hunters wearing a wide-brimmed hat of a similar form. By the Goryeo dynasty it had become an official headpiece denoting rank and status, and through the late Goryeo and early Joseon periods it evolved into its final refined form as the black lacquered hat of the Joseon scholar-official.
The Gat has two main structural parts:
- Yangtae (양태) — the wide, flat brim that fans out around the head. This is the most technically demanding part.
- Chongmoja (총모자) — the rounded crown that sits on top of the head, woven from horsehair (malchong).
A Gat cord (갓끈) hangs from the brim and ties under the chin to keep the hat in place.
One thing surprises almost everyone: despite being called a "horsehair hat" in many English descriptions, the Gat is actually 90% bamboo. The horsehair is used primarily for the crown portion. The brim — the part that takes the most time and skill — is woven entirely from bamboo threads thinner than a human hair.
And here is something that changes how you see the Gat entirely: you don't wear a Gat — you place it on your head. Unlike a cap or a helmet, the Gat rests lightly atop the hair, secured only by the chin cord. It is, above all, a hat of dignity.
How a Gat Is Made: 50+ Steps of Extreme Precision
Making a Gat is divided into three major stages: Yangtae (brim) making → Chongmoja (crown) making → Ipja (assembly). Each stage is a separate skill. Traditionally, these were performed by different specialist craftspeople — and that division of labor continues in many cases today. Some master craftsmen, however, carry out all three stages on their own.
The entire process requires over 50 individual steps. A standard Gat takes 5 to 6 months. A premium Gat made from silk thread (jinsarip) can take close to a year.
Stage 1 — Yangtae (양태): Making the Brim
The Yangtae is the wide brim of the Gat, and it is where the extraordinary skill of Gat-making truly lives. The process begins with selecting bamboo.
Selecting and preparing the bamboo: Only high-quality bunjuk (powder bamboo / 분죽) from Korea's southern regions is used — flexible yet strong, with long internodes. The bamboo is boiled with ash for an extended period, then dried and stored.
Making Jejuk-sa (세죽사 — bamboo thread): The outer skin of the boiled bamboo is scraped with a knife until it becomes as thin as a sheet of paper. Then fine cuts are made at the tip and the fibers are pulled apart with the fingers — drawing out threads thinner than a human hair. This step alone requires years of practice.
Weaving the Yangtae: The bamboo threads are arranged on a circular weaving board and woven strand by strand using a curved bamboo needle called a barongtae (바농대). Once the basic weave is complete, a diagonal tool called a meoreok (머럭) is inserted between the threads, and the bittae fixing threads are woven in to lock everything in place.
Meok-chil (먹칠 — ink coating): Once the basic Yangtae shape is formed, it is coated with black ink. This is the first of several coating layers that will give the Gat its characteristic deep black color.
Teujip-jabgi (트집잡기 — shaping the curve): This is considered the most technically demanding step in all of Gat-making. The inked Yangtae is placed on a rounded form, and the craftsman uses three different sizes of heated irons to press and shape the brim into a perfectly smooth, gentle curve — section by section, millimeter by millimeter. No machine can replicate this. The graceful downward arc of the Gat's brim is created entirely by hand, by feel, by decades of experience. It is this step that determines the final beauty of the Gat.
After the curve is shaped, a layer of silk cloth is adhered to the brim, followed by another round of ink coating. The Yangtae is now complete.
Stage 2 — Chongmoja (총모자): Making the Crown
The crown of the Gat is woven from horsehair (말총, malchong) — the hair from a horse's mane or tail. Horsehair threads are woven tightly around a mold, then reinforced with a layer of raw hemp cloth and black ink to give the crown its firm, structured shape. The edges are finished with mottae (못태) — small connecting strips used to join the crown to the brim.
Stage 3 — Ipja (입자): The Final Assembly
The final stage brings the two parts together. The Chongmoja crown is fitted into the center hole of the Yangtae brim and pressed with a heated iron to fuse them. The junction is reinforced and smoothed. Then a hole is pierced through the brim on each side for the Gat cord (갓끈). Once the cord is attached, the Gat is complete.
Why a Gat Can Last 100–200 Years
One of the most remarkable qualities of the Gat is its durability. Because the finished Gat is coated with ottchil (옻칠) — traditional Korean lacquer made from the sap of the lacquer tree — it does not rot. A well-made Gat, kept away from excess moisture and physical damage, can last 100 to 200 years. This is why historical Gat hats from the Joseon period still survive in museum collections today.
There is even a traditional storage box made specifically for the Gat, designed to protect it from dust and damage. The Gat was treated not as a disposable item of clothing, but as a precious object — one to be passed down, cared for, and repaired by master craftsmen when damaged.
The Last Guardians of the Gat
The Gat-making tradition is today classified as Important Intangible Cultural Heritage No. 4 by the Korean government — a recognition that this craft is both nationally significant and at risk of disappearing.
Among the most well-known living masters is Park Chang-young (박창영), designated as a National Intangible Heritage holder in the year 2000, who has continued the craft in his family for 150 years across five generations, based originally in Doltimaeul Village in Yecheon, North Gyeongsang Province. His son, Park Hyeong-bak (박형박), has followed as the fifth-generation practitioner — combining university-level study of traditional Korean costume with the hands-on skills passed down from his father.
"To me, the Gat is not simply a livelihood. It is the pride of continuing a disappearing traditional craft. By physically recreating it — not just leaving it as theory — I can introduce the making techniques of the past to people today."
— Park Hyeong-bak, 5th-generation Gat craftsman
Learning to make a Gat properly takes more than 10 years. And even a lifetime of work, say the masters, is not enough to learn everything. Beyond the Park family, traditional Gat-making continues in other regions of Korea — most notably in Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province, and on Jeju Island, which has its own distinct lineage of Gat craftspeople and a dedicated exhibition hall.
The Gat Goes Global
The Gat has found a new audience in the 21st century — not through museums or academic papers, but through popular culture. Netflix's Kingdom introduced the Gat to global audiences as an icon of Joseon visual identity. More recently, the Netflix animation K-Pop Demon Hunters (케데헌) featured the Gat on the head of Saja Boyz — a villain group disguised as a K-pop idol act — sparking enormous interest especially among younger international viewers.
Following the release of K-Pop Demon Hunters, Google Trends data showed a significant spike in searches related to Korean travel from the US, Japan, France, and other countries. The Korea Tourism Organization has even selected Gat-inspired items as official K-souvenirs, recognizing the Gat as a cultural ambassador for Korean design.
And beyond pop culture, the Gat has made its mark on the international fashion world as well.
Korea's traditional craftsmanship is earning recognition far beyond its borders. Korean celadon pottery, najeonchilgi (mother-of-pearl lacquerware), and bojagi (traditional wrapping cloth) have been exhibited and celebrated internationally. The Gat, with its extraordinary beauty and almost impossible technical demands, may be the most impressive of them all.
A Hat Worth More Than Its Price
When you hold a Gat, you are holding months of invisible labor. Threads pulled thinner than a hair. Curves shaped by a heated iron, millimeter by millimeter. The skill of a craftsman who spent a decade learning just the basics — and a lifetime still not knowing everything.
The Gat was never just a hat. It was the outward expression of a Joseon scholar's inner discipline — a visible commitment to dignity, order, and beauty. That tradition, carried by a small number of deeply dedicated craftspeople, continues today.
The world is beginning to notice. And once you understand what goes into making a single Gat, it's hard not to look at that elegant black silhouette — whether on a Netflix screen or in a palace courtyard — with completely new eyes.
Watch: The Art of Making a Korean Gat (Full Documentary)
See the entire Gat-making process from start to finish in this beautifully filmed documentary.
Learn why many Korean cultural treasures are now found overseas in Where Did Korea’s Cultural Treasures Go?.