Rumors related to the ‘hot nights’ of the Empress, Imperial Consorts, and Hyang spread quickly and secretly throughout Gyeongbokgung Palace.

• His Majesty the Emperor created incredible nightwear for the Empress and Imperial Consorts!
• They say wearing that nightwear can transform even a plain woman into a fairy!

The rumors circulating among the female officials and court ladies eventually reached the ears of government officials. And those who loved to talk, regardless of rank, discussed this mysterious nightwear.

While all sorts of stories emerged, they all ended similarly.

“His Majesty the Emperor is no ordinary person…”

“I’d like to at least see what this nightwear looks like.”

And naturally, these rumors reached the ears of the ‘Gyeongbokgung Mafia,’ and the women belonging to the Mafia immediately sought out the Empress and Imperial Consorts.

Hearing the requests from the Mafia women, the Empress and Imperial Consorts brought out the nightwear in question with expressions mixing embarrassment and pride.

They were embarrassed because it was too scandalous to show others carelessly, and proud because their husband had made such nightwear for them.

“Oh my…”

“Goodness…”

The women who saw the complete nightwear set had sparkling eyes.

And just as the master tailor had predicted, the Empress’s orders came down to the Royal Wardrobe.

Once again, the French merchant struck gold, and the Royal Wardrobe’s seamstresses received generous rewards.

***

The nightwear leaked through the Gyeongbokgung Mafia soon began trending among women regardless of social class.

Noble or wealthy household women purchased nightwear made of silk with stocka and lace directly imported from France, while those who couldn’t afford it bought items made of cotton.

However, even when made of cotton, items made from truly high-quality cotton weren’t cheap.

Therefore, it became fashionable for women to form mutual aid societies to purchase luxury nightwear.

What came to be called ‘nightwear societies’ exclusively for women were born.

As the nightwear created by Hyang became a major trend, unexpected victims emerged—the Jurchen people.

The newly trending nightwear had somehow acquired the name ‘ho-chimui’ (胡寢衣, barbarian nightwear). It was named thus because it was modeled after hobok (barbarian clothing).

However, those who didn’t know its origins, especially men, would say:

“Well~ I thought the Jurchen were barbarians who knew nothing of refined taste, but surprisingly they have such refinement!”

Every time they heard such rumors, the Jurchen people beat their chests in frustration.

“That’s what we’re saying! Even though that ho-chimui is similar, it’s not our clothing!”

“Just let me see that ho-chimui or whatever! I’ll tear it all up!”

When rumors about the Jurchen circulated like this, there were those who wore expressions of shared suffering.

They were residents living near the Soyang River and Nakdong River.

They had similar experiences due to the songs Hyang had spread in the past.

***

If things had continued this way, ho-chimui would have remained merely as rather provocative nightwear. However, those who turned ho-chimui into a bomb in the Empire’s fashion world were the gisaeng.

Though they had escaped their lowborn status as a result of the reform, restrictions on gisaeng still existed knowingly and unknowingly.

Of course, there weren’t only restrictions but also special privileges, but human nature tends to focus more on restrictions than privileges.

Because of this, gisaeng were very provocative in both personality and dress.

These provocative gisaeng began wearing ho-chimui as streetwear.

Even for gisaeng, wearing ho-chimui as streetwear as-is was problematic, so the gisaeng placed orders with their regular seamstresses.

As a result of gisaeng and seamstresses putting their heads together, a new type of ho-chimui was created.

The first thing created was a jacket to wear over the ho-chimui. Following the trend of women’s jackets becoming increasingly shorter, the jacket worn over ho-chimui was also very short.

It wasn’t just shortened in length. The ties disappeared, and like ho-chimui, it fastened with buttons. Similarly, the collar changed to a form that wrapped around the neck—a kind of China collar—creating an effect that made the gisaeng’s neck look even more slender and long.

Additionally, the jacket and ho-chimui either used the same color or completely contrasting colors to express individuality.

However, from here on it remained continuously controversial.

Ho-chimui from the beginning didn’t use chest coverings, and the sides were slit open to slightly above mid-thigh.

Therefore, no matter how much they wore a jacket, the gisaeng’s body lines were revealed as they were. The side slits on the leg portions were particularly problematic.

No matter how much they covered with stocka, the lines of their legs were completely revealed. Additionally, with even a moment’s carelessness, there was a high possibility of underwear showing.

To solve this, they wore very short pants-shaped undergarments, but still about half of the thighs showed bare skin outside.

Additionally, ho-chimui made of silk decorated with all sorts of gold leaf, silver leaf, and embroidery was tremendously expensive.

However, when gisaeng who had beauty as a baseline wore them and went out on the streets, the effect was outstanding.

When rickshaws carrying gisaeng wearing streetwear ho-chimui and elaborate jeonmo hats or holding flower-patterned parasols passed by, everyone on the street turned their heads to follow.

Particularly, some more provocative gisaeng crossed their legs when sitting in rickshaws.

And the effect was lethal.

As the effect was that lethal, the backlash was equally intense.

• The gisaeng’s clothing is corrupting public morals and must be regulated!

Officials were shocked by the flood of petitions coming in after a long time, and Hyang clicked his tongue internally.

‘Tsk! I think it looks good though…’

In any case, Hyang sought the ministers’ opinions.

“What do you all think?”

The first to answer Hyang’s question was, as expected, Kim Jong-seo.

“What gisaeng must master isn’t just singing and dancing! They must be skilled in poetry, calligraphy, and painting, and must have eloquence. But above all, we cannot leave out sensuality. Just as flowers show off their own beauty, gisaeng also show off their beauty and sensuality, so I don’t think it should be prohibited.”

At Kim Jong-seo’s words, not only the ministers but even Hyang nodded.

‘As expected of Jeoljae!’

While everyone was impressed, Hyang reached a conclusion.

“I also think Minister Jeoljae’s opinion is reasonable. The gisaeng did this to show off their beauty, and as long as they didn’t try to commit crimes using this, I see no need to prohibit it. They say it corrupts morals, but what distinguishes humans from beasts? Isn’t it that we know restraint?”

Thus, all petitions criticizing the gisaeng’s clothing were rejected.

***

As the issue of gisaeng’s streetwear ho-chimui was settled by Hyang, gisaeng wore streetwear ho-chimui without hesitation.

Thanks to this, the streets of towns and cities famous for pleasure quarters began overflowing with people watching the splendidly dressed gisaeng.

This wasn’t just Empire citizens. Hearing the rumors, people flocked from Ming, Japan, and Europe.

And the money these tourists spent on eating and lodging became another source of income.

And as time passed, similar clothing began trending in the red-light districts and pleasure quarters of Ming and Japan.

Europe was the same. Among those who came after hearing rumors were many painters and sculptors.

After sketching the gisaeng’s clothing, they returned to Europe to create paintings and sculptures, which spread new trends in high society.

Styling hair like Empire women, wearing ho-chimui, then wearing veils or jeonmo became the basic attire for upper-class women attending banquets.

***

As time passed, the streetwear ho-chimui worn only by gisaeng began trending among common women.

Of course, it wasn’t as radical and provocative as what the gisaeng wore. To be precise, it was somewhere in between the original hobok and the gisaeng’s ho-chimui.

As this ho-chimui gradually became fashionable, something else rose with it—women’s pants.

Those who gave birth to and popularized women’s pants were female officials called yeori (女吏).

Women who first passed the civil service exam and entered government service wore layered skirts according to etiquette.

However, not long after, the yeori keenly felt that these layered skirts were obstacles to their work.

This was because they couldn’t just sit still but had to continuously move while searching for materials or managing document circulation.

Particularly when going out on field work, skirts became burdensome.

Long distances could be traveled by iron horse, but for intermediate distances or places away from railway stations, they had to ride horses.

Of course, there were women’s riding clothes worn over skirts. However, wearing them over already layered skirts could hardly be called comfortable even as lip service.

Eventually, what these female officials who frequently went outside chose was a combination of riding pants and boots.

Riding pants made of slightly thicker and tougher fabric than regular riding pants and boots modeled after cavalry boots satisfied the yeori.

And these matched well with the dansam provided as the yeori’s official uniform.

And at some point, it became routine for yeori to wear riding pants even when working indoors.

As riding pants became routine, they began to diversify little by little.

The width of the pants narrowed or widened, and colors beyond just white began being used.

And when common women wore ho-chimui, they chose these riding pants instead of stocka.

Combined with ho-chimui, riding pants became even narrower. And the perfectly matching boots became even taller while becoming tighter.

Additionally, the high heels that were the biggest characteristic of cavalry boots became even higher.

At some point, women had discovered the advantages of high heels.

• They make you look taller and make your figure look prettier.

When wearing ho-chimui that revealed the body’s lines, these advantages were maximized, and at some point, ho-chimui, pants, and boots became the official attire for women showing off their figures.

As common women’s attire changed like this, gisaeng’s attire began changing once again.

Unlike common women, they wore short boots or tang-hye with high heels.

The reason gisaeng wore short boots or high-heeled tang-hye was to emphasize their sexual appeal.

• Thanks to high heels, being on tiptoes makes calves look slimmer.
• Naturally lifting the buttocks enhances the rear view.
• When walking, coquettishness naturally flows out.

As this happened, Empire women’s clothing began changing to become increasingly more proper.

Receiving the report, Hyang wore a troubled expression.

“High heel-like products are already appearing? This isn’t my work…”

Making such a troubled expression, Hyang looked out the window.

“Has it already changed to the point of moving on its own?”

When the reform was just beginning, it was a society that barely moved unless Sejong or Hyang stepped in to lead. But now, society and people had changed to the point where they either changed on their own or immediately reacted when Hyang added just a little seasoning.