Philosophical Character of the Dobok

In the beginning of Taekwondo training, the practitioner encounters the Dobok and learns etiquette from the Sabomnim. The Dobok is a special clothing for training the mind and body in which the spirit of Korea and the centuries-old tradition is alive.
The origin of the Dobok is not known. There are, however, records that show the use of costumes in the period of Shilla , Kaya, and Koguryo-Paekche-Shilla periods. It is written in the “Koryo Tokyong” by Sukyong of Early China that “people in the Koguryo Kingdom wear white costumes with black silk belts around the waist.”
It seems that the white costumes could be daily clothes for the Koguryo people. It also seems that the long upper garment and trousers must have been the same type of cloth that were found on the wall paintings in the tombs of the three kingdoms.
The current dobok is similar to the traditional Korean clothing in the method of making, has three kinds of shapes : circle, square, and triangle. The waistline of the uniform is circular shape, the cuffs square and the hip area triangular. The upper garment is made according to the same manner. It seems that Dobok, which is quite different from common clothing has a tradition of conservatism, and therefore, it is reasoned that the Dobok that Kokuryo people used to wear must be quite similar to the one that people during the Tangun-choson used to wear ( BC 37-AD 668). “Won”, symbolizes the heaven, “Bang”, the earth, and “Kak” the man. The circle denotes the heaven, the square the earth and the triangle the man. The three symbols are the foundation of the universe. The traditional Korean costumes are made based on the three symbols, and the symbols transform into the unity of the three called “han”. The numeric concept of the Ch’onbugyong, which contains the principles of the heaven as one, the earth as two, and the man as three, brought the complete theoretical background for the formation of the traditional Korean costumes. From these conclusions, it can be reasoned that the Dobok has the same historical records of transformation as the traditional Korean costume has had. According to the theory of the “Um” and “Yang”, the man is the small universe, trousers which is Um the earth, upper garment which is Yang the heaven, and belt the man himself.
At the beginning the Dobok were made only in white color. The white color in the uniform symbolizes the background of the universe. According to the philosophy of the Korean tradition, the origin of the universe is the oneness which pronounced in Korean as Han. Han stems from the color of white. The white is the essence of the universe in Korean belief. The Dobok is not only a costume for daily practice in the dojang but also a competition cloth for national level as well as the Olympic Games. The philosophical significance of the Dobok is in keeping it clean and having proper respect and etiquette toward it.



Wear and care of the Dobok

Students and instructors will wear a white dobok. At tournaments any dobok may be worn that does not bring dishonor upon the kwan, check with an instructor if you have any questions. The dobok to be worn at demonstrations will be prescribed by the Sabumnim.

For testing a clean white, ironed dobok will be worn.


Care of Dobok:
Do not wash in hot water or bleach tops with crests sewn on.
Doboks must be kept clean and odor-free.
Students must be dressed in full uniform before entering the dojang floor.
Doboks will be neatly folded or hung on a hanger before leaving the dojang.

Yudanja will wear a dobok that has been pressed or ironed, and are expected to have a clean dobok available to them at all times, ready for inspection.

Patches
Patches are only to be displayed on the dobok with the Sabumnim’s permission. As a general rule the following patches may be displayed;
~~~the kwan crest on the left lapel, over the heart
~~~the US flag on the right shoulder
~~~the Korean flag on the left shoulder


Ty (belts)
Ty ends should be within one inch of each other in length.
Ty are not to be washed.
The ends of the ty will hang approximately half way between the knot and the knee