A red robe worn by queens in the early Joseon Dynasty for important state ceremonies.

The daesam is a large ceremonial robe with wide sleeves and no decoration that was worn by Joseon queens from the reign of King Munjong to the reign of King Seonjo. The Ming Dynasty of China sent ceremonial wear to Joseon queens on 14 occasions between 1403 (third year of the reign of King Taejong) and 1625 (third year of the reign of King Injo). Daesam was included in the clothes sent between the reign of King Munjong of early Joseon and 1603 (36th year of the reign of King Seonjo).

The items sent presumably included crowns called jeokgwan, hair accessories with floral decoration, and two sets of clothing. One set consisted of ceremonial wear including daesam made with deep red silk, a blue vest, a kind of scarf called hapi, and an ivory scepter. Another set consisted of a deep red topcoat called dansam, an overcoat, and a skirt, which constituted everyday wear. It is believed that the daesam was similar in form to the daxiushan, or wide-sleeved robe of the Ming Dynasty, worn by titled women of the court of the first rank. Unlike the Joseon queen’s official robes which were bestowed by the Ming Dynasty, the robes of the wife of the crown prince were not. Therefore, the robes that Ming sent to queens during the early Joseon period would have served as a prototype for the crown princess’ robes.

Even after the fall of Ming, the daesam continued to be worn by Joseon queens and crown princesses for weddings and ceremonial occasions, as confirmed in Garye dogam uigwe (state records of the directorate for royal ceremonies). This applies to the weddings of Crown Prince Sohyeon, King Sukjong and Queen Ingyeong, King Gyeongjong and Queen Danui, and King Jangjo and Queen Heongyeong. The state records show that a lined daesam was worn at the wedding of Crown Prince Sohyeon, the outer layer made with 59 ja and 5 chi of undecorated deep-red silk and the lining with 20 ja of thin reddish-brown raw silk. From the wedding of King Injo and Queen Jangnyeol, the term gyeopdaesam for “lined daesam” disappeared. It states that the daesam was made of one bolt of deep red gwangjeok silk, 5 ja and 5 chi of deep red pildan silk, 3 jeon and 3 pun of gold paint, and had a rank badge embroidered with flowers of five colors and a dragon and cloud design.

From the reign of King Yeongjo, when jeogui (Ch. diyi) was established as the queen’s robe in the royal ceremonial costume system of Joseon it seems the daesam was no longer worn. However, the basic style of jeogui worn at weddings of the latter Joseon period appears to have been influenced by daesam worn during the early period.