40.9 x 31.8 cm (6F)
Acrylic on wooden panel
The dolbok is a traditional outfit worn on a child's first birthday, symbolizing wishes for a joyful celebration and a long, healthy life.
In the past, mothers would carefully hand-sew hanbok with rainbow-striped sleeves (saekdong) for their children’s first birthdays. Each stitch was filled with hope for their child’s health and longevity.
The use of saekdong in children’s clothing carried the meaning of warding off evil spirits while also expressing wishes for blessings and a long life. Symbols with auspicious meanings—such as characters, plants, or animals—were embroidered or decorated with gold leaf on the hanbok or its accessories.
On the first birthday, boys traditionally wore a hogun, a headpiece embroidered with a tiger’s face, which was believed to drive away evil and protect the child’s health. The doltti (birthday belt) was adorned with patterns of peonies and butterflies, representing wealth, happiness, and good fortune.
Small pouches called yeom-nang were attached to the lower part of the belt and filled with grains like millet, rice, sorghum, beans, and red beans. These grains symbolized the foundation of sustenance and expressed the hope that the child would live a life free of hunger and full of abundance.
Birth, aging, sickness, and death are natural parts of life—for both humans and animals. Even so, we all wish to suffer less and experience more happiness. The dolbok is an expression of that hope, lovingly made for someone dear.
Although I don’t have a child of my own, I do have little friends in the neighborhood—cats, small and precious in their own way.
So instead of sewing hanbok, I paint dolbok on them. Through these paintings, I express the wish that in their next lives, these little beings who lived short and often difficult lives may be reborn wearing beautiful, noble hanbok and live long, happy lives.
The model of this painting is an existing stray cat living in my neighborhood.
Picture Model: My neighborhood stray cat "Boss"
