STUDIES ON THE THERMAL INSULATION EFFECT OF KOREAN MENS FOLK CLOTHES

1. The purpose of this study was to obtain basic data necessary to des ign Korean folk clothes with comfortable thermal properties by carryin g out the human wearing test under various ambient-temperature environ ments, by calculating the thermal insulation effect (TIE) of the Korea n men's folk clothes (KMFC) on the basis of both material (silk, ramie and polyester) and season and by performing a comparative study with western style clothes. 2. The results of this study can be summarized as follows: (i) the factor having an effect of the KMFC on the TIE is the air layer rather than the performance of materials, and (ii) the T IE of the Korean folk clothes confers a greater thermal resistance of the lower part of the body as compared with western style clothes.