Korean Job Discussion Forums

[steroidmaximus]

I'm currently involved in a discussion concerning cotton in Korea: My friend says that cotton was banned for local consumption twice in Korean history, once during the early Chosun period, and another time at the end of the Chosun period during the Japanese colonial period. The first was because cotton was first introduced and was reserved for the rich, while the second was because all cotton was reserved for export to Japan to help the war effort.

I argue that it was only the latter, and not the former, when local consumption of cotton was banned; if any material would have been banned in earlier times, it would have been silk, but even then that is dubious. Anyone out there able to answer this question?

[mindmetoo]

[steroidmaximus]

har har

years of reading anti-globalisation pamphlets have taken their toll on my language. Business English, ya know?

Anyway, the latter ban is part of the reason why Korean money is made from cotton these days.

[tzechuk]

Was it cotton or silk?