Queens : This drawing was intended to be a simple then-and-now clothing comparison. I am fascinated by the old and new clothing styles in Korea.

The woman to the left is wearing the crown and wedding robes of the great Queen Min (Queen Myongsong a.k.a. The Last Empress of Korea), probably the most influential woman in Korea's history, while alive and dead. She was killed in her palace by imperialist Japanese in the 1890s.

Her robe emblem would have a five clawed dragon denoting the highest level of royalty. (Korean paintings usually have four claws, though.) The crossbars in her hair were called "binyuh." I really liked that bar across her shoulders with the peacocks. I didn't draw in all the beautiful details of her crown but I might some day.

The girl in the middle was my modern adaptation of the ceremonial robe ... compare the widened sleeves, sleeve emblems, collar, and dragon crest. I drew the hanbok "chest" ribbon around her waist instead, with little attached tassles called "norigae." Her hairstyle seems to be popular among the youth there, last month at least. Amy liked the fact that her abdomen had some soft roundness to it.

The "painting" to the right is a genre painting called "Beautiful Painting" by Shin Yun Bok (pen name Hyewon), 18th century. Amy liked her poofy hair.