Korean Color AtlasKorean Color Atlas한국 색채
Visual Atlas Studio · 한국 색채

Korean color, made source-aware.

Obangsaek, dancheong pigments, and the Joseon dyeing tradition — every color traced to the text, pigment, or recipe that attests it. Not a swatch picker; a reference you can cite.

오방색 · 단청 · 국립현대미술관 한국전통표준색명. 출처가 분명한 한국 전통색 사전.

· CHEONG
· JEOK
· HWANG
· BAEK
· HEUK
Browse the colorsMethodology111 traditional colors · sourced & tiered
Integrity

A sourced record of Korean color culture.

Textual15

Colors explicitly named and described in historical texts like the Uigwe.

Standard95

Modern national standards defined by the MMCA for cultural consistency.

Reconstructed0

Scientific approximations based on pigment analysis and dyeing experiments.

Disputed1

Rare or historically ambiguous shades requiring scholarly caution.

HEX values are honest screen approximations, never claimed as exact colorimetry. We prioritize the textual or material source over the digital swatch.

Enter the atlas
Philosophy

The five cardinal colors.

Obangsaek (오방색) defines the traditional Korean color spectrum through five cardinal colors corresponding to the five directions and elements.

Cheong (Blue)
East · Wood · Spring
Jeok (Red)
South · Fire · Summer
Hwang (Yellow)
Center · Earth
Baek (White)
West · Metal · Autumn
Heuk (Black)
North · Water · Winter