The indigo plant
Korean indigo is made from the leaves of the indigo plant, harvested in summer. The blue is locked in the leaf as a colourless compound and appears only after the leaves are steeped and processed.
The vat and the air
In an alkaline vat the dye turns soluble and pale; on contact with oxygen it returns to insoluble blue inside the fibre. Each dip and airing adds depth, so the darkest blues are built up over many rounds.
Red and indigo, side by side
Both colours were built up in layers, round after round, by hands that learned the timing from a master. Comparing them shows what Korean dyers knew about plants, water, alkali and patience.
