The dopo is a variety of po

Po (clothing)

The po is a generic term referring to an outer robe or overcoat in hanbok, Korean traditional clothing, which was worn mostly by men since the Goryeo period until the Joseon period.-See also:*Jeogori*Dopo*Durumagi*Sagyusam*Jeonbok*Hanbok...

, or overcoat

Overcoat

An overcoat is a type of long coat intended to be worn as the outermost garment. Overcoats usually extend below the knee, but are sometimes mistakenly referred to as topcoats, which are short coats that end at or above the knees. Topcoats and overcoats together are known as outercoats...

 in hanbok

Hanbok

Hanbok or Chosŏn-ot is the traditional Korean dress. It is often characterized by vibrant colors and simple lines without pockets. Although the term literally means "Korean clothing", hanbok today often refers specifically to hanbok of Joseon Dynasty and is worn as semi-formal or formal wear...

, Korea

Korea

Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...

n traditional garment which was mostly worn by male Confucian scholars called seonbi

Seonbi

Seonbi means "virtuous scholar" in Korean and typically denotes young nobleman who was preparing for the gwageo examination or passed it but did not take on government position during Joseon Dynasty...

after the mid Joseon period. Seonbi wore it as their daily garment as well as government officers did when they out for their private business. There are several speculations over the origin of the dopo. According to historical documents such as Seongho saseol (성호사설), Ojuyeon munjang jeonsango (오주연문장전산고), the garment was influenced by Buddhism

Buddhism

Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...

. The authors claimed that dopo was originally monk's robe

Robe

A robe is a loose-fitting outer garment. A robe is distinguished from a cape or cloak by the fact that it usually has sleeves. The English word robe derives from Middle English robe , borrowed from Old French robe , itself taken from the Frankish word *rouba , and is related to the word rob...

called, gwontu (권투 圈套) which was identical to jangsam, another monk's garment.