The mixed identity experience
A woman in her early thirties stands in a Seoul boutique with her mother, who has flown in for the trip. Her mother straightens the collar of a linen jeogori and steps back to look. Neither of them says anything for a while. It is the first time the daughter has felt Korean in her own skin, without effort.
Most Korean-American women Eric works with carry the same quiet experience. They grew up Korean at home and American everywhere else, fluent in the food and imperfect in the language, present at the ceremonies and absent from the daily texture. Hanbok, for many of them, becomes a thread back to a self they never got to build fully as children. Here is how the first piece often comes about, and what to consider when you commission your own.
Common first-piece occasions
Engagement photos for a Korean-American woman marrying outside the culture. Chuseok or Seollal photos for a daughter who lives across the country from her parents. A trip to Korea to visit family. A milestone birthday of a parent. A photo project the woman is doing for herself.
Eric has wired the most common occasions into the contact form, but if your reason is more personal, write it in. He reads every message himself.
Everyday modern hanbok as daily practice
Modern daily hanbok is genuinely wearable. A sage linen jeogori with a cream chima reads as a thoughtful long-skirt outfit with an unusual jacket. People at the coffee shop will not know it is hanbok unless they grew up around it.
Worn weekly, a daily hanbok stops being “a special thing” and becomes part of the wardrobe. That is the goal.
Eric’s perspective
Eric is Korean-American himself. He grew up in California with a Korean mother (Mrs. Lee Youngsook), watched her quietly maintain Korean traditions across decades, and built The Korean In Me so that other Korean-American families could find what she taught him.
He understands the texture of these decisions. Whether you are commissioning your first hanbok or trying to recapture a feeling from a grandmother’s closet, send him a message.
If you have a daughter
Children’s hanbok in your daughter’s size, even just for the next Lunar New Year, often becomes the photograph she keeps later. See children’s hanbok.
Talk to Eric
Looking for hanbok that reconnects you? Eric at The Korean In Me sources authentic hanbok personally from Seoul, inspects every piece in San Mateo, and works with each customer on sizing and color. Contact Eric to inquire →