Many Korean-American customers tell Eric the same story. They grew up Korean at home and American everywhere else. They speak Korean with their grandparents but not as well as they wish. They eat Korean food at family gatherings but cook it less than their mothers did. Hanbok is a thread back to a part of themselves they often did not get to fully explore as kids.
Why hanbok in particular
Korean food, you can eat any night of the week. Korean music, K-pop made global. Korean language, you can study with an app. Hanbok is rarer. Most Korean-Americans only wear hanbok at family weddings, dols, or Korean cultural events. Owning a piece changes that, slightly. It moves hanbok from "only at ceremonies" to "available to you, on your terms."
Many customers commission their first piece of hanbok in their twenties or thirties, often around their own wedding, their child's dol, or a milestone trip back to Korea. The piece becomes a kind of marker, a year of life captured in cloth.
What Korean-American customers often want
A few patterns Eric sees:
For weddings. A traditional wonsam or modern bridal hanbok for the paebaek. Sometimes paired with a Western dress for the reception. The paebaek hanbok stays in the family.
For dol. A modern father's durumagi to match the baby's set. Many Korean-American fathers commission their first hanbok this way, and end up wearing it for the next family wedding too.
For Chuseok or Seollal. A simple, washable daily hanbok in linen or cotton. Worn for the family Zoom call with the grandparents, then for the photo by the tteokguk pot.
For "just because." A modern set commissioned in honor of a parent or grandparent who is no longer with us. Sometimes Eric gets a photo of the customer wearing the new piece at the grandmother's grave on Chuseok. Those messages take a while to read.
Hanbok is not a costume
The most common worry Korean-American customers raise is whether they will look like they are wearing a costume. Almost always, the answer is no, you will look like a Korean person wearing hanbok, which is what you are. A well-fitted hanbok in a thoughtful palette reads as clothing, not theater.
Daily hanbok especially has the freedom to be worn without ceremony. See daily wear hanbok for what fits this category.
If you have questions, ask
Eric is Korean-American himself. He understands the texture of these decisions. Whether you are choosing your first hanbok or commissioning a piece for a parent's 60th birthday, send him a message and he will guide you through it.
Talk to Eric
Looking for authentic hanbok for your occasion? Eric at The Korean In Me works personally with each customer, sources every piece from Seoul, and inspects it in San Mateo before it ships. Send Eric a message or text (707) 718-3579.