Hanbok is older than Korea itself. The basic silhouette, a short top tied at the front and a wide skirt or pants underneath, appears in Goguryeo tomb murals from the 4th century AD. The garment has changed plenty over 1,600 years, but the bones are the same.
Three Kingdoms (57 BC to 668 AD)
The earliest visual evidence of hanbok comes from tomb paintings in Goguryeo, one of the three Korean kingdoms. Figures wear a short jacket over loose trousers, the jacket tied at the front with a sash. Skirts appear for women. Patterns are simple, mostly stripes and circles.
Unified Silla and Goryeo (668 to 1392)
As Korea unified under the Silla and later Goryeo dynasties, hanbok absorbed influence from Tang China. The skirt rose to under the bust. Sleeves widened. Court robes for officials grew more ornate, with rank-based color codes and embroidered chest panels.
Joseon (1392 to 1897)
The Joseon dynasty is the era most people picture when they hear "hanbok." The chima rose higher, the jeogori shortened dramatically until it sat at the bottom of the rib cage, and color blocking between the two pieces became the visual signature. Confucian social codes drove a clear vocabulary: brighter colors for the unmarried, muted for the married, white for daily wear, red and blue for ceremonies.
Court hanbok grew elaborate. The bridal wonsam, the king's gonryongpo, and the scholar-official's simui all date from this period and survive in modern ceremonial use today.
The 20th century
The 20th century almost ended hanbok as daily clothing. Japanese colonial pressure, the Korean War, and rapid Westernization through the 1960s and 70s pushed Western suits into Korean offices and schools. By the 1980s, hanbok was largely ceremonial, worn only on holidays and at weddings.
That nearly killed the garment outside of ritual contexts. The textile knowledge, the dyeing techniques, the hand-stitching trades all shrank.
The modern revival
Through the 2000s and 2010s, a wave of younger Korean designers began rethinking hanbok. Lee Young-hee and others showed hanbok at international fashion weeks. Independent ateliers in Seoul, Insadong, and Jeonju started cutting hanbok for everyday wear: lower waistlines, washable fabrics, cleaner silhouettes.
The Hanbok Advancement Center, a Korean government initiative, has supported small designers since 2014. K-drama and K-pop pulled hanbok into global fashion conversations. The 2020s have seen the strongest sustained hanbok revival in 70 years.
Where The Korean In Me fits
Eric works with a handful of Seoul ateliers in this revival generation. Some make ceremonial hanbok for weddings and dol; others make daily hanbok in cotton and linen. Every piece is inspected in San Mateo before it ships, the way a small Seoul atelier would have inspected it a century ago.
See the collection, or read more about the studio.
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.