A friend once asked Eric why hanbok looks the way it does. He answered by pointing to a small photograph on his mother's wall. His grandmother in a spring jeogori, taken in Busan in 1962. The cut, the color block at the collar, the ties at the chest, all of it descends directly from the Joseon court and further back still.
This is the sixteen-hundred-year story of hanbok, told through the shape of the garment itself. From the Three Kingdoms tomb figures to the Joseon color codes to the twentieth-century near-death of the daily hanbok, then the modern revival now cutting linen for weekday wear. The line is longer and more resilient than most people expect.
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.