Ten years ago, 한복 in the United States meant a rental for a wedding weekend and a garment bag in a closet. Today it means a linen 저고리 over jeans at a coffee shop in Palo Alto, and a Seoul-cut silk 치마 in a Manhattan editorial. The garment did not change. The wearers did.
This is a short history of how hanbok crossed back into everyday Korean-American life. The Seoul designers who softened the silhouette, the K-pop stylists who put it on stage, and the Bay Area families who are quietly commissioning pieces for occasions their parents would have rented for.
Second, the vivid colors and patterns that make a statement for the hanbok with its symbolisms are still very much respected in the wider collection of hanboks that are now being rented to foreigners as they tour around South Korea.
The only difference now is that there are more designs to choose from and everyone can have access to these lovely dresses. In fact, the Korea Board of Tourism is actively promoting this and Koreans have also shared their pride when they see foreigners donning their traditional dress as part of the experience in appreciating their culture. Hanboks are even gifts to foreigners.
The Growth of Modern Hanbok
In a study by Yoo Jin Kwon and Yhe-Young Lee titled Traditional Aesthetic Characteristics Traced in South Korean Contemporary Fashion Practice, they noted the changes happening on the front of hanbok. They said that there is a “spontaneous but slow changes affected by limited external forces” until the nineteenth century although there were minor alterations in length, width, and decoration. The basic structure of jeogori (short jacket), chima (skirt), and baji (pants) remained the same.
Though now, we’re seeing a bolder take on the modern hanbok recently exhibited by Blackpink in their How You Like That music video which was released last June. In their music video, they donned the modern hanbok by DANHA which were customized into shorter outfits. After the release, hanbok quickly trended and became a hot topic all over social media.