Culture Focus

Although contemporary Koreans still wear traditional attire, that attire is also recognized as ceremonial in nature, to be worn on special occasions or for special activities rather than as everyday dress. As distinct from modern Western style of dress, Korean traditional clothing incapsulates the life of the Korean people and the aesthetic sense and sentiments of its time. It is because of its long history and national characteristics that Korean traditional clothing has been able to retain its identity and place in Korean society to the present through many historical changes and upheavals. This is because Korean traditional clothing is the Korean people; it manifests the life, nature, and culture of Koreans. In this, Korea’s unique traditional clothing culture can take a pride among the dress of the world. Let us now look at the distinguishing characteristics of Korean clothing culture.

1. The Aesthetic of the Line

Designers both within and outside of Korea have referred to Korean traditional clothing as “clothing of the wind” (baram-ui ot) This is because the representative form of traditional clothing demonstrates the beauty of the line. When cut, traditional Korean clothing follows a straight plane, but when worn it becomes three-dimensional, in harmony with the curve. While traditional clothing when created follows straight lines, its shape is transformed by the body shape of the wearer. The curved goreum (chest tie) imparts a sense of movement, while the skirt on the lower body creates a flowing, living line. Thus, the line flows, neither too much nor too little, beginning from the upper body and culminating at the toes without interrupting the gaze. In terms of form, in its simplicity one finds the beauty of the flexible line, even if the clothing’s details do not vary as much as in Western clothing. The asymmetrical beauty of the seemingly simple form of Korean clothing is also seen in its exceptional arrangement and segmentation, as well as arrangement of colors. It divides the diagonal lines flowing through the outer shell of the jeogori and the po, or the symmetrical side of the anseop (an in-turned jeogori collar). Further, the addition of different colors to the collar, sleave cuffs, and goreum of the jeogorijeogori, as well as the beauty of asymmetry in the overlapping of the skirt, are all expressions of the beauty of the line that is a defining characteristic of Korean clothing’s form.

2. Scientific Principles of the Tailoring Process

When cutting Korean traditional clothing, it is done on a completely flat dimension, attaining three-dimensionality depending on the wearer, thus does a two-dimensional or flat space transform into a three-dimensional space. A piece of Western clothing, which must utilize an absolute space, can only be worn by a person of a certain size, but in Korean clothing, the space accommodated and expressed varies by the wearer. For space that changes according to the wearer, the margin to seam and seam are standardized, leaving ample space without cutting, thus leaving open the possibility of expansion and reuse. Thus, when there is a change in body shape, a generous sleeve seam margin allows adjustment to the sleeve length. When cutting or sewing, the back seam is overlapped to create an allowance so that the width of the body can be increased for another for reuse. This is also when the flat configuration that characterizes Korean garments is utilized to the greatest effect.

In addition, the jeogori, as other traditional clothing, is made with four-ply stitching beyond the two-ply stitching connecting the inner lining and the outer fabric, thereby creating a hyperspace in the completed garment. In particular, in the case of men’s trousers, the Möbius strip principle, a concept in mathematics, is sometimes applied to transform the form—including straight lines, planes, and cylinders—into a three-dimensional space. What’s surprising is that even prior to the appearance of the Möbius principle, Korea was applying the concept as an element in traditional clothing. The principle of a flat construction that transcends space is one that can adjust to the wearer’s individuality to the fullest extent possible.

3. Use of the Auspicious Five Colors of the Five Cardinal Directions

In traditional hanbok, the use of colors varied according to the rank and status of the wearer, and influenced by the yin-yang and five cardinal directions thinking that informed the traditional Korean view of color, the five colors of the five cardinal directions were often used. These colors are blue (cheong 靑), red (jeok 赤), yellow (hwang 黃), white (baek 白), and black (heuk 黑). These traditional five colors of Korea carry symbolic meaning, and can find application in all the principles in the life of the Korean people, while also giving expression to the human spirit. Koreans, who preferred the use of white for everyday wear, favored bright colors for such things as court attire, ceremonial attire, and children’s clothing. Koreans placed great importance on the symbolism of rituals, while they expressed their heartfelt wishes for the health and happiness of children with color. The significance of the color arrangement of saekdong (children’s attire using the five cardinal colors) is derived from the desire to ward off ill fortune in children. The significance of the five colors of the five directions is derived from the harmonious beauty of their arrangement, and so the five colors were used as an expression of the symbiotic harmony found in the principles of yin-yang and the five cardinal directions. Women’s clothing uses different colors for the jeogori and skirt to create a contrasting effect. The color contrast between the upper and lower garments served to accentuate the face and the head while clearly distinguishing top and bottom. Visual harmony was pursued by using very bright colors for the upper garments and colors of lesser brightness for the lower ones. In addition, the strong color contrast was often soothed by wearing a white detachable collar band (dongjeong) on the jeogori and white-toed beoseon (socks).

4. New Hanbok: Practicality and Evolution

Modern society is all about practicality, as manifested by such things as a highly developed scientific environment and an online space of cultural consumption where one can easily access and enjoy rapidly changing trends. The pursuit of practicality is an integral aspect of our modern hectic life, and a simple and convenient lifestyle is settling in as the norm in our daily lives. In the realm of clothing as well, the concept of pursuing a restrained aesthetics, one with the most austere and concise simplicity, variability, and physical properties, is now applied with the thought that simple is beautiful. The realization of a minimalist aesthetic in clothing encompasses psychological factors, such as notions of practicality, serviceability, comfort, and enjoyment, while also including practical aspects, such as the cost of production, pricing, and availability.

In the midst of this, modern Korean clothing, termed “new hanbok,” is becoming more practical in terms of its composition and materials. First, in terms of composition, in place of the various styles of women’s skirts that compress the breasts, various items as the cheollik one-piece dress (taking its form from the traditional pleated coat called the cheollik) are appearing, while Western-style buttons are applied to fasten clothes instead of the traditional goreum. The former uncomfortable style of wide and long skirts is transformed into hanbok pants for both men and women, while practical designs that can be combined with daily Western-style clothing are increasingly popular. In addition, practical materials came into use in the 1970s with technical advancements in the textile industry and the advent of mass production. The use of practical materials eliminated the once expensive process of washing and caring for the hanbok, and so it is being reborn as the new hanbok, resilient against both dirt and cold weather.

The value and range of the beauty in clothing has become increasingly colorful and complex. However, the standard of beauty had previously been fixed in the process of Western modernization, while in today’s era of post-modernism the movement to break away from Western notions of beauty is continuing. “Orientalism”—that curiosity about the East—has been unfastened by post-Orientalism, which has become the aesthetic mainstream. This is supported by the fact that Korean clothing is no longer the exclusive domain of enthusiasts drawn to the so-called mysterious sensibility of the East, but is in fact a leading facet of K-culture.

The beauty of Korean traditional clothing is replete with aesthetic elements, such as the natural beauty inherent in its rich and relaxed sense of form, the beauty derived from its ties with Confucian ethics, the beauty of its use of the five colors of the five cardinal directions with their auspicious symbolism of warding off ill fortune, as well as its singular traditional beauty. It is perhaps no wonder that the beauty of Korean clothing has been met with such explosive attention in today's global cultural market. Korean clothing that combines beauty and practicality is a future-oriented and sustainable cultural resource unique to Korea.

With the growth of the cultural content industry in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Korean sense of beauty is now globally recognized as a universal standard and is becoming a modern sensibility. The traditional hanbok now worn in everyday life is no longer that expensive formal wear reserved for special occasions, but is becoming practical and sensible fashion. It is now recognized that Korean clothing culture has infinite potential as a major element of cultural content. This is because Korean traditional clothing constitutes a total cultural resource of Koreans accumulated through a long history, and now through the grafting of science and technology, Korean cultural capabilities are being maximized and rapid innovation made possible.

Infokorea 2023
Infokorea is a magazine that introduces Korea to readers overseas, including teachers, textbook developers and other educators. The magazine offers the latest statistics on the Republic of Korea and articles that focus on Korean culture, society and history, which can be used as a reference source for textbook writers and editors and as materials for teachers to prepare for class. The theme of the 2023 issue was 'Hanbok'.