Hanbok: Korean Tradtional Dress

The most accessible form of Korean art can be seen on the street and nowadays even on Paris runways. The traditional Korean dress, called hanboks, are custom-made of various materials and colors according to the age of the wearer and the occa­sion. Young girls wear bright red skirts (chima) and yellow jack­ets (chogori) with striped multi­colored sleeves but wear red skirts and green jackets after they get married. Older women choose from a wide variety of bright colors and patterns in fab­ric. Special, more ornate hanboks are worn for special ceremo­nies. For both men and women, hanboks are made of silk bro­cade or satin for winter, and lighter silks for warmer seasons. For summer, hand-woven ramie cloth is often used, and made into stiffly starched, gauzy outfits.

Under the influence of fash­ions from Tang China, Korean noblemen wore big trousers and betted jackets, and noblewomen, long skirt-trousers and hip-length jackets towards the end of the Three Kingdoms period. Later, under Mongol influence, the women's jacket was shortened and the skirt worn high up on the waist. Then, towards the 15th century, the skirt was raised again to be tied high up, just under the arms, and the jacket was shortened: pretty much as women's hanbok. is worn today.

The curved sleeves, the narrow white collar, and the one-sided bow of the woman's hanbok are the three points on which the beauty of a hanbok is judged.

The outfit is not complete without accessories. Aristocrat women of the Choson period often spent hundreds of hours embroidering long, heavily ornamented hair ribbons, silk pockets or purses (bokjumoni) for men and women, and norigae. Norigae are pendants fastened under the bow of the jacket, that have an ornament, like a jade carving or a small silver knife, with a loop on top and a long silk tassel.

Men's accessories consist mostly of a stiff horsehair hat (kaf), which were worn pretty much from the Shilla period until early this century, and a long silk cord tied around the chest. But, these days, those accessories are hardly ever worn by men, except on ceremonial occasions.

In fact, traditional clothing is now usually reserved for special occasions, like being part of a wedding party, or New Year's, or a 60th year birthday party. Still, in the street or on the subway, you can see people wearing tradi­tional clothing almost everyday, especially older people, who tend to wear hanboks more often.

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By Veronique Vienne