Hanbok – 한복 – Korean Traditional Costume


Korean Couple wearing Wedding Hanbok

Korean Traditional Costume - Hanbok - 한복

Hanbok is the traditional costume of Korea and is worn by Koreans of all ages on traditional holidays, festivals as well as wedding ceremonies.

A Hanbok is a two-piece outfit characterized by simple lines, buttons that is closed with strings and belts. It does not have any pocket. The women’s Hanbok comprises a wrap-around skirt and a bolero-like jacket. It is often called chima-jeogori, chima being the Korean word for skirt and jeogori the word for jacket. The men’s Hanbok consists a short jacket and pants, called baji. Both ensembles may be topped by a long coat of a similar cut called durumagi.

Hanbok can be classified according to its function: everyday dress, ceremonial clothes such as child’s first birthday (Dol Hanbok), wedding (Hollyebok), bridal gown (hwarot), (sangbok) the clothing worn by the bereaved during the mourning period and (jeryebok) the clothing for religious services.

Yangban, a hereditary aristocratic class based on scholarship and official position wore brightly colored Hanbok of plain and patterned silk in cold weather and of closely woven ramie cloth in warm weather.

Commoners wore hanbok of bleached hemp and cotton. Their hanbok was mostly white, pale pink, light green, gray or charcoal colored as law and finances restricted them from wearing hanbok made from rich fabrics and colors.

Young women wore red chima and yellow jeogori prior to marriage and red chima and green jeogori after the wedding when bowing to their parents-in-law and when paying respect to them upon returning from the honeymoon. Nowadays Korean women usually wear pink Hanbok for engagement ceremonies and the traditional red skirt and green jacket after the wedding when greeting their in-laws after the honeymoon. On other occasions, they wear Hanbok of almost any color and fabric including embroidered, hand-painted, or gold-stamped silk.

The long ribbons of the jacket are tied to form the otgoreum, a bow that is different from the butterfly-like bow of the West. The otgoreum is very important for it is one of three things by which the beauty and quality of a Hanbok is judged. The other two are the curve of the sleeves and the way the git, a band of fabric that trims the collar and front of the jeogori, is terminated. The ends of the git are generally squared off. A removable white collar called dongjeong is basted over the git.

Below you will see a showcase of Designer Kim Min Jeong work. She is a very famous Hanbok Designer from South Korea and her work has been featured in Vogue, Gentlemen’s Quarterly Korea, Elle, Style H and various other magazines, movies and traditional Korea Dramas.

Korean Bridal Hanbok

Hanbok Couple

Korean Couple wearing Hanbok

Topless Hanbok with Multicolored Frills

Elegant Hanbok for Korean Brides

Royal Hanbok for Korean Brides

Fusion Hanbok for Korean Brides

Fusion Hanbok with multicolored Striped Sleeve

Bridal Pink Hanbok

Fusion Hanbok

Fusion Hanbok for Korean Brides

Traditional Hanbok

Everyday Hanbok

Fusion Hanbok

Simple Hanbok

Pink and Blue Hanbok

Dark Hue Hanbok with Striped Sleeves

Pastel Hanbok with Frills

Fusion Hanbok for Korean Brides

Bridal Hanbok

Pink and Silver Hanbok

Fusion Hanbok for Korean Brides

Pink Hanbok

Red Hanbok

Hanbok Couple

Golden Hanbok

Red and Green Hanbok

Hanbok for Males

All the images above are used from the website Hanbok Lynn of Designer Kim Min Jeong.

Hanbok Designer Kim Min Jeong

Designer Kim Min Jeong

You can visit her store at:
한복린 Hanbok Lynn
Chungdam-dong 100-14 (Chungdam Building 2F),
Gangnam-gu, Seoul – 02-517-6830

Visit her website - Hanboklynn
Or email her at [email protected]