The beauty of Korean tradition - Hanbok

* Article Courtesy of the Korea Tourism Organization

Since ancient times, Koreans have been wearing the traditional dress known as hanbok. This generally consists of pants or a skirt with a jacket and robe, a tripartite arrangement that has remained unchanged since ancient times. Another distinctive point is the importance attached to the hat, known as gwanmo. Koreans have worn different clothing according to their social status, making dress an important mark of rank. The ruling class, including royalty, wore impressive costumes with embroidered insignia on the front and back and adorned themselves with necklaces, bracelets, rings, and other jewelry.

As seen in a mural of the Goguryeo Tomb of the Dancers in Manchuria, men and women wore jackets that came down to their hips with pants or a skirt underneath. Over this they wore a robe with the collar, hem, and cuffs trimmed in a different color. From then until Goryeo times, the king and officials wore colorful clothing while commoners were restricted to an undyed plain jacket and pants. This simple costume of the common people was maintained throughout the Joseon period. The official and ceremonial dress of the ruling class and royalty were influenced by China from the Unified Silla to Joseon times and the everyday dress of jacket and pants for men or jacket and skirt for women remain largely unchanged.

This basic dress was worn by everyone from royalty to peasants, but distinctions of status were marked by official clothes, sacrificial robes, and ceremonial dress. The basic costume also varied with the seasons, lined clothes being worn in spring and autumn, unlined clothes in summer, and cotton-wadded or quilted clothes or furs in winter. The common people made their clothes out of undyed material, which is why Koreans are often called the "white-clad folk."

Hanbok can be classified according to function: everyday dress, ceremonial clothes worn on formal occasions such as a child's first birthday, weddings and funerals. Costumes were made for special purposes, such as those worn by the officiants at Jongmyo Shrine, shamans, or performers of traditional dances. Popular forms of hanbok included the striped costume worn by children on their first birthday, the red skirt and yellow jacket sported by young women of marriageable age, the wedding costumes known as wonsam for the bride and gwanbok for the groom, and the red skirt and green jacket worn by a newlywed woman. There are many varieties of hanbok, all of which are full of dignity and elegance.