Fashion design by Kim Young-Jin, photo by Kim Jung-han, The New York Times, October 19, 2020

As reported this weekend in The New York Times, Korea's traditional clothing style, the hanbok, is currently influencing popular fashion designers and au courant celebrities and performers. Hanbok are trending!

Recently, Korea Society hosted informative online lectures that trace the history of hanbok, explain its multiple components and manner of wearing, and describe its contemporary impact and variations. The two talks were presented by Dr. Minjee Kim, the preeminent scholar of Korean textile and fashion in the U.S., and focused on men's and women's wear. Recordings of these programs are available on Korea Society's website, click here for the women's hanbok program and click here for the men's hanbok program.

Last year Asia Society Korea also offered a multi-part illustrated essay on the history of traditional hanbok that is available to read. For Hanbok Park 1: Origin and History, click here and for Hanbok Part 2: Hanbok in Modern Days, click here.

For The New York Times article One Garment's Journey Through History by Aileen Kwun on April 9, 2022, click here.