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TheCultural Heritage Administration (Administrator Kim Hyun-mo) plans to designatehanbok-wearing as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage item.

Koreanshave worn the traditional Korean attire in one way or another in their lives throughouthistory. It is a traditional way of life and knowledge that embodies the Koreanpeople’s identity and values.

Hanbokconsists of the top and the bottom which can be either a skirt or pants. Otgoreum,the ribbons knotted to close the top, completes the look. Hanbok is designed sothat people wear the bottom first and then the top. The whole experience ofwearing hanbok is, in itself, a culture as it involves unique etiquette andformalities and is executed differently for different occasions – ceremoniesand rituals or traditional holidays or recreational events.

Hanbok-wearinghas been passed down within families. Koreans today generally wear thetraditional wardrobe on traditional holidays like Seollal (the Lunar NewYear) or Chuseok (Korean equivalent of the thanksgiving holiday), aswell as social rituals like first birthdays, weddings, funerals and ancestral ceremonies.It is true that contemporary Koreans are wearing hanbok far less than theirancestors. However, the fact that people wear hanbok to show their respect remainsunchanged.

Beforethe industrialization, housewives would make new hanbok for their family membersand mend them when necessary, at home. In particular, on traditional holidaysKoreans would get new fabric and make clothes. Such a custom is called Seolbimfor Seollal, Chuseokbim for Chuseok and Danobim for Dano (whichfalls on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar). It wascustomary that Koreans got themselves new hanbok for holidays that mark thebeginning of a new season with hopes for good health and peace.

Ascan be seen here, hanbok to Koreans is more than just a piece of clothing, butan important medium through which they showed respect and expressed wishes forgood health and peace, which makes it an important intangible asset.

AncientKoreans are also seen donning hanbok in various artifacts and records like thetomb murals from the Goguryeo dynasty (37 B.C.- A.D. 668), clay figures datingto the Silla dynasty (57 B.C.–A.D. 935) as well as historical documents fromChina. It was during Korea’s three kingdoms period (57 B.C.-A.D. 668) that thetwo-piece, top-and-bottom structure of hanbok was completed. Since then, itsform evolved and transformed repeatedly until the Joseon dynasty (1392-1910)which was when the prototype of hanbok that we know of today was established. InApril of 1900, a new regulation on the dress code of civil servants wasproclaimed, which changed civil servants’ official attire to Western-stylesuits from hanbok. With this, Koreans have begun to wear both Western-style suitsand hanbok, after wearing hanbok only for thousands of years.

Itis believed the word ‘hanbok’ is used in order to distinguish Korean wardrobefrom that of the Western culture since Korea’s opening of its ports to theoutside world in 1876. (Han means Korean.) However, the exact origin of theword ‘Hanbok’ is unclear. The word ‘Joseon-ui’or ‘Joseon’s attire’ is used in an 1881 record of Seungjeongwon Ilgi (thediaries of the royal secretariat), while the word ‘hanbok’ can be found in an1894 article from a Japanese newspaper. What is clear is that even in the yearsleading up to the introduction of Western-style clothing to Korea, hanbokembodied Koreans’ lifestyle and culture as well as societal and national spirit.

Thereare special types of hanbok for certain occasions. ‘Baenaet jeogori’ isthe hanbok for newborn babies. For babies’ fragile skin, it’s made with as fewseams as possible. The hanbok known as ‘Kachi durumagi’ wastraditionally worn on New Year’s Eve – thus the name, as New Year’s Eve wasalso known as Kachi seollal. Sometimes, children donned Kachi durumagion New Year’s Day. Today, contemporary Koreans generally dress their babieswith Kachi durumagi on their first birthday party. On this specificoutfit, the cuffs have a bright array of colors which reflects hopes forfighting off evil spirits and ushering in good fortune.

Duringa wedding ceremony, a bride traditionally wears a green Jeogori (hanboktop) with crimson skirt as well as ceremonial outerwear Hwalot or wonsam,plus Jokduri or flower headwear on their head. For funerals, a shroudfor the dead would be made without a knot as it was believed knots bring a badluck for the descendants. Koreans also believed that if they made the shroud inadvance on a leap month for someone when they are still alive, he or she wouldlive a long life.

Introductionof Western-style clothing brought about changes to Korean clothes andlifestyle. For daily wear, Koreans began wearing Western clothes mostly becausethey were more convenient. Hanbok also became simpler in its form and becamesomething that Koreans reserved for special occasions. Nonetheless, what hasn’tchanged is that wearing hanbok is a way of showing respect and bringing about aspecial version of oneself.

‘Hanbokwearing’ should be designated as national intangible culture heritage, as it ▲hasa long history, being passed down through generations across the Koreanpeninsula, ▲can be found in relics and records like murals of Goguryeo tombs,clay dolls of Silla and historical documents of China, ▲is being studied extensivelyin various areas like history, aesthetics, design, fashion, technology,management, marketing, industry and education and continues to be a covetedstudy subject moving forward, ▲is still considered a way to show respect attraditional holidays and rites of passage, having been passed down withinfamilies, ▲and furthermore, is in itself cherished traditional knowledge notjust in families and communities but also in production and research entities.

But the Cultural Heritage Administration will notrecognize a specific group or person in the designation, as it is a culturaltradition that all Koreans across the Korean peninsula keep, as are the caseswith ‘kimchi-making’ and ‘jang-making (Korean sauce and paste making).’

* National Intangible Cultural Heritage items thatdo not recognize a specific group or person (Total: 14 items):

Arirang (Traditional folk song); Jeda (Tea making);Ssireum (Korean wrestling); Haenyeo (Women divers); Kimchi Damgeugi (Kimchi making); Jeyeom(Traditional salt making); Ondol (Underfloor heating system); Jang Damgeugi (Korean sauce and paste making);Traditional Fish-Eosal (Fishing weir); Hwalssoki (Traditionalarchery); Insam Jaebae and Yakyong Munhwa(Cultivation of Ginseng and its medicinal application); Makgeolli Bitki (Makgeolli making and sharing); Tteok Mandeulgi (Tteok makingand sharing); Getbol Eoro (Tidalflat harvesting)

The Cultural Heritage Administration will receive opinions for30 days on the planned designation of hanbok-wearing as national intangible culturalheritage, before making a final decision. People can share their views on thedesignation through the administration’s website (http://www.cha.go.kr).

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