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The Cultural Heritage Administration(Administrator Choi Eung-chon) will designate “hanbok saengwal” as National IntangibleCultural Heritage.

Koreanshave long transmitted the hanbok (traditionalKorean clothes) culture in various ways throughout the history. Hanbok saenghwal is hanbok-derived traditional lifestyle and knowledge that embodiesKorean people’s identity and values.

Hanboksaenghwal refers to a series of culturalpractices which encompass the whole experience of making, wearing, and enjoyinghanbok that has been practiced in accordance with specific etiquettesand formalities, differently for each occasion – ceremonies, rituals,traditional holidays, or recreational events. Hanbok consists of a jeogori (top) and either a chima (skirt) or baji (trousers) with otgoreum (ribbon knotted to close thetop) completing its distinct look. Itis designed to be worn from the lower garment first and then the upperpart.

TheIntangible Cultural Heritage Committee decided to designate the item as “hanboksaenghwal” instead of its provisional name “hanbok wearing,”considering it better represents the hanbok culture as a whole. Hanboksaenghwal comprehensively encompasses cultural experiences of wearing,making, and enjoying hanbok aswell as intangible characteristics of hanbok itself.

Hanboksaenghwal has been passed down withinfamilies. Koreans keep the tradition of wearing hanbok on traditional holidays like Seollal (Korean LunarNew Year) or Chuseok (Korean equivalent of the thanksgiving holiday), as well as for special occasionslike first birthdays, weddings, funerals and ancestral ceremonies. It is truethat contemporary Koreans wear hanbokfar less frequently than their ancestors. However, hanbok is still worn by Korean people as a means to show respectand courtesy.

Before the industrialization period, women usedto sew or mend hanbok for their own familymembers. On traditional holidays, particularly when the seasons change, Koreanswould get themselves a new fabric and make clothes to mark the beginning of anew season in hopes for good health and wellbeing. This custom is called differentlyfor each holiday: Seolbim, Chuseokbim and Danobim respectively forSeollal, Chuseok, and Dano (the fifth day of the fifth month of thelunar calendar).

Likewise, hanbokis more than just a piece of clothing to Koreans, an important custom throughwhich people have practiced courtesy and wished for each family member’s goodhealth and well-being. This is why hanboksurely is a valuable intangible asset.

The fact that ancient Koreans also wore hanbok is evidenced by various artifactsand records such as tomb murals from the Goguryeodynasty (37 B.C.- A.D. 668), clay figures from the Silla dynasty (57 B.C.–A.D. 935), as well as historical documentsfrom China. It was during Korea’s three kingdoms period (57 B.C.-A.D. 668) whenthe two-piece, top-and-bottom structure of Korean clothes was basically established. The structure kept evolvingand transforming based on our distinct clothing culture until the Joseon dynasty (1392-1910), when the prototypeof our own clothes was established. In April of 1900, the government announceda new regulation to officially adopt Western-style uniforms for stateofficials. With this, Koreans who used to wear only hanbok for thousands of years began to wear both Western-style suitsand hanbok concurrently.

It is believed thatour clothes were called “hanbok” to bedistinguished from the foreign clothes – as “han” refers to “Korean” and “bok”refers to “clothing” – with Korea opening its ports to the outside world in1876. However, the exact origin of the word “hanbok” is yet unclear. Although terminology for Korean attire hasvaried such as “Joseon-ui (Joseon’sattire)” used in a 1881 record of Seungjeongwon Ilgi (the diariesof the royal secretariat), or “hanbok”in a 1894 article from Japanese newspaper, all these historical records show howhanbok embodied Koreans’ lifestyleand culture as well as societal and national spirit at the time.

There are special types of hanbok for certain occasions. “Baenaetjeogori” is hanbok for newbornbabies. To protect babies’ soft skin, it is made with as few seams as possible.Hanbok called “Kachi durumagi”was named after Kachi seollal, another name of the New Year’s Eve, and childrentraditionally wore it on the New Year’s Eve and also on the New Year’s Daysometimes. Today, contemporary Koreans dress their babies with Kachidurumagi for the baby’s first birthday party. This outfit has a brightarray of colors on its cuff, which reflects people’s hopes to drive out the evilspirits while bringing in good fortunes.

For the wedding ceremony, bridestraditionally wore a green jeogori and a crimson skirt, as well as ceremonialouterwear called hwalot or wonsam, with jokduri (flowerheadwear) on their head. For funerals, a shroud for the dead was made without aknot as knots were believed to bring bad luck to the descendants. Koreans alsobelieved they could live long if they prepare the shrouds during the leapmonths while they are alive.

Introduction of Western-style clothingbrought about changes to clothes and lifestyle of Koreans. Western clothing replacedhanbok in Korean’s everyday clothes asit was considered more practical and convenient. Hanbok became simpler in its form and began to be reserved forspecial occasions. Nonetheless, hanbok-wearing still remains today as away of showing courtesy on special occasions.

“Hanboksaenghwal” was designated as National Intangible Cultural Heritage for thefollowing reasons. ▲First, it has long been passed down from generation togeneration across the Korean peninsula. ▲Second, records on hanbok have been found from historical artifactsand documents, such as murals of Goguryeotombs, clay dolls from the Silla Dynastyand historical documents of China. ▲Third, extensive studies on hanbok are currently underway in variousfields like history, aesthetics, design, fashion, technology, management,marketing, industry, and education, which will further contribute as valuable academicresources. ▲Forth, it is still practiced particularly within families as a wayto show courtesy during traditional holidays. ▲Lastly, traditional knowledge ofhanbok saenghwal is transmitted and safeguarded by diverse communities,not only by families but also businesses or research institutions.

Meanwhile, the Cultural Heritage Administration willnot recognize a specific group or person as a transmitter for the designation,as hanbok saenghwal is a cultural tradition that is being practiced by all Koreans across the Korean peninsula, soare the cases of “kimchi-making” and “jang-making (Korean sauce andpaste making).”

*National Intangible Cultural Heritage items that do not recognizea specific group or person as a transmitter for the designation (14 items intotal as of June 2022):

Arirang (Traditionalfolk song); Jeda (Tea making); Ssireum (Korean wrestling); Haenyeo(Women divers); Kimchi Damgeugi (Kimchimaking); Jeyeom (Traditional salt making); Ondol (Underfloorheating system); Jang Damgeugi(Korean sauce and paste making); TraditionalFish-Eosal (Fishing weir); Hwalssoki(Traditional archery); Insam Jaebae andYakyong Munhwa (Cultivation of Ginseng and its medicinal application); MakgeolliBitki (Makgeolli making and sharing); Tteok Mandeulgi (Tteok makingand sharing); Getbol Eoro (Tidalflat harvesting)

The Cultural HeritageAdministration will continue to support hanboksaenghwal and other intangiblecultural heritage items that are being widely transmitted throughout the nation.It will actively encourage academic research and transmission programs which willpromote people to share the values of intangible cultural heritage andparticipate in the future transmission. The Cultural Heritage Administration isalso committed to expand the scope of safeguarding practices by identifying anddesignating more items as national intangible cultural heritage to facilitate widerrange of our traditional culture to be safeguarded and passed down to our futuregeneration.