By Honorary Reporter Kate Kalinova from Australia

Photo = Anna Kim

At Anna Kim's studio in the heart of Seoul's Dongdaemun-gu District, it's hard to believe that the Korean Russian wasn't always a fashion designer. She majored in international relations at Seoul National University (SNU) and entered the fashion world as a journalist, eventually transforming herself into a fashion designer with her own brand Asian Illumination, immersing herself in creative aesthetics and showing confidence as an artist and teacher. 

From Moscow to Seoul
Born in Moscow, Kim said her childhood was a unique blend of both Russian and Korea culture. Her mother was a third-generation descendant of Korean immigrants called Goryeoin, while her father was one of the first Koreans to study in the Soviet Union. Having studied earlier in Germany, he met Kim's mother in the Soviet Union and married her in 1991.

"Last year was the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Russia and Korea. For my family, the date has a strong resonance as this diplomatic breakthrough was what enabled my parents to enter one of the first 'international' Russian-Korean marriages at the time," Kim said.

Anna Kim (second from right in front standing row) attended elementary school in Russia.

Kim grew up in the Russian capital with her mother, as her father was often away in Korea to pursue his Ph.D. and career. She studied the cello and piano, and from an early age, she filled her room with discarded pieces of crafts like colored paper, beads and cloth that she constantly picked up, glued and tore off again in an early form of her artistic zeal.

After graduating from high school, Kim had no clear idea of what she wanted to do. So after talking with her father, who recommended that she become a diplomat, she applied for and received a Korean government scholarship for ethnic Koreans overseas to study international relations at SNU. She thus started life in her father's motherland but chose the path of a cultural rather than diplomatic ambassador.

Anna Kim wears a handmade Hanbok at the 2016 Seoul Fashion Week.

Passion for fashion

"For me, my major wasn't very interesting. I was looking for something but couldn't figure out what was right for me. I chose European studies as a secondary major and really enjoyed the courses on German literature and French culture. I then figured out that I was driven toward emotive and creative subjects rather than the calculating logic of international affairs," Kim said.

Attending university in Seoul undoubtedly helped Kim deepen her interest in Korean culture and history. Yet from the start, she felt international relations wasn't a perfect fit so she explored other fields both through her studies and part-time jobs.

"At the time, I didn't know much about fashion, I knew about shopping. So buying a ticket to attend Seoul Fashion Week shows was a spontaneous decision and a critical turning point in my career as a fashion designer," she said.

Anna Kim (center) in 2017 poses with Korean designers Sang Bong Lie (left) and Lee Young Hee.

Seoul Fashion Week provided a glimpse into the hidden world of fashion accessible only to journalists, fashion designers and models. Kim had no experience in sewing or photography, so her entry into the fashion world was as a freelance journalist for Russia's Fashion Daily magazine and the Russian government gazette Rossiyskaya Gazeta. Speaking to numerous figures in the fashion industry, Kim saw her interest in Hanbok deepen in 2015 after attending an exhibition by Hanbok designer Lee Young Hee. Kim later read several books on the topic and even wrote a lecture on the evolution of traditional Korean clothing.

Anna Kim appeared as a model in this 2017 magazine feature.

Starting Asian Illumination
"I'd love to see Hanbok worn more in daily life. It feels like Korea is developing really fast and losing some traditions. If Hanbok fits better in contemporary life, more people will wear it," Kim said.

While her interest in fashion was closely influenced by her academic research and journalistic career, Kim said she has always felt a strong impulse to create beauty. To gain the sewing and design skills she needed to move forward in the industry, she started the clothing brand Asian Illumination in 2018 while studying fashion at Dong-A TV Institute of Arts and Fashion.

Anna Kim appears at an Asian Illumination pop-up event at the bar 232 Seoul in the capital's Itaewon-dong neighborhood.

The street-style brand brings together Kim's interest in Korean history, including traditional Hanbok aesthetics, with modern fashion trends, combines traditional design elements with contemporary fabrics and embraces a zero-waste philosophy. Emphasizing slow fashion that stresses sustainability in clothing, the brand features many items made with leftover fabric from other designs. A closer look at such pieces shows fabric from one design appearing elsewhere. 

Kim also recently started creating handmade accessories made of clay mixed with Hanji (traditional paper made from the inner bark of mulberry wood).

"I can't say if I'm a modernist or traditionalist. I love tradition, but I also love modern life," she said. To her, traditional clothes such as Hanbok need reimagining and refitting to match the fast pace and beauty standards of modern life as beauty ideals are constantly in flux.

Anna Kim in 2016 gives a lecture on Korean fashion in Russia.

Teaching fashion
Kim said she loves to create beauty but is committed to teaching others about fashion and history as someone who discovered her calling in life later in life. She gave her first lecture on fashion in Russia in 2016, and offers a series of workshops at her showroom in Seoul.

Her classes cover hands-on topics such as fashion drawing, ceramics, sewing, candle making and theory as well as subjects like the history of Hanbok and the European influence on Korean costumes in the early 20th century. Her students tend to be young people curious about fashion and seasoned experts in the field seeking deeper insight into Korean fashion.

This photo was taken at one of Anna Kim's fashion workshops last year.

enny0611@korea.kr

*This article is written by a Korea.net Honorary Reporter. Our group of Honorary Reporters are from all around the world, and they share with Korea.net their love and passion for all things Korean.