By Honorary Reporter Sara Galal from Egypt
Photos = Sara Galal

After an unexpected yet joyful encounter with a Korean drama on Egyptian TV seven years ago, I developed an interest in Korean culture. One of the many Korean things I fell in love with was the traditional clothing Hanbok. 

I was mesmerized by the clothing's delicate and luxurious embroidery, its flowing puffy skirt and the intricate hair up-do topped off with the most beautiful hair accessories. Wearing Hanbok gave me so much poise, so I was ecstatic to compete in this year's photo shoot contest of Talk Talk Korea.

Wearing this beautiful clothing and experiencing all of the values it represents had been on my bucket list for a long time. My entry in this competition sparked creativity in me that I never knew existed. As soon as I read the description, "Feel free to interpret Hanbok in your own way either in traditional or modern styles," I decided to create my own. 

Sadly, I couldn't create one from scratch because I lacked sewing skills. But after carefully going through my closet, I found a few customizable pieces of clothing to make a Hanbok and they came together perfectly to bring my version to life. Playing around with shapes and silhouettes and mulling how to maximize use of the items, I finally zeroed in on each item's potential and recreated pieces of a Hanbok outfit like the upper garment, skirt and ribbon. I adjusted each part in my own way, and the following photos show the tweaks I made to my Hanbok ribbon.

I folded a pliable belt in half.

I passed the belt through the second buttonhole.

I had to ensure that both sides were equal in length.

Finally I tied them into a single knot.

I took many steps while preparing for the contest. I first had to contemplate the concept, decide on the materials, play around with them to make full use of them and put all of these into a single video. I genuinely enjoyed every second of this process.

Participating in this contest made me think of my ultimate goal: inspire people with no access to Hanbok. I used to be one of those people, and I want to share this rewarding experience of creating my own Hanbok. Never in a million years did I imagine my first experience with this would be so personalized and special. Sometimes all we need is just a little push to unlock our hidden potential, and this contest did that for me. I certainly hope that this article and my video motivate others to pursue interest in the beautiful culture of Korea. 

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.