If you are coming to Korea there is one experience you shouldn’t skip: trying on traditional hanbok! Hanbok is traditional Korean clothing and while it’s rarely worn daily anymore, Koreans and foreigners alike will rent hanbok for special occasions. Whether it be for wedding photos or Instagram pictures, renting a hanbok is a fun experience for everyone.

History and Characteristics of Hanbok

The earliest traces of the Hanbok we’re familiar with today are seen in the Three Kingdoms period of Silla, Goguryeo, and Baekje from 1st century BC - 7th century AD. Some of the oldest hanboks are found in an ancient tomb in Goguryeo. Hanbok has a lot of similarities to hobok, the horse riding clothing of nomadic groups in Western China. Hanbok, like other traditional clothing, has gone through different styles and the closest style that is still worn today is from the late Joseon Dynasty.

Hanbok remains relatively simple, containing only a small number of pieces and only differing slightly between men and women. It consists of four separate pieces; the jeogori (jacket), the chima (skirt), the po (outer coat) and the baji (trousers). Along with those pieces, there are other articles of clothing a person can pair with it. Like the norigae (a knotted pendant) for women or a gat (traditional hat) for men. Also, depending on what class, position, or marital status a Korean citizen had, they would have to change the type of clothing they wore.

The Hanbok Experience

Like many foreigners spending time in Korea, I wanted to experience wearing Hanbok but I also didn’t want to be disrespectful to the culture. At some rental stores, you’re more likely to find a mix of Hanbok and Hanfu (traditional Chinese clothing) styles and I wanted a more authentic experience. A friend of mine recommended a Hanbok rental shop called Nori Hanbok where they specialize in traditional styles. She preferred this shop because it is the most traditional Hanbok shop she has tried and so I took her recommendation and went to there with some close friends.

[Nori Hanbok]

I was surprised to walk inside the shop and find that it was filled floor to ceiling with Hanbok of every color and pattern, for both men and women. We checked in for our 11 am appointment and the two employees of the store got right to work, having us pick out the colors and styles we wanted to wear.

After putting on several layers of undergarments, we put on the final jacket and skirt. The employee tied everything tightly so both the skirt and the jacket create the correct silhouette. After exiting the dressing room, we then got to choose our norigae and what hairstyle we wanted to wear with our hanbok. Along with our accessories, we also got to choose shoes, a fan, and a bag.

Finally all dressed up, we all felt beautiful and also slightly warm due to the multiple layers. The employee said we had four hours to rent the hanbok and to return, so we decided to head to Gyeongbokgung Palace and take a walk around the palace grounds.

Wearing Hanbok in Public

For those who don’t know, if you go to any of the palaces in Seoul you can enter for free if you’re wearing Hanbok; heading into the palace, we saw many others also wearing Hanbok. We decided to go to Gyeongbokgung as it's the largest palace in Seoul, and spent some time there taking photos.

It was fun to walk around the grounds and spend time in the quiet areas of the palace while taking photos. Though we were having a lot of fun, we did start to feel really warm from both the heat and the layers, so we decided to head to a cafe to cool off - on the way we also got many compliments from a group of elderly men who looked very excited to see young people wearing Hanbok. Once we got to the cafe, we sat down and got milk tea and ice cream to cool off, and after about an hour, we headed back to Nori Hanbok to return the Hanbok.

All in all, I really loved my experience wearing Hanbok and thought it was incredibly fun. It felt great participating in a cultural tradition and I’m glad I could experience it with my friends. For foreigners that don’t mind spending a little more money, I would recommend Nori Hanbok.

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Writer: Taryn Novak

Editor: Sarai Gutierrez, Han (O.L)