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| Kwon Mi-ru poses in hanbok in front of the Trevi Fountain in Rome, Italy, in 2014. / Courtesy of Kwon Mi-ru |
By Kim Hyo-jin
Kwon Mi-ru, 37, has traveled 63 cities in 13 countries wearing only the Korean traditional dress of hanbok.
Her hanbok craze even took her up Mount Halla on Jeju Island and Annapurna in the Himalayas of Nepal. She climbed there in a winter hanbok, which she recalled was no different from functional thermal clothing.
"I just wanted to experiment with the potential of hanbok, breaking prejudice against the attire," Kwon told The Korea Times, Tuesday.
The freelance career consultant has been fascinated with the traditional outfit since she wore it for fun with members of her online community at Gyeongbok Palace in 2013.
While wearing hanbok often purely out of personal preference, she became curious to see if she could give people a fresh perspective that hanbok is not only for special days and can be suitable for outdoor activities too.
"I often read replies on my blog where I posted pictures of me in hanbok, saying I might be desperate for attention. It pushed me further to challenge their fixed ideas," she said.
Other than underwear and pajamas, she filled her suitcases with hanbok and flew to Italy in 2014. Her experiment of wearing hanbok as an everyday garment continued in Spain, Nepal, Vietnam and Mongolia.
Through her travels, she also learned a lot about hanbok by trying on various styles with different lengths of sleeves and skirts and experimented with diverse materials from cotton to spandex.
"I studied how to wear hanbok comfortably. It was amazing to learn that other than colors, there are many more things I can adjust," she said. "It was an extremely joyful process, having the garment perfectly suit my figure and made only for myself."
Trekking the 4,130-meter-high Annapurna took more preparation. Kwon chose the fabric and designed a set of garments herself, but still strictly kept it to the traditional hanbok style. At the base camp where the temperature dropped sharply, she wore three layers of tops, skirts and a quilted outer jacket.
"To be honest, I had no confidence at first. But, it ended absolutely fine," she said.
It was a special challenge to break away from self-inflicted limitations on attire, not something to prove to anyone else, she said. "After completing the mission, I thought there is nothing I cannot do in hanbok."
Kwon brought hanbok to her daily wardrobe too. Now she has between 70 and 80 pieces.
"It takes time to put on hanbok and it delivers a sort of analogue sentiment. I have to spend time properly wearing the clothes. It gives me a rare chance to look deep into and appreciate myself," she said.
With the collection of photos and stories from her trips, Kwon published a book roughly translated, "Hanbok, travels," earlier this month. The frequent traveler also holds photo exhibitions and seminars to share her knowledge and experiences wearing hanbok.
The self-claimed "hanbok cultural activist" said she hopes to work on culture projects with people from other countries who also have interest in their own traditions.
"While traveling, I felt such people truly understand my passion. Doing projects with them could bring a great synergy effect," she said.
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