A fashionable twist on 'jeogori'

Women's clothing of the 19th century Joseon Kingdom / Courtesy of Arumjigi

By Yun Suh-young

Young Korean women these days are often seen on the streets wearing hanbok, Korean traditional dress, just for fun, or to get discounts on palace tickets. Whatever the reason, their choice of hanbok is their way of self-expression ― a courageous one considering the traditional attire has not been worn in everyday lives for over a century.

Opening timely to the new trend, the hanbok exhibition "Jeogori, and Stories about Materials," (Oct. 8 to Nov. 4) is quite special because it reinterprets the traditional clothing through modern eyes. The exhibition is being hosted by Arumjigi, a cultural foundation which holds special exhibitions on Korean clothing, food and homes each year.

The exhibition rediscovers the hanbok's past with modern fabric as well as reinterpreting hanbok in a modern way. The exhibition searches for new interpretations of hanbok for the future, imagining it worn as daily attire.

Women's clothing of the 19th century Joseon Kingdom

"This is our fifth exhibition on Korean clothing. We focused on the fabric this time and tried to develop new fabric to create the modern-day jeogori. We tried to find a point of intersection between the tradition and modernity in hanbok in this exhibition, from aesthetics to functionality," said Shin Yun-gyun, chairwoman of the Arumjigi Culture Keepers Foundation.

The exhibition is divided into two parts ― "traditional women's jeogori" and "modern women's jeogori reinterpreted as contemporary clothing." The former is exhibited at Isang's House, a cultural space in Seochon, Jongno-gu, Seoul, and the second at the Arumjigi headquarters in Tongeui-dong, Jongno-gu.

The exhibit overall is themed on Chima jeogori, an ensemble of the skirt (chima) and top or jacket (jeogori). The Chima jeogori as a two-piece garment is what constitutes hanbok.

Women's clothing of the 19th century Joseon Kingdom

At Isang's House, upcycling re-design brand Re;CODE of Kolon Industries used recycled hanbok left in closets and made them into special dresses. At the Arumjigi headquarters, two contemporary fashion designers ― Jung Mi-sun of Nohke and Im Seon-oc of PartspARTs ― showcased their imagination-filled modern clothing inspired by hanbok. Both carried the characteristics of their brands' unique styles.

Im used neoprene materials for her re-designed "hanbok" which were minimalistic in design and monochrome in color.

"Japan has the kimono and China has chipao. We have hanbok but it's really difficult to modernize it. But through this opportunity, I wanted to try and challenge myself. I wondered which material and form may suit the hanbok best," said Im on the opening day, Friday.

Modern daily wear in neoprene by IMSEONOC Courtesy of Arumjigi

"The Spencer jacket of the West was most similar in form to jeogori. So I extracted all the elements from Western couture that would be fit to mix with hanbok."

She used neoprene, a material she has used for five years when launching her brand PartspARTs.

"I only use one material. It's not the same neoprene as the ones used for divers. I redeveloped the material in a new way, adding warmers, because of comments that it could be too cold to wear."

Im's clothing is unique because she doesn't stitch or sew but uses a pressing method to glue the parts together. It looks simple, modern and futuristic.

Wool blended knitwear by Nohke

Next to Im was Jung who maximized her brand's style in creating a modern, chic look in her re-interpretation of hanbok. In fact, Jung's pieces didn't look like hanbok at all, but rather every day clothing women could wear right off the rack.

"I imagined how hanbok would have naturally evolved over the years if we kept wearing them. I thought it would have evolved into easy-wear, with comfortable fabrics such as knit or wool. By redesigning the knots and the shape of the dress, I tried to create urban, modern pieces with elasticity and comfort," said Jung.

"According to research, the characteristics of Korean women identified over the years can be summarized as serene but full of inner energy and intelligence. If this had been portrayed in the role of mothers in the past, now it is portrayed in working women who are socially and economically active. I wanted to express the Korean gentlewoman in Korean dress."

Wool blended knitwear with organza by Nohke

Jung used silky materials that had been widely used in traditional hanbok to mix with the modern outfit. Also, her works were mostly one-piece outfits differing from the two-piece hanbok.

"I don't think the meaning of jeogori is limited to that item itself. Rather, we explored what would be most symbolic of female hanbok and jeogori was just a word that was extracted. So I didn't limit myself to the original clothing too much," said Jung.

Another interesting exhibition to take note of is the re-enactment of the hanbok throughout historical periods. A team of researchers from Arumjigi conducted extensive research on the use of modern materials in order to reproduce traditional clothing such as those from the Three Kingdoms, Goryeo, and Joseon kingdoms.

"We believed as the interest in Korean culture had increased, it was time we introduced the beauty of Korean traditional hanbok. It is very encouraging to see young people wearing hanbok these days as a method of self-expression. As researchers, we believe it is time for us to consider hanbok for future generations as well," said Cho Hyo-sook, vice-president of Gachon University who was in charge of recreating hanbok of the past.

"The chima jeogori is such a difficult theme. But with this exhibition we wanted Korean designers to focus on our traditional clothing and promote it to the world."