Messenger of elegance

Hanbok designer Koo Hye-ja who was designated the Important Intangible Cultural Property No. 89 in needlework by the Cultural Heritage Administration in 2007 / Courtesy of Koo Hye-ja

Needlework master Koo delivers traditional beauty of hanbok

President Park Geun-hye wears a yellow “hanbok,” or a Korean traditional dress, made by Koo Hye-ja, a needlework master in this June 2013 file photo. / Korea Times file

By Park Jin-hai

When President Park Geun-hye visits other countries or greets foreign heads of state, she wears “hanbok” or Korean traditional dress. Her traditional couture is seen as an attempt to show her so-called “hanbok diplomacy” to emphasize the “soft” side of her leadership as well as hospitality.

“At a time when tradition gives way to modernity, the head of state wearing hanbok itself means a lot,” said Koo Hye-ja, 71, the designer who made Park's yellow hanbok for the June 2013 summit with China.

Also, Kim Young-seok who learned needlework from Koo as an apprentice designed President Park’s inauguration dresses.

“It has given much needed attention to hanbok and its elegance,” said Koo. The needlework master is called “chimseonjang.” “Chimseon” literarily means needlework in general, but it usually indicates making clothes using needle and thread.

Koo has devoted more than 40 years to preserving the traditional sewing techniques she learned from her late mother-in-law, the first registered master of needlework Jung Jeong-wan.

"Hanbok is beautiful per se. But it is more elegant when a person wears it and moves in it," she said. "The outer lines of the garment match human bodylines and curves, expressing them naturally. Thus, when the person moves, hanbok adds to the beauty of the human body."

Recognizing her artisanship, she was designated the Important Intangible Cultural Property No. 89 in needlework, by the Cultural Heritage Administration in 2007.

According to Koo, Korean and Western sewing techniques share some similarities. However, Korean traditional needlework doesn’t reveal the stitches, while Western style exposes the stitch for decoration.

Koo, as Jung's first daughter-in-law, has long been Jung's apprentice and has practiced Korea's traditional sewing craft since 1970.

"There was no text book on traditional sewing techniques then. They were handed down from mothers to daughters within families. After the introduction of sewing machines and the mass production of garments, however, the tradition barely survived with only a handful of aged needlework artists,” she said.

She recalls how demanding her mother-in-law’s instructions were. “It was hard to please Jung. I remember one time she said in front of other students that my needlework should be thrown away,” she said. At other times, she made mistakes in measuring and cutting the clothes and couldn’t even look at Jung’s eyes. “In those days, I stayed up late at night, practicing sewing over and over.”

She has written a series of three books, “Koo Hye-ja’s Chimseon Note” in 2002, 2005 and 2010, summarizing Jung’s teachings and adding exact measurements, making it easier for readers to reproduce the traditional styled hanbok.

Joint works with Jung are exhibited in museums. A traditional messenger’s garment can be seen at the Equine Museum in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, and a traditional shroud is on display at the Onyang Folk Museum in Asan, south Chungcheong Province.

“Reproducing the traditional garments takes time. The simple ‘jeogori’ (Korean traditional jacket) or skirt takes a week of work, since every step is done by the craftsman’s hand.”

She also made 20 hanbok, shown in the 2003 movie “Untold Scandal,” staring Bae Yong-joon and Jeon Do-yeon. She made all the garments worn by Bae and actress Lee Mi-sook, and parts of Jeon’s outfits. “I was reluctant to accept the offer at first, because I had never done screen costumes. After I learned that outfits and items used in the film are produced by the nation’s intangible assets, I finally decided to participate,” she said.

Although beautifully embroidered outfits succeeded in gaining attention on the big screen, sparking the fad for hanbok trend, she is cautious that screen costumes are made only to serve the supplementary role of maximizing each character. “I don’t like people copying the style of garments I make for the films. I would say that attire should be best worn at the right time and place.”

Koo agrees that the traditional garments of today have been reduced to attire worn for special occasions once or twice in one’s life time, including weddings.

She said that showing a leader wearing hanbok is great, but more needs to be done to popularize it further. “We need to standardize the price and control the quality. In some cases low-quality hanbok are sold cheap, while in others, they are traded with overly high price tags,” she added.

Koo is now intent on raising the next generation of needlework masters. Since 1995, she has been teaching students and currently offers classes at the Korea Cultural House, under the wing of the Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation.

Asked about the current trend of excessively modernized and modified traditional costumes, she expressed disapproval.

She said that modifying traditional dress deviates from tradition without the genuine originality of the hanbok.

“We should tell the difference between gaudiness and brilliance. The recent modified hanbok is just showy and flashy. They are far from the beauty of brilliance based on elegance and grace,” she said.

Koo added that she is still looking into her own ways of “cultural convergence,” which keeps tradition while accepting the needs of modern culture in her artisanship.