US Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland, 5 others recognized for promoting hanbok

Participants pose during an award ceremony to give a certificate of appreciation to those who contributed to promoting Korea's traditional hanbok attire, at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul, Monday. From left are Korea Craft & Design Foundation President Kim Tae-hoon, Netflix series "Kingdom" costume designer Kwon Yoo-jin, K-pop singer and actress Jun Hyo-seong, Vice Minister of Culture Oh Young-woo, hanbok ambassador Kwon Na-ra, Lakai Korea CEO Shin Jung-hun and Riot Games PR leader Gu Gi-hyang. Yonhap

By Park Ji-won

U.S. Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland and five teams have received a certificate of appreciation from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism for promoting Korean traditional hanbok attire.

During an award ceremony hosted by the ministry in collaboration with the Hanbok Advancement Center, Monday, Strickland was recognized along with a collaboration between K-pop singer and actress Jun Hyo-seong with fashion label Lakai Korea, as well as graffiti artist Chris Chanyang Shim, Netflix series "Kingdom" costume designers Kwon Yoo-jin and Chae Kyung-hwa, U.S. video game maker Riot Games and Gangjin Jakcheon Middle School.

U.S. Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland, left, is sworn in to Congress in a traditional Korean hanbok. / Screen Capture from C-SPAN

The U.S. congresswoman, one of the first Korean American woman elected to Congress, wore the Korean traditional costume during her swearing-in ceremony in January. She wrote on Twitter, Jan. 4, that "as a woman of both Korean-American and African-American descent, it was deeply personal to wear my #Hanbok, which not only symbolizes my heritage & honors my mother, but also serves as a larger testament to the importance of diversity in our nation, state, and the People's House."

Jun joined hands with fashion brand Lakai Korea this year to promote hanbok through various media to commemorate the 102nd anniversary of the March 1 Korean Independence Movement Day which included a billboard in New York City's Times Square displaying her wearing a hanbok.

Graffiti artist Shim won the recognition for his series of wall murals of Black women in hanbok and Hangeul.

Costume designers Kwon Yoo-jin and Chae Kyung-hwa of the Netflix series "Kingdom" were recognized for promoting the traditional Korean hat "gat," which is worn by men with hanbok. Also, Riot Games received its certificate for holding the online fashion exhibition "Our Beautiful Hanbok" last October.

Gangjin Jakcheon Middle School introduced hanbok school uniforms last November for the first time after the culture and education ministries came up with the hanbok-based uniform.

The event, which was introduced last week, was held on the sidelines of Hanbok Culture Week being held from April 9 to 18, which was introduced in 2018 to promote the traditional Korean garment.

Oh Young-woo, vice minister of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said, "The government has designated the last Wednesday of every month as the day for hanbok and the ministry will launch various events such as the introduction of hanbok school uniforms and cultural events so that it can be a part of people's ordinary lives."

Site Map E-paper Subscribe Register LogIn
Site Map E-paper Subscribe Register LogIn