Hanbok

Hanbok literally means 'Korean Dress' and is characterized by its vibrant colours and simple lines. Hanboks worn today are patterned after those worn during the Confucian-oriented Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910).

Women's hanboks comprise of a wrap-around skirt and a jacket. It is often called 'chima-jeogori', chima meaning skirt and jeogori meaning jacket. Men's hanboks consist of a short jacket, and trousers called 'baji', that are loose-fitting and bound at the ankles. Hanboks are often complimented by a long coat, called 'durumagi'.

The oldest form of hanbok can be seen in tomb mural paintings from the Goguryeo Dynasty (37BC-668AD). In these murals, both men and women wear an upper garment of the jeogori (jacket) type over trousers or a skirt, though the cut of the costume differed significantly according to the wearer's social status or occupation.

The upper classes usually wore hanbok of ramie cloth in the summer, and silk for cooler weather. The lower classes were restricted by law (as well as resources) to just cotton. The upper classes also wore a variety of colours, although bright colors were generally worn by children. The lower class were restricted to everyday white clothes, but for special occasions they were allowed wear shades of pale pink, light green and gray.

By the Joseon Dynasty, clothing was largely standardised, and most Koreans dressed similarly. Even so, differences in social status were reflected in subtle distinctions of design, material, and decoration; so that Koreans could still determine the class and rank of the wearer by his style of dress.

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