New Delhi | The popularity of hanbok, a traditional three-piece garment from South Korea, is not just a passing trend, says Seoul-based fashion designer Danha Kim who has dressed members of K-pop group Blackpink and many famous K-drama stars.
Kim, a revered name in her native South Korea, rose to international prominence among fans of Korean pop music after Blackpink wore her trendy designs in their superhit music video "How You Like That" which released in 2020.
The designer is delighted with the growing interest in the garment but she wants it to be a "persistent phenomenon, not a momentary trend".
Asked how she felt when people started taking interest in hanbok after she dressed Blackpink members, the celebrated designer said, "I think it's a great pleasure."
Hanbok, made of 'han' meaning 'Korean' and 'bok' meaning 'clothes', became a "global keyword" since the video came out, she added.
"In fact, hanbok didn't get attention even when various Korean content (for example, food, music, drama, etc.) were in the spotlight, but I think hanbok has become a global keyword since Blackpink's music video.
"That's how beautiful and powerful it must have been, right? I want this to be a persistent phenomenon, not a momentary trend," Kim told PTI in an email interview.
After the video was released, Blackpink's fans as well as many people around the world visited her label Danha's website, said the couturier, who has also dressed "Extraordinary Attorney Woo" star Park Eun-bin, "Nevertheless" star Song Kang, and Jeon Yeo-been of "Vincenzo" fame.
"... They (fans) wanted to buy this hanbok even though we did not do much marketing. Those who bought it once out of curiosity at that time have been repurchasing it so far, and it has had a definite promotional effect," she added.
While some Koreans may feel foreigners wearing the traditional dress is cultural appropriation, Kim has dressed models across nationalities in her "modified hanbok" and argues that the garment can be enjoyed by different cultures.
"The dictionary meaning of hanbok is Korean clothing. It refers to clothes that Koreans wear and change as they are born and raised in Korea over the past hundreds of years...
"Of course, you can wear it enough. Some Koreans have such ideas because hanbok contains the spirit of Koreans and has an important meaning to Koreans. But in my personal opinion, I am working on designs with the hope that more people around the world will enjoy hanbok and Korean culture," she said.
Billed as a sustainable fashion brand based on Korean tradition, clothes from Danha represent a blend of tradition and modernity, and can be worn not only for special occasions but also in everyday life.
Fans of Korean content were introduced to hanboks through 'sageuks' (shows set in a particular period of Korean history) or wedding sequences in K-dramas.
"I still have the custom of wearing hanbok when I have weddings or important occasions. In addition, in the present era, the hanbok of the K-content is passionate, and the Millennial Gen.G generation is wearing it as a means of expressing individuality," added Kim.
Earliest visual depictions of hanbok can be traced back to the Three Kingdoms of Korea (between 57 BC to 668 AD). The ancient hanbok, a free-flowing gown-like structure, consisted of a 'jeogori' (top), a 'baji' (pants for men), a 'chima' (skirt for women), and a 'po' (coat).
These structural features of the present-day hanbok, patterned on the garment worn during the Joseon dynasty which ruled Korea from 1392 to 1897, remain relatively unchanged to this day.
Hanbok is an important element in Korean culture, but it is "somewhat inconvenient" to wear in modern society, according to the designer.
By Radhika Sharma
