2020 Jeonbuk Life! Winter Edition

The future of Hanbok
Words by DIANNE PINEDA-KIM
Photos from LEESLE
One usually imagines hanbok, the
traditional clothing of Korea,
as an elaborate costume that
was worn in the Joseon Dynasty
or at special yearly Korean occasions like
weddings, Chuseok, and Seollal. Here in Jeonju,
there are several modern-day hanbok rental
shops that people visit to take photos with
the beautiful backdrop of the Hanok Village.
But for designer Leesle Hwang, the hanbok
can be made accessible for everyone, on any
ordinary day. “A traditional hanbok is made of
silk or more bulky, high-quality materials,” she
explains in an interview with Yonhap News.
“But daily hanbok is made for daily lives, not
for traditional occasions. It’s shorter than the
traditional hanbok and easier to wear with
buttons and zippers. It’s made more convenient.”
Initially, her venture into fashion started
with the simple idea of wearing
traditional clothing at a cosplay festival
during her university days. “Hanbok just
looked so beautiful and I wanted to
try it on since it’s an outfit I couldn’t
usually wear. My friends loved it.
They exclaimed, ‘You look like a
different person,’” she says. That
day remained engraved in her
memory as the exact moment
when she fell in love with hanbok,
and eventually decided to begin
making them herself as a hobby.
This Jeonju born-and-bred designer
makes the traditional Korean
costume wearable for everyday life
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