Hanbok

Hanbok
Traditional designs in a Hanbok fashion
Korean name
Hangul	한복 or 조선옷
Hanja	韓服 or 朝鮮옷
Revised Romanization	Hanbok or Joseon-ot
McCune–Reischauer	Hanbok or Chosŏn-ot

Hanbok (South Korea) or Joseon-ot (North Korea) is the representative example of traditional Korean dress. It is characterized by vibrant colors and simple lines without pockets. Although the term literally means "Korean clothing", hanbok usually refers specifically to clothing of the Joseon period and is worn as semi-formal or formal wear during traditional festivals and celebrations. Korea had a dual clothing tradition in which rulers and aristocrats adopted different kinds of mixed foreign-influenced indigenous styles while commoners preserved a distinct style of indigenous clothing, today known as Hanbok.

In 1996, the South Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism established "Hanbok Day" to encourage South Korean citizens to wear hanbok.

Traditional women's hanbok consists of jeogori, a blouse shirt or a jacket, and chima, a wrap-around skirt, which is usually worn full. The ensemble is often called chima jeogori. Men's hanbok consists of jeogori and loose-fitting baji," ("pants"),

Jeogori is the basic upper garment of the hanbok, worn by both man and women. It covers the arms and upper part of the wearer's body. The basic form of a jeogori consists of gil, git, dongjeong, goreum and sleeves. Gil (길) is the large section of the garment on both front and back sides, and git (깃) is a band of fabric that trims the collar. Dongjeong (동정) is a removable white collar placed over the end of the git and is generally squared off. The goreum (고름) are coat-strings that tie the jeogori. Women's jeogori may have kkeutdong (끝동), a different colored cuff placed at the end of the sleeves. Two jeogori may be the earliest surviving archaeological finds of their kind. One from a Yangcheon Heo Clan tomb is dated 1400-1450, while the other was discovered inside a statue of the Buddha at Sangwonsa Temple (presumably left as an offering) that has been dated to the 1460s.

The form of Jeogori has changed over time. While men's jeogori remained relatively unchanged, women's jeogori dramatically shortened during the Joseon dynasty, reaching its shortest length at the late 19th century. However, due to reformation efforts and practical reasons, modern jeogori for women is longer than its earlier counterpart. Nonetheless the length is still above the waist line. Traditionally, goreum were short and narrow, however modern goreum are rather long and wide. There are several types of jeogori varying in fabric, sewing technique, and shape.