The Role of Fashion in Shaping South Korea's National Identity

August 4, 2025

Q: What role has fashion played in shaping South Korea’s national identity?

Fashion served as a powerful vehicle to project modernity and advance the national agenda of building a democratic nation-state grounded in a free-market economy.

Since the late 19th century, Koreans gradually adopted Western-style clothing, while many continued to wear traditional attire. The shift from hanbok to yangbok (Western clothing) was more pronounced among men, younger generations, and urban residents. By the 1980s, yangbok had become standard everyday wear, with hanbok largely reserved for ceremonial occasions such as weddings and ancestral rites.

From the outset, hanbok and yangbok evolved through mutual influence. This ongoing cross-fertilization generated a variety of hybrid styles—saenghwal hanbok (lifestyle hanbok), fusion hanbok, modern hanbok, fashion hanbok, and new hanbok—each contributing to the shaping of a uniquely Korean fashion identity. The trend became especially prominent in the mid-2010s, spurred by the government’s “New Hanbok” initiative aimed at promoting hanbok suitable for everyday life.

Beyond clothing forms, artistic sensibilities drawn from folk art and traditional crafts—as well as the understated, minimalist, and symbolic aesthetics rooted in Buddhism and Confucianism—have been central to shaping the distinct character of Korean fashion as a shared cultural heritage. Some recognized features include clean lines, layered silhouettes, and gender-fluid styling.