Trendy Hanbok Appearing in K-pop Culture

Name: Jiyun Moon

Nowadays, we can see famous stars appearing with Hanbok in music videos or dramas. For example, in the Jimmy Fallon show, BTS performed wearing Hanbok in front of the Gyeongbok Palace and Blackpink also wore hanbok in their music video. Hanboks are originally worn at Korean traditional holidays such as Chuseok or New Year’s Day, however due to the effects of those famous K-pop stars, Hanbok became one of the iconic fashion representatives of Korean culture. Currently, Hanbok worn by those celebrities was auctioned off at a high price and Hanbok designers are becoming more socially recognized.

Especially the trendy hanbok which came out at those celebrities’ music videos is what young people are interested in and the source that they get inspiration from. For instance, Blackpink wore a newly designed Hanbok when performing the song ‘How you like that’. Blackpink danced with Jeogori that was turned into a cropped T-shirt and Hanbok Chima that was turned into a short skirt was very impressive. In addition, last year, BTS’ song dynamite, which topped the Billboard 100 chart, was performed in front of Gyeongbok Palace wearing trendy Hanbok and we couldn’t forget that performance. In that show, Durmagi was turned into a trendy long jacket with a combination of grey and black, and men’s Hanbok pants were turned into a tight design, which was suitable for dancing and was as dynamic as the song’s title.

As a result of the huge popularity of Hanbok, an exhibition was even held to experience Hanbok culture. The exhibition was held on April 25, 2021, in Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul. In this exhibition, 25 sets of Korean traditional attire created by seven local designers and worn during past performances by eight K-pop acts: including BTS, Oh my Girl, and Zico have been on display. Celebrity’s Hanbok fashion in K-pop music makes another pop culture with popularity.

In other words, the fashion which popular celebrities wore in K-pop music becomes popular, this becomes a fashion icon for young people again. Just like this, Pop Culture seems to be related to each other like music, celebrities, and fashion.