Hanbok Culture Week kicks off, promoting traditional attire as daily wear

A hanbok festival kicked off Monday in Seoul and major cities around the country.

The nationwide festival is held in the third week of October each year to promote the beauty of traditional Korean attire and to spread the culture of wearing hanbok in daily life. This year, hanbok festivals will also take place in other major cities worldwide: Buenos Aires, Singapore, Seattle and Vancouver.

HiKR Ground at the Korea Tourism Organization Seoul Center, a site in central Seoul that opened in July, is the main venue for the festival.

As part of the event, a hanbok fashion show will be held Friday at 6 p.m. at the outdoor stage in front of HiKR Ground.

Hanbok by five designer brands will be showcased at the fashion show: Eco-friendly Danha, which uses recycled and upcycled materials; established designer Kim Hye-soon’s Kim Hye-soon Hanbok; modernized hanbok brand Moonaoq; Guiroe, which recently designed hanbok for the Korean Cultural Center UK’s fashion show in collaboration with figure skating star Kim Yu-na; as well as Seodamhwa. Naschenka, a traditional jewelry and accessories brand will also be participating in the fashion show.

The runway show will be followed by performances by four K-pop artists, including hip-hop act Dynamic Duo, who will take to the stage in hanbok.

As part of the festival, at HiKR Ground a free exhibition showcasing different hanbok ranging from traditional to modernized versions will be open to the public.

Eighteen sets of children’s hanbok co-designed by Kim In-ja and Kim Min-jeong, CEO of Callon by Lynn, a children’s hanbok brand, are on display. The pieces were specially designed in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of Children’s Day this year.

Along with the costumes exhibition, 16 illustrations of dresses worn during the time of the Goryeo Kingdom and actual hanbok pieces worn by the cast of Netflix’s “Kingdom” are being shown at the venue.

In the K-pop Lounge on the second floor, visitors can try on different hanbok and take photos or shoot K-pop content.

At the HiKR Lounge on the fifth floor, visitors can try out traditional Korean games and learn how to properly put on hanbok.

During this year’s festival, eight local governments, including those of Busan, Asan in South Chungcheong Province, Namwon, Iksan and Jeonju in North Jeolla Province, and Miryang in South Gyeongsang Province, are holding different programs featuring hanbok and local cultural festivals.

Hanbok Culture Week is scheduled to kick off overseas as well -- in Buenos Aires and Singapore from Oct. 24 and in Seattle and Vancouver from Oct. 26. Hanbok fashion shows, exhibitions and hands-on experiences are some of the program that will be offered.

For detailed information and individual event schedules, visit the official website of Hanbok Culture Week 2022.

The festival in Seoul runs until Sunday.