[Eye Plus] A to Z of making Hanbok

“Making hanbok can be called ‘linking the past and the present,’” said Kim Ji-hu, a student of textile art at the Korea National University of Cultural Heritage.

Hanbok-making embodies knowledge and skills developed by people in the past, according to Kim.

“I learn all processes of making hanbok at school, from weaving cloth to transforming it into garments,” Kim said.

“The work begins with understanding the features of traditional textiles and clothes. Sewing, weaving, dying, embroidering, knotting and others, all these are parts of hanbok making,” she added.

“It is true that work has become easier than in the past when all was done manually.”

Kim moved over to a Jacquard loom in another part of the workplace.

“But it still needs a human’s hand,” Kim said.

As she set a pattern on the gigantic machine, the Jacquard loom began to work.

Threads busily passed each other, producing a pattern that she had designed.

“I lose track of time when working in the middle of the loom, while it connects single threads to make wide cloth,” she added.

Kim said it was difficult acquiring the know-how behind all these processes expressed love for what she was learning.

“From thin threads to a full set of dresses, I feel great when I do well with the entire work. That's where I get my pride in developing the tradition,” she said.

Photos by Im Se-jun

Written by Im Se-jun, Lim Jae-seong