Middle and High School students all over the country will be wearing new school uniforms at the start of this upcoming spring semester. These new uniforms will be inspired by the traditional dress of Korea: Hanbok.
Team Effort
This whole thing started back in 2019. The KCDF (Korea Craft and Design Foundation) announced that it would hold two competitions. One would be a competition for designers to create Hanbok-inspired school uniforms.
The other would be for schools. 25 Korean middle and high schools would be chosen to start an โuniform transitionโ. The schools would have to demonstrate their desire to bring unique traditional aspects of Korean culture into the modern era. After the selection, these schools would be able to receive financial support in exchange for promoting the use of traditionally inspired uniforms.
The KDF then got the backing of the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. These organizations expanded the projectโs budget and helped to increase marketing. The main goal of all of these organizations is to promote the preservation of Korean culture through hanbok uniforms.
Hanbok Inspired Fashion Gallery
Last year, the final designs were part of an exhibition at the KCDF Gallery in Insadong, Seoul. People from all over Korea could go and see the beautiful designs on display in a fashion gallery.
The uniforms are not only pretty but also functional. They have fresh and modern looking designs, made using comfortable materials. However, the designs preserve the key parts of the hanbok such as the front ribbon and the cross neck. There were a total of 81 different uniform designs that were selected from last yearโs completion last year.
The Future of Hanbok Inspired Uniforms
19 schools across the country have already begun adopting Hanbok inspired uniforms and 34 more are expected to adopt them within the 2022 school year. We will undoubtedly see more and more schools adopt the trend over the next several years.
Additionally, the KCDF is developing projects to promote hanbok in the service and hospitality industries. In places such as hotels, high-end restaurants, and the airport hanbok inspired uniforms will likely become commonplace.
If you found these designs interesting, why not learn more about modern hanbok? Click Here to learn the basics about modern hanbok and find out where you can buy your own.
