My 한복 (hanbok) Experience

The 경복궁 (Gyeongbokgung Palace) 

is such a beautiful place you must see if you ever visit Seoul. If you would like to enter the palace for free, rent a hanbok. It may be more than the ticket entry, but you would feel more immersed in the traditional culture, and you would feel like royalty. Being a fashion design major, I admire the details of the hanbok. The hanbok radiates natural physical beauty in its attractive silhouette and lines. That allows for unrestrained movement of the body. The 한복 (hanbok) is made with flat fabric that achieves dimensionality when it is worn on the body. When worn, the hanbok takes forms a natural, elegant, and flowing silhouette.

The 한복

I chose was calling my name. A deep royal blue 치마 (Chima/skirt) with gold embroidered details was standing out from the rest. After selecting my 치마, the owner of the shop brought out multiple 저고리 (jeogori/top) to choose from. I was in awe of how beautiful I looked. I began to think of how culturally rich Koreans are and envied them because of the centuries of beautiful history that they bestow. I've never been that excited to dress up before in my life. Seeing me inside of a 한복 and my hair did traditionally made me feel like a royal princess! 

Walking around the 경복궁 in a 한복 and learning the history of the Joseon Dynasty was making my cultural anthropology heart explode! The Joseon Dynasty was the pioneer for most scientific advancements such as the invention of movable metal type printing, superb celadon ceramics, the exquisite gold crowns of Silla, the oldest astronomical observatory in Asia, and more. This makes me wish America talked about more than just China and Japanese cultures. Koreans have helped advance the world so much! This country has also overcome being the poorest country to becoming one of the most advanced in the last century!

The 한복 made me feel more intuned with the history. If I had a choice to do it all over again, I would a thousand times! Since my time here is limited, I have to explore more of what Korea has to offer!