Hanbok fashion show in Egypt

A range of modern and traditional Hanbok is on the stage during a Hanbok fashion show in Cairo on Oct. 22 last year. 

By Korea.net Honorary Reporters  Dina Khaled and Sara Khaled

Photos = Korean Cultural Center in Egypt

October is Hanbok Month in Egypt. On Oct. 22 last year, the first ever Hanbok fashion show in Egypt or the Middle East, showing off the great beauty of traditional Korean attire, was held at the Ramses Hilton hotel, one of Cairo’s top five-star hotels and organized by the Embassy of Korea in Cairo. My sister and I participated in the event as models for the Hanbok dresses. We learned a lot of new things about Hanbok and we had a lot of fun at the show. 

Hanbok is one of the key elements of Korean identity that distinguishes Korea from other countries around the world. Hanbok is a traditional form of clothes worn in Korea in the past. It symbolizes Korea. It's distinctly Korean and doesn’t look like any other type of clothing from anywhere else in the world. The beautiful Hanbok colors and patterns each symbolizes something that makes Hanbok a special thing to wear. Hanbok is really comfortable and practical to wear, too, more so than other countries' traditional forms of attire. We think Korean Hanbok would suit any person who wears it, whether they're skinny or fat, because Hanbok design is somehow loose and doesn’t restrain the body, making it suitable for anyone's body shape.

Hanbok attire differs according to sex, class, profession, social status and season. In general, there are two main components to Hanbok. For men, their Hanbok is composed of an upper jacket known as a jeogori (저고리) and a pair of pants known as a baji (바지). For women, their Hanbok is composed of the jeogori (저고리), which is a jacket, and the skirt known as a chima (치마). Over time, there have been slight changes to Hanbok in terms of materials, preferred colors, and the length of the skirt or jacket sleeves. Korea has done an amazing thing in keeping traditional attire updated until now. People in Korea still wear Hanbok on special occasions, like weddings, 61st birthdays, first birthdays and holidays.

Hanbok designer Ham Eun-jeong (center) poses for a photo with Korea.net Honorary Reporter Dina Khaled (right). 

Wearing a Hanbok dress is an awesome thing, but what’s even better is that the Hanbok dresses that we wore were designed by a professional and famous designer who came from Korea specifically for this show, designer Ham Eun-jeong. She’s really professional, as she designed various types of Hanbok, with beautiful complementary colors. Different types of Hanbok clothes were worn by different social strata and at different times: queen and king Hanbok, wedding Hanbok, gisaeng female entertainer (기생) Hanbok, 16th century Hanbok and today's modern Hanbok. One's clothes reflected the rich history and traditions of the people, and the colors and fabrics used to make Hanbok reflected the social status and the times of the person wearing it.

Designer Ham Eun-jeong worked on many of the Hanbok dresses recently on display in Cairo.

Differences between traditional Hanbok and modern Hanbok

As we were participating in this event, we learned that each color and pattern on a piece of Hanbok attire represents something. For example, the colors and fabric used to make a particular Hanbok reflect the social status of the person wearing it. Rich people wore Hanbok that was made of brightly colored silk and high-grade lightweight materials in the warm weather and of plain and patterned silks the rest of the year. Commoners wore Hanbok that was made of durable and inexpensive fabric, like hemp or cotton, in earth-toned colors. On the other hand, modern Hanbok ignores this distinction, and people of all social classes choose vibrant colors that appeal to them.

Hanbok colors are decided according to the "five colors theory," obangsaek in Korean (오방색). It refers to the theory of yin and yang and the "five elements" of metal, fire, wood, water and earth. The most popular colors reflect hues from nature, including jade green, indigo, white, red, blue, black and yellow. The color red symbolizes good fortune and wealth. Thus, it's often used for a woman’s wedding dress. The color black symbolizes infinity and the fountainhead of all creation. Black is often used for a man's hat. The color yellow can also represent the center of the universe, and it was often worn by royalty.

Jeong Sameul (left), director of the fashion show, poses for a photo with Korea.net Honorary Reporter Dina Khaled. 

Going on stage and modeling in a fashion show was a really amazing experience, but what’s even more amazing is to be trained by a professional director. He and his training team came all the way from Korea specifically to train us. Jeong Sameul, the director for this show, and his team were very diligent and kind, even though we were making many mistakes, as it was the very first fashion show for many of us. They were very patient and  trained us really well. The training lasted for three weeks as we learned not only how to walk on stage but also how to walk probably in Hanbok. We were divided into groups and each group learned a different walk according to the type of Hanbok and traditional social status of the wearer.

Some Hanbok designs from the 16th century are included in the recent Hanbok fashion show in Cairo. 

Son Hwa-young, assistant director for the fashion show, poses for a photo with Korea.net Honorary Reporter Sara Khaled. 

Egyptian media writes about the recent Hanbok fashion show. 

This was the first Hanbok fashion show in the Middle East, and it garnered a lot of attention from Egyptian magazines and newspapers. After the show, a lot of famous magazines and newspapers wrote about the event, talking about the beauty of Hanbok and fashion in general, and also numerous articles were written online about this event. Moreover, many famous Egyptian designers showed an interest in the event and attended it personally. They praised the beautiful and comfortable designs and they may add Hanbok elements to their future designs now. 

In "The Wonders of Korea," a promotional TV program produced and aired by KBS World, included on entire episode about Hanbok, episode seven, "Hanbok, the Art of Line & Color.” The show introduces all things Korean to the world, showing off its traditions and arts. This episode highlighted traditional Hanbok attire. It said that, “The key to Hanbok is the lines and the color combinations. In Western attire, there are usually two colors, one for the upper body and one for the lower body. This isn't the case with Hanbok. The skirt, jacket, ribbon and neckband are all different colors. Even with four different colors, however, harmony still exists. This works for two colors or even just one color.” We think this is really true.

wisdom117@korea.kr

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