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The hanbok is Korea's traditional dress, and white was long favoured as a colour of purity and light

the gist

The hanbok is the traditional clothing of the Korean people, and its name literally means Korean clothing. Its core parts are the jeogori jacket, baji trousers, chima skirt and po coat, and while the shape has changed over time that basic set has stayed consistent. Depictions of hanbok appear as early as the Three Kingdoms period, and tomb murals from Goguryeo show its structure by the 4th to 6th centuries CE. Many Koreans have long preferred white hanbok, which symbolised purity, light and the sun. Today people wear it for weddings, festivals and ceremonies, and modern designs are mostly based on Joseon-era styles worn by the nobility and royalty.

so what

The hanbok shows how a garment can carry a cultural memory for well over a thousand years. Its continued use at weddings and festivals keeps that heritage in daily life.

Adapted from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Image: Wikimedia Commons