Kpopmap
One of the most popular K-Dramas of 2023, "The Story Of Park's Marriage Contract", recently concluded its immensely successful run. In addition to the heart-fluttering romance, this K-Drama was about Park YeonWoo (played by Lee SeYoung) and her dream of becoming a fashion designer, which she fulfills in modern-day Seoul. She creates modern hanbok outfits, showing the timelessness of the garment, helping it appeal to a new demographic. What it also did was popularize modernized hanbok globally once again among K-Drama fans! So, many fans have been asking: is foreigners wearing hanbok cultural appropriation or appreciation? We're here to tell you the answer. Hear from Kpopmap's Korean staff on what they think about this issue to answer this question once and for all.
MBC
Before we get into it, let's talk about hanbok and modern hanbok for a bit. "Hanbok" (ํ๋ณต) is the traditional Korean clothing. The term "hanbok" is derived from the words "han" (ํ), meaning Korean, and "bok" (๋ณต), meaning clothing or attire. In South Korea, it is quite common for tourists to rent and wear hanbok. There are even photoshoot services for them to get that perfect dreamy hanbok picture. The Korea Board of Tourism promotes this activity with great pride, and it is frankly one of the most popular things to do when you're traveling to South Korea. It is also quite popular for Koreans themselves to gift their foreign friends hanbok dresses. However, the reason hanbok became a global trend outside of tourism is K-Pop.
YG Entertainment
In 2020, BLACKPINK popularized the "modern hanbok" worldwide w
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