Culture ministry launches hanbok campaign at Gyeongbok Palace

The culture ministry launched a campaign to promote the correct wearing of traditional hanbok, opening with a ceremony at Gyeongbok Palace on Oct. 19 as part of Hanbok Culture Week.

The campaign, held jointly with the Korea Heritage Service and the Korea Craft and Design Foundation, responds to persistent complaints that some rented hanbok do not reflect the distinct form and characteristics of traditional garments. First Vice Minister Kim Young-su attended the ceremony near Gyeonghoeru pavilion alongside 24 hanbok rental shops near the palace and 17 hanbok content creators.

The shops will hand out a multilingual booklet titled "Hanbok Story" and QR-code guides explaining the history, composition and proper wearing of hanbok, while the foundation will run training for rental-shop staff. The creators will spread the message through social media, and the ministry and the Korea Heritage Service will visit participating shops to look for ways to encourage rental businesses to stock more traditional hanbok. Organizers plan to keep the campaign running after Hanbok Culture Week and to bring in more shops.

Near Gyeonghoeru, organizers will run exhibitions and hands-on events, including a hanbok quiz and displays of court hanbok and costumes from K-dramas, from the first day of Hanbok Culture Week.

Visitors who wear traditional hanbok correctly can receive a "Hanbok Pass" norigae souvenir at participating rental shops and present it for discounts of 10 to 20 percent at the National Museum of Korea's "Muzes" shop through Oct. 25, and at Annyeong Insadong and Matthew's Kitchen Anguk through Dec. 31, among 27 businesses taking part.

"With rental shops increasing the share of high-quality hanbok, this campaign, joined by the rental industry and content creators, is expected to spread the culture of wearing hanbok properly around Gyeongbok Palace," Vice Minister Kim said. "The ministry will keep working closely with the field so that the public and visitors can experience and enjoy the unique beauty and value of our hanbok more easily."

Hanbok Culture Week, hosted by the ministry and organized by the Korea Craft and Design Foundation, runs from Oct. 19 to 25 at some 410 locations nationwide, including the open plaza of the National Museum of Korea.