What You Should Do If Visiting Seoul in October [Photo Essay Contest]
The Korea JoongAng Daily hosted its first photo essay contest for elementary, middle and high school students on the theme: “Promote the beauty of Korea to foreign countries." The contest ran from October to November. Photos containing scenes of traditional culture, family love, places to see and tasty treats in Korea were submitted for the contest.
For people who participated but didn't win a prize:
Jane Shin from Korea International School submitted the following photo essay as a elementary school-level entry.
Have you ever tried on hanbok or seen it in Korean \movies? Hanbok is a traditional Korean clothing. Today, Korean people do not wear hanbok everyday. They usually wear it on important and special occasions such as milestone birthdays and weddings. This is a picture of me wearing traditional hanbok three years ago at Deoksu Palace. When I strolled around the palace in hanbok, I felt like a princess during the Joseon Dynasty.
My mother took this photograph when I modeled for the “Korea in Fashion '' project. As you can see in the background, there were various versions of hanbok for the project. The project was designed to showcase hanbok to people who could not visit Korea because of COVID-19. Everything I wore was custom-made: the top (dang-jeogori or dangui), the skirt (chima), the ribbon (daenggi), the crown (jokduri), and the shoes (kkotssin). They were designed by a famous hanbok designer Kim Young-jin, also known as Tchai Kim. Kim also designs modern hanbok that are more comfortable and wearable than the one I am wearing in the picture.
Today, Korean fashion designers and celebrities are using hanbok to promote the beauty of Korea to the world. Every time K-Pop stars including BTS, Blackpink, SHINee and Exo wore modern hanbok, it went viral on social media. In 2022, a famous model and actress on Netflix’s “Squid Game” (2021) Jung Hoyeon wowed the fashion world during the SAG awards with her outfit featuring a hanbok ribbon. British Vogue wrote: “The most beautiful detail, however, lay not within the gown itself, but the matching hair detail that adorned Jung’s sleek ponytail. It turned out the styling addition was in fact inspired by the traditional daenggi hair ribbon, an accessory that has been used to decorate braided hair in Korea for centuries...If anyone knows how to combine classic Hollywood glamour with a meaningful nod to her Korean heritage, it’s Hoyeon.” Just like K-Pop idols and Jung Hoyeon demonstrated the beauty and elegance of hanbok to the world, I was honored to be a part of the “Korea in Fashion” project and hope to promote the beauty of Korea.
If you ever plan to visit Seoul, I highly recommend you try hanbok yourself and take a stroll in more than five palaces in Seoul. You will not only get free admission but could also feel like a royalty as I did. October would be the best month to visit Seoul because October 21 is Hanbok Day and there would be so many fun activities involving hanbok. Also, it is beautiful in Korea in October with autumn leaves with various shades of yellow, orange and red! I am sure you will get a great photograph like mine!
By Jane Shin, Korea International School
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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