Guidebook for Living in Korea

Korean people usually wear western-style clothes, and wear long sleeves in spring and autumn and short sleeves in the hot summer. They wear over-garments such as coats or jackets in the cold of winter. They usually wear a suit when going to work or for important family gatherings.

Korea’s traditional costume is called “Hanbok”. The costume well-harmonizes elegant lines and curves, which makes Hanbok beautiful and graceful. There is a wide range of Hanbok, divided based on whether they are for formal or casual wear, as well as by gender, age, and season. Basically, Hanbok for men consists of trousers and a jacket, while Hanbok for women consists of a skirt and a jacket. In addition to this, a vest, magoja, robes, etc. can also be worn.

Wear a jeogori (Korean traditional jacket) and pants. When wearing pants, the waistband should be tied from right to left. The ends of the pants are tied with daenim. After putting on jeogori, robes are tightened, and the vest and magoja worn over jeogori. Wear durumagi (traditional Korean overcoat) when going out or bowing.

Wear underpants, Korean socks, and underskirt, and wear an outer skirt over them. The outer skirt should be placed on the left side. After wearing sokjeogori and outer jacket (jeogori), pull jeogori to the front so that it won’t go over the back side. Breast ribbons of jeogori are tied to make two ribbons have same length.