Hanbok for the holidays: The changing trends of traditional dress in K-pop

The traditional Chuseok and Seollal holidays offer delightful surprises to K-pop fans: Their favorite stars adorned in Korea's colorful and elegant traditional dress, hanbok.

Every year, when the annual holidays approach, K-pop stars — especially rookies — upload a photo (or a video, if you're lucky) and send seasonal greetings to their fans. The occasions provide a rare opportunity to get a glimpse of the stars out of fancy costumes attuned for the stage.

Beyond the anticipation for a new photo or video release, the shoots give an intriguing insight into the subtle evolution of hanbok through the decades, from vivid and bold colors to more pastel tones with fewer patterns. 

From BTS’s first seasonal greeting in 2013 to the looks worn by today’s idols, the Korea JoongAng Daily takes a look back at the history of hanbok in K-pop.

The early 2010s

Bright and vivid was the name of the game.

For female singers, bright hues of yellow, pink and purple ruled the hanbok looks of the era, as they often decked out in pink. The colors and patterns didn’t stop there — they extended to the sleeves, which added an extra dose of youthful charm to the looks of young K-pop acts. They are also often matched with accessories, like jokduri, a traditional Korean women's headpiece. 

BTS in 2013: BTS was no exception in the bright and youthful era. Shortly after its debut in June 2013, the band released its first Chuseok greeting dressed as doryeong, a term traditionally used for young, unmarried men from noble families. The members’ vivid, youthful hanbok and polite posture, befitting a rookie band at the time, may bring a proud smile to fans today — a reminder of just how far the boys have come.

Hwang Gwang-hee of ZE:A and Suho of EXO in 2014: The two also embraced the doryeong look, dressed in hanbok bursting with bold colors. The youthful styling was fitting: Gwang-hee was only in his fourth year in the industry, while Suho was in his second — both still fresh faces with much of their careers ahead of them.

Mid- and late 2010s

The middle of the 2010s brought the debuts of future global acts such as Twice, Blackpink and Seventeen. Bright and colorful hanbok remained very much in fashion, but the palette began to soften. Lighter hues and pastels became more prominent, particularly in women’s hanbok, while the styling grew simpler. The colorful sleeves of the earlier years also began to fade away and were replaced by subtler floral patterns. Accessories such as the jokduri became less noticeable as well.

Red Velvet in 2016: Still relatively new to the K-pop scene after debuting in 2014, Red Velvet retained the bright colors characteristic of the earlier part of the decade. But the shift was already visible: the colors were less intense, bold patterns became scarcer, particularly on the sleeves, and the overall styling was simpler. Subtle patterns and fewer accessories hinted at where hanbok fashion was heading.

BTS in 2017: Nearly 10 years ago, the now-K-pop elder statesmen were just up-and-coming artists fresh into the fifth year of their debut in 2013. For their holiday look, though they went for bold colors, the overall outfit took on a bit more maturity as they wore gat, a traditional Korean hat which were more often seen on middle-aged men. 

Blackpink in 2018: Blackpink was also just beginning to blossom after its 2016 debut. While the group is now known for bold stage outfits — including looks inspired by hanbok — it was rarely just seen in hanbok. Like many rookie K-pop acts, Blackpink marked the holidays by greeting fans in hanbok. Their outfits also captured the shift in hanbok trends at the time: Bright colors gave way to lighter, pastel tones, with few statement accessories. The styling had a modern touch, too, as ruffles gave the traditional silhouette a playful makeover.

Tomorrow X Together in 2019: It must be a BigHit Music tradition to dress its rookie boy bands as doryeong. Less than a year after debuting in March 2019, Tomorrow X Together greeted fans for Chuseok in the familiar doryeong look. But the styling had noticeably changed since BTS's photo shoot, shifting away from the clearly visible patterns and bold colors worn by the by-then-established septet and toward softer, more subdued styles. Patterns were still there, but they blended into the fabric and colors, making them easy to miss at first glance.

Hanbok in the 2020s

By the 2020s, K-pop was no longer limited to Asia. It started to go global as BTS and Blackpink entered the Billboard charts. But the K-pop scene was not the only one changing: Hanbok themselves were changing, too.

Bright, saturated colors increasingly gave way to light, muted, pastel tones for both male and female idols, while patterns became simpler or disappeared altogether. When patterns did appear, they were sometimes so densely packed and subtle that, from a distance, they almost looked like part of the fabric’s color.

BTS in 2020 and 2021: By then, BTS was a seasoned K-pop act with global hits such as “Dynamite” (2020), and the members had left their doryeong days far behind for a more mature look. In keeping with the shift toward calmer styling, they wore darker, more muted colors. But understated did not mean simple — their hanbok had grown noticeably grander, almost regal, with gold and silver patterns shimmering across the fabric, reminiscent of the elaborate attire traditionally associated with the upper class.

Enhypen in 2021: Approaching the first anniversary of its November debut, the band also joined the K-pop rookie tradition of sending fans a seasonal greeting in hanbok. By this point, the 2020s hanbok aesthetic was coming into focus: simple, calm and pastel. The band embraced the trend with light pastel hues and understated styling.

NewJeans in 2022: The group’s debut itself became one of the year’s biggest sensations. Everything from its music to its styling became a talking point, with the group helping define the trends of the moment. Its hanbok looks were no exception, offering a glimpse of where hanbok fashion was headed. The members opted for a calmer, simpler look, with light hues and clean silhouettes. Even the accessories were understated, their colors blending into the overall palette rather than demanding attention.

Heading into the mid-2020s, hanbok largely left its bold, vivid colors behind, regardless of gender. Pastels remained a mainstay, while muted tones also became increasingly common among K-pop idols. Accessories began to make a comeback, too, though their colors remained subtle and blended into the overall look rather than standing out as they once did.

As this year's Chuseok comes and goes, one question remains: How did your favorite K-pop act look this year?

BY KIM JI-YE [[email protected]]