The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said on the 22nd that, together with the Korea Craft and Design Foundation, it will run a "Wear hanbok for Chuseok" campaign to mark the upcoming Chuseok. The aim is to carry forward the traditional Chuseok attire custom, "Chuseok-bim," in a modern way and to spread the culture of wearing hanbok in everyday life as the nation's biggest holiday approaches.
On the 26th–27th, the Glass House on the first floor of S-Factory in Seongsu-dong, Seoul, will host the "21% Hanbok Festival," a hanbok exchange market in connection with the "Today Traditional Festival." Participants can bring clothes they do not use and exchange them for hanbok, and there will also be a hanbok refashion workshop, jeogori making, and a traditional pattern silkscreen experience.
Local government mascots will also join the Chuseok-bim. Seoul's "Haechi," Daejeon's "Kkumdori and Kkumsooni," Gangwon's "Gangwoni and Teukbyeoli," Busan's "Boogi," Jinju's "Hamo," and North Jeolla's "Tourmong" will transform into hanbok attire. In particular, a giant balloon of "Haechi" dressed in royal hanbok will be installed at the Seoul Metropolitan Library plaza (Sept. 22–Oct. 26) and the front yard of the Seoul Museum of Craft Art (Sept. 29–Oct. 26), where citizens can take photos together.
The "Wear hanbok campaign" will continue online as well. From Sept. 22 to Oct. 12, the Hanbok Advancement Center will host a photo contest for "This year's Chuseok-bim" through its official social media. If you send photos and stories of enjoying the holiday in hanbok, outstanding participants will be chosen to receive prizes such as an iPad Pro and gift certificates.
From Sept. 22 to Oct. 26, the "My Hanbok Day" event will also be held for foreigners visiting Korea. If visiting foreigners submit photos and stories of themselves wearing hanbok, outstanding participants will be selected to receive prizes such as gift cards.
The National Folk Museum of Korea will run a "Wearing traditional hanbok neatly" hands-on program on Oct. 4–5, during the Chuseok holiday. Participants can learn how to tie the goreum and the order of dressing, and try on hanbok themselves. On Chuseok day, Oct. 6, a pictorial video titled "Hanbok Wave," featuring actor Park Bo-gum, will be unveiled for the first time in major cities around the world. It is scheduled to be shown on large electronic billboards, including at Shinsegae Square in Myeong-dong, Seoul, and in New York's Times Square, Paris, Milan, and Tokyo.
Lee Jeong-mi, director of cultural policy at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said, "This campaign was planned to use the nation's biggest holiday, Chuseok, as an opportunity to spread the culture of wearing hanbok and to allow people to enjoy tradition naturally in daily life," adding, "Through the hanbok exchange market, traditional hanbok experiences, and a hanbok photo contest, we hope everyone from young people to seniors can enjoy the 'Chuseok-bim' culture."