The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said on the 16th that it will hold the 2025 Hanbok Culture Week from the 21st to the 26th together with the Korea Craft and Design Foundation.
Hanbok Culture Week is a flagship Hanbok cultural event held every year around Oct. 21, Hanbok Day. Now in its eighth year, this year's event will take place at more than 360 hubs nationwide under the theme Modern Hanbokpan, the Center of K-Culture, showcasing a new Hanbok culture that combines traditional beauty with modern sensibilities.
First, on the 21st, a commemorative event for Hanbok Culture Week will be held at the Uijeongbuji Historical Heritage Square, including an awards ceremony for contributors to the Hanbok field, a Hanbok fashion show, and celebratory performances. At the Hanbok fashion show under the theme Portrait of Happiness, six brands, including Kim Hye-soon Hanbok, CHAI KIM, Danha, and OUWR, will reinterpret Hanbok's excitement (興), talent (才), color (色), and beauty (美) in a modern way. Thirty-six models, including model Stefanie Michova and figure skater Cha Jun-hwan, will take the stage, and Street Woman Fighter champion team HolyBang will give a special performance in Hanbok.
There are six awardees in the Hanbok field this year. ▲ The Hanbok Culture Merit Award goes to National Gyeongguk University Professor Emeritus Lee Eun-ju, who has devoted 40 years to research and education in Korean costume history; ▲ the Hanbok Person of the Year Award goes to designer Lee Hyang, who has carried on and advanced Hanbok while running a store at Gwangjang Market for three generations; ▲ the Young Hanbok Person Award goes to designer Shin Jun-young, recognized for creative designs through collaborations with various domestic and overseas brands. ▲ The Outstanding Public Official Award goes to Noh Hye-won, policy team leader in the Cultural Heritage Division of Busan City, for contributing to the revitalization of the Busan Hanbok Culture Creation Center; ▲ the Outstanding Hanbok Culture Education Instructor Award goes to Lee Soon-hak, head of the Korea Costume Craft Research Institute, for contributions to Hanbok culture education in elementary, middle, and high schools; ▲ and the Largest Hanbok Workwear Adoption Institution Award goes to the National Asia Culture Center.
Events to spread Hanbok culture will also continue across the country. From the 20th to the 21st, the Traveling Hanbok Shop Promotion Hall will operate in the lobby on the third floor of the National Assembly Members' Office Building. Co-hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Lawmakers Who Love Hanbok group (co-chaired by Reps. Baek Hye-ryeon and Lee In-seon), the event will feature 10 Hanbok brands exhibiting more than 100 types of traditional and daily Hanbok. In addition, a signature drive will be held in parallel for the enactment of the Hanbok Culture Industry Promotion Act, led by Rep. Lim Oh-kyung.
Private cultural facilities and national arts institutions will offer various benefits to those wearing Hanbok. Lotte World and Seoul Sky will discount admission by 50% and 35%, respectively, and the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art will offer free admission to all venues in Seoul, Deoksugung, Gwacheon, and Cheongju. The National Gugak Center will offer a 50% discount on its Saturday Masterpiece performance on the 25th.
At the National Folk Museum of Korea on the 22nd, an academic symposium and a launching ceremony for the inscription promotion task force will be held to support the inscription of Hanbok Life on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list. In addition, Hanbok creation centers nationwide, including Sangju, Jeonju, Gangneung, Busan, and Boseong, will continue local programs such as Hanbok experience events, a Hanbok exchange marketplace, and Hanbok-wearing plogging.
Minister Chae Hwi-young of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said, "Hanbok, which embodies the identity and wisdom of our people, is a lifestyle culture that accompanies modern life and a representative asset of the globally watched 'K-culture,'" adding, "Through this Hanbok Culture Week, we hope the public will discover new value in Hanbok and that people around the world will feel the depth of Hanbok culture together."