1. Aria's Reflection on Hanbok Paper Folding Activity

This month, my ten-year-old sister and I got busy with some paper-folded hanbok creations, courtesy of the Korean Cultural Centre.

For our first attempt at folding, we went with the Level 1 hanbok design. It was very successful, although we had to try certain steps multiple times to make sure we had done the folding correctly. My sister’s favorite part was tying the pink ribbon to be placed on the front of the outfits!

From there, we became more adventurous and interested in exploring different types of hanbok which we could create - such as the Traditional Wedding Robes, Royal Robes, and Royal Ceremonial Robes! We also enjoyed learning more information from the links in the instructional pamphlet - for example, we learned about special occasions that would call for different types of hanbok to be worn, and how hanbok should be worn (for women and for men).

Our favorite to fold were the Traditional Wedding Robes.

Here you can see a picture of my sister folding the pants for this particular men’s hanbok!

For me, the skirt on this women’s hanbok was pretty difficult because of the diagonal folding required to form the pleats! However, the more challenging, the more exciting it was to finally get the steps right.

Our final products:

Thank you to the Korean Cultural Centre for providing us with this fun cultural learning opportunity! Not only was it educational, but also super fun! Paper folding is a great activity to take on by yourself or with others such as your friends or family.

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2. Ryan's Hanbok making reflections 

I found out about this competition through the International Certificate Program I am taking. I thought that I fit the criteria to enter this contest because have experience in origami and I preform various hobbies that require dexterity and patience such as playing various musical instruments and cooking. I also had plenty of time to complete the Hanboks because of spring break.

Folding the level one paper Hanboks:

The level one paper Hanbok was easy to fold. For the first skirt of the female hanbok, I followed the video instructions very carefully. For the second one, I used some of my own tricks I have learned doing origami that helps me be more precise with folds, such as folding the paper in half horizontally and vertically first before folding diagonally to make the diagonal folds more failproof. I noticed that the sleeves in the end result of the video instructions were a different shape from the ones in the paper instructions, so that caused me a bit of confusion. It took one and a half hours to complete the level one Hanboks.

Folding the Royal Robes:

Folding the Royal Robes was the most difficult out of all of them for me. The video instructions were not too clear, and the paper instructions in Korean even less so. It took me three attempts to finally get the Queen’s attire right and two attempts to get the King’s. Also, the kit requires cutting pieces off of a square piece of paper, which I found hard, especially cutting the edges I remember asking more than once why the white rims on the edges of the paper existed. I also thought the Queen’s attire had a really clever design, such as how one part of the robe could be attached to the other without the use of glue. It took me a total of three hours to complete this set of Hanboks. 

Folding the Wedding Robes:

After finishing the royal robes, I became more confident and bolder. I often skipped unnecessary steps such as folding the paper into eighths. This step was not necessary sense there were white doted lines. It also made the final result less wrinkled. I also realized the design for the male robe was very similar to the king’s robe. So, I skipped many parts of the instructional video such as the part on how to fold the sleeves, since I already knew how to make it. It took me a total of 2 hours and only one attempt to get it done.

Folding the Royal Ceremonial Robes:

I realized instantly that the design of this set of Hanboks is similar to the wedding robes, so I decided to challenge myself by not looking at the instructions at all. I had pretty much memorized the instructions anyway. I referenced images of the completed Hanbok to make certain parts that were different such as the cloth under the king’s belt. It took me a total of 2 hours.

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3. Soumaya's Reflection

Culture. One word that describes a ton of things and practices, a word that could represent a whole nation and country. To me, culture is the set of practices and traditions that shape a nation, and it is one of the most important aspects of one’s identity. One interesting aspect is clothing.

When I heard that the Korean Cultural Centre had a paper folding competition I was excited to participate. I signed up right away as I knew that this activity not only meant that I would have fun making crafts, but that I’ll also get a chance to dive deeper into a culture that I’ve always been interested in. Being someone who has been self-studying Korean and trying to get official lessons in it, I was excited -to say the least- to take part in such an activity. I started off by opening the package and the Korean in the instructions was right there for me as reading practice. And although I could read most of it, I wasn’t sure what most of it meant as I’m still learning. I followed the video on your youtube channel and while I was folding I even learned a few words which added to my excitement. I also started reflecting on the traditional dresses. I often saw them in historical dramas and was fascinated by the way in which the layering is organized as well as the beautiful colours. This aspect reflected in the folding where the Wonsam and Danryeong, for example, had multiple foldings that got together to create such beautiful pieces of clothing. The colours as well have been great to think about, and the hierarchy has also reflected in creating an amazing system where people could recognize the social class of someone just through their outfit. Having specified dresses for weddings and royals has also been an interesting aspect that I always thought of in terms of understanding another culture. Throughout the process of the Paper-Hanbok Making, I came to also notice the details in the outfits and how they date thousands of years ago. It only added to my pool of thoughts regarding the amount of time people must have worked to just produce one small piece such as the belt, especially when no technology was around. It indeed was a time worth the thought and a time well spent.

Participating in this contest also brings back another aspect to the culture which is knowing the nature of people through their hosting of such events and contests. It’s a system that supports others’ interest in their culture and can only reflect the nature of Korean people in being very open to people interested in learning more about Korea; truly inspiring!

This event was organized under the partnership with the Ottawa Carleton District School Board International Certificate Program.

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Hanbok, Poetics of Line and the Passage of Life

In celebration of Korea Week this year, the Korean Cultural Centre (KCC) presents an exhibition of the Korean traditional attire, Hanbok, and its story of transformation and cultural significance in the lives of Korean people.  

Working with EuiJung McGillis (art history) and Ilyoung Jung (exhibition design), this exhibition will showcase an array of Hanbok ranging from a baby’s first birthday dresses to ceremonial robes for weddings to the royal wardrobes of pre-modern Korea to everyday clothes.  Hanbok, as a quintessential symbol of Korean heritage, reveals a wide spectrum of aesthetic sensibilities shaped by the country’s socio-cultural customs and reinforced by its enduring history.

In this synoptic exhibition, visitors are invited to experience both intangible and tangible aspects of Hanbok that hold deeper meanings related to Korean identity, performing its multivalent role as a transmitter of tradition, a wearable culture, and an envoy of ‘distinctively Korean’ lifestyle to the global arena.

The basic separated top and bottom style of Hanbok that we are familiar with has remained unchanged since the Three Kingdoms period (37BCE-668CE).  Today, it refers specifically to the clothing worn during the Joseon dynasty (1392-1910).  A visual chronology of Hanbok in this exhibition aims to highlight the ways in which Hanbok portrays Korean ancestral values such as filial piety, good health, life longevity, and ritual propriety in its material representation. Koreans have worn specially designed Hanbok depending on the occasion, in order to celebrate many milestone moments in life, i.e., a baby’s first birthday, coming of age celebration, wedding ceremony, and funeral. As a transmitter of Korean tradition, Hanbok represents the continuum of these secular moral tenets, which has provided a strong sense of belonging to Korean people throughout the history.

Hanbok as a wearable culture, it reifies the worldview of Korean people.  As illustrated in the display of Obangjang durumagi (five-coloured outer coat), for instance, utilizing five cardinal colours (red, blue, black, white, and yellow) in clothing originated from Yin-Yang theory. Traditionally, these colours are obtained by concocting various natural ingredients such as Gromwell roots, Indigo plant roots, the petals of Marigold, and the fruits of Gardenia.  They are ubiquitous in the local mountains and fields in Korea.  It is believed that the auspicious energy emitted from those five colours could ward off evil spirits or deflect misfortunes. These vernacular practices of meaning making through colours lucidly demonstrate Koreans’ reverence towards nature and emphasis on harmonious life.

The concept of tradition materialized in Hanbok has been continuously transformed and reinterpreted. At times, it involves drastic modifications in fabric and design choices in order to reflect changing social norms and cultural flux without losing its distinctive ‘Koreanness.’  

The last segment of this exhibition explores various creative interpretations in the stylistic principles of Hanbok, which was informed by rapidly changing socio-political environment of Korea. During the country’s modernization period, for many educated women, referred to as shinyeoseong (new women), Hanbok gave them an agency to claim their place in the society and to express individuality on their own terms. It was popular among shinyeoseong shortening their skirts to knee-high level or using unconventional fabrics to match Western style tops and accessories. 

In our present time, the very distinctive ‘Koreanness’ of Hanbok enables Korea’s contemporary engagement with the world by foregrounding the locality that speaks to the global.  At its heart, this exhibition serves to recount the story of Hanbok in order to initiate a broader range of cultural conversations with the members of the global community. (Text by Euijung McGillis) 

<About the Team>

Euijung McGillis is an art historian, independent curator, and lecturer.  Her main research interests include modern and contemporary Korean art, Korean folk art, contemporary Asian art, and diasporic art practices of artists with transnational background.  Her current doctoral research at Carleton University focuses on discursive challenges in historicizing art practices from outside the geo-cultural boundaries of EuroAmerica in the global art history.  Her dissertation topic centres around the transnational/transcultural trajectories of two Korean artists from the mid-twentieth century, Lee Ungno (1904-1989) and Quac Insik (1919-1988) and their cross-cultural spaces in Europe, East Asia, and Korea.  Euijung’s researches have been presented at various academic conferences including College of Art Association in the U. S. and Hyundai Tate Research Centre: Transnational in London.  Her curatorial work in 2018, Untying Space_CUAG by Sun K. Kwak at CUAG, Ottawa was admirably reviewed by Canadian Art and The Globe and Mail.   This year, her latest essay on Lee Ungno’s art practice, “Hanji as a Conduit of Contemporaneity” was published by Lee Ungno Museum in Daejeon, South Korea. She frequently delivers lectures on Korean art at the Korean Cultural Centre in Ottawa while dedicating her endeavour to facilitate the visibility of Korean art  in the Canadian art scene.  

Ilyoung Jung Piccato is an exhibition designer and a visual artist. Her creative career began in 2009 when she presented <Golmokgil Garden>, a concept of garden in modern life at Seoul Design Olympiad.  With a degree in visual presentation and exhibition design at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York in 2008, she worked as a visual merchandiser at Louis Vuitton and Bloomingdale’s in New York City. After she returned to Korean, she became a visual merchandising manager at Bluebell Korea, developing visual strategies for Celine, Givenchy, Loro Piana, and Kenzo. At ThePlace gallery, a private brand of Bluebell Korea, she was in charge of conceptualizing and designing exhibitions and cultural events. From 2017, Ilyoung’s art practice focused on integrating the sublime beauty of Canadian nature with various elements of Korean traditional art in painting, photography, and three-dimensional objects. Her recent paintings, K-BLOSSOM and FLORAISON series were exhibited in a group show at the Korean Cultural Centre in Ottawa in 2019.

<Intro Video> 

Please click the image below to launch the video.

<Making bojagi, a traditional Korean wrapping cloth and its usage>

Please click the image below to launch the video.

(Source: The Hanbok Advancement Center)

<Hanbok, Poetics of Line and the Passage of Life>   

1.  Date:  2020. 10. 8. (Thursday) ~ 2021. 4. 16 (Friday) 

             * Gallery hours: Monday-Friday, 10am-5pm.

2.  Venue:  Korean Cultural Centre Canada  KCC Gallery  

3.  Host: Korean Cultural Centre Canada, Embassy of the Republic of Korea to Canada

4.  Support: Korea Craft & Design Foundation, Hanbok Centre, Formal Hanbok Association, KIMHYESOON HANBOK

COVID-19 safety measures are currently in place!

-To keep our visitors and staff healthy and safe, we will welcome visitors to our gallery by reservation only, until further notice. Please call us to reserve your visit: 613-233-8008

- We won’t allow more than 5 people inside the KCC gallery simultaneously, to ensure 2-meter distancing is optimized for our space.

- We will measure temperatures of all visitors using a touchless forehead thermometer. Your cooperation is very much appreciated as we try to implement all possible measures to ensure the health and safety of all our visitors.

- Wearing facemasks will be required to enter the KCC.

- Hand sanitizers will be available at the reception desk and washrooms.

- The facility will undergo thorough daily cleaning and disinfection regimes.