Traditional hanbok had vibrant hues that corresponded with the five elements of the yin-and-yang theory: white (metal), red (fire), blue (wood), black (water) and yellow (earth).
A hanbok's colour was chosen with the help of feng shui, an oriental philosophy of harmony. But the chosen colours also represented the wearer's social status, age as well as marital status.
Traditionally, blue symbolises creativity, immortality and hope; white symbolises chastity, truth, innocence and death; red symbolises the sun, fire, production, creation, passion and love; black symbolises existence; yellow symbolises light and essence of vitality [25].
To decide on a hanbok's colors, Koreans follow a traditional color spectrum called “obangsaek,” which is composed of black and white, red, yellow, and blue. These hues refer to the theory of yin and yang and the five elements—water and metal, fire, earth, and wood, respectively.
Red skirt and yellow top are for little girls and unmarried women. Dark blue skirt and lilac top are for women on their 30th of age. Dark gray skirt and red top are for women on their 40th of age. Tan color skirt and orange top are for women who are older than 50th of age.
According to the National Folk Museum of Korea, “For a long time, the color red has been believed to have shamanistic power for warding off evil spirits or bad luck.
For people who aren't Korean to learn about and wear hanbok out of respect via invitation, is a form of appreciation and cultural exchange. To wear it for Halloween and music festivals or altering it to suit western standards and ideals, but calling it by the same name, is appropriation.
The traditional Korean color spectrum, also known as Obangsaek (오방색, means five-orientation-color), is the color scheme of the five Korean traditional colors of white, black, blue, yellow and red.
These five colors are blue, red, white, black, and yellow. You will find these colors to be prominent in 'Hanbok' (Korean traditional attire), Korean paintings, musical instruments and festivals, architecture, flags and traditional symbols, and of course – Korean food!
Patterns were embroidered on hanbok to represent the wishes of the wearer. Peonies on a wedding dress, represented a wish for honor and wealth. Lotus flowers symbolized a hope for nobility, and bats and pomegranates showed the desire for children.
Blue in Korean is 파란색 (paransaek)
Pu-reum means blue.
Black is known as the formal color for funerals. For the family mourning, the men wear suits and the women wear black hanboks with a white ribbon hairpin. The chief mourner always has an arm board. Black suits are worn by every other person in attendance.
After the Korean War, red came to be perceived as the color of communism, thus gaining a negative connotation, but since the 2002 World Cup, it has become a symbol of passion and the color that promotes social cohesion.
The everyday wear of modern Koreans is not hanbok. It was common to see citizens wearing hanbok going about the streets until the 1960s. However, as the popularity of clothing materials in modern western-style clothing spread and prices fell, hanbok gradually vanished from our daily routines starting in the 1980s.
Love, passion, and romance are all connected to the color red. It is also linked to war, ruthlessness, and violence. The balance of red and blue has great meaning in Korean culture. While red represents yang's (the man's) energy, which is masculine in nature, blue represents yin's (the woman's) energy.
Tricolored taegeuk
The yellow portion is taken as representing humanity, in addition to the red and blue representing earth and heaven, respectively. A rendition of the tricolored Taegeuk also appeared in the official logo of the 1988 Summer Olympics accompanied by the five Olympic rings.
The red colour was designated for the Queen, green and purple for the Crown Princess. The Royal Concubine's colours were green and blue. The Princesses' wife usually wore a green dress, but the colour would change to blue and purple if her designation was changed to the King's Wife.
Korean, Russian, Rumanian, Chinese and Japanese all have white on the top. In the second rank, Chinese has yellow unlike other languages because yellow had been regarded as the emperor's noble color or color of gold. Yellow color is also used as gold in flags of Ghana, Venezuela and Colombia.
Personal color analysis aims to assign individuals flattering colors that can inform their choices around clothing, makeup and accessories based on their complexions and skin tones.
Corian® in full colour
Our palette includes every shade of white and neutral, earthy hues, dark and black tones, and bold, saturated solids. Many of these offer striking aesthetic features such as veining, translucency and metallic flecks.
As cleavage is generally not accepted in Korean fashion, backless clothing is also considered taboo. It's rare to find Korean women's clothing that exposes the backside, as it is deemed as revealing cleavage. Korean women tend to be conservative when exposing their upper body, including the back.
Many older couples don't wear wedding bands and it is usually the younger couples who choose to wear couple, engagement, or wedding rings. Diamonds were not traditionally used in Korean jewellery.
The Korean Wedding Ceremony
Both bride and groom wear the traditional hanbok, a traditional Korean dress specially designed for the ceremony. The hanbok represents thousands of years of tradition and is usually made of a lightweight material with bright colors, simple lines, and no pockets.