A study on the Hanbok Promotion Bills

The hanbok is an umbrella term which is used to refer to traditional ethnic Korean clothes. According to the Cultural Heritage Protection Act, the cultural heritage means artificially or naturally formed national, racial, or world heritage of outstanding historic, artistic, academic, or scenic value, which is classified into the tangible cultural heritage and the intangible cultural heritage. The “hanbok”, Korean clothing is a very significant element of the Korean cultural heritage and tangible and intangible cultural heritage. The ancient hanbok consisted of a jeogori(top), baji(pants), chima(skirt), and the po(coat). These basic structural features of the hanbok remains unchanged to this day. However, modrenized hanbok is patterned after the hanbok worn in the Joseon dynasty. Koreans wear hanbok for formal or semi-formal occasions and events such as weddings, festivals, celebrations, and ceremonies these days. In 1996, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism established “Hanbok Day” to encourage to wear the hanbok. In 2022, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism designated “Hanbok Life” as a national intangible cultural heritage. The Hanbok Promotion Center is one department of the Korea Craft and Design Foundation (KCDF). But for the more positive promotion of the hanbok should the Hanbok Promotion Center be the independent Foundation. And more important thing is that the Hanbok Promotion Act should be enacted.