Fashion in Colonial-Era Korea

Published: July 28, 2026 · Updated: July 28, 2026

In the colonial period Western dress spread, above all in the cities, and the "modern girl" and "modern boy" appeared; the hanbok was reformed for ease of movement and remained everyday wear.

Overview

In modern urban life and schooling, Western clothes and uniforms spread and dress changed greatly.

Key garments and style

Urban youth wore modern Western clothes and schoolgirls wore uniforms such as the sailor suit, while a “reformed hanbok” — a shorter chima and a simpler jeogori — was devised as practical dress. In wartime, monpe work trousers were imposed.

Transition

After liberation in 1945, dress followed the separate modernising paths of North and South.

History of this period

Japanese colonial period 1910–1945