Long before we planned to visit South Korea I knew I wanted to try on a Hanbok! I have seen so many photos of girls in pretty traditional Korean outfits in Seoul and I knew I had to add that to our to-do list. And of course, I had to drag Graham into it too for some cheesy couple photos!

WHAT IS HANBOK?

Hanbok is a traditional Korean dress and the word literally means “Korean Clothing”. They were worn daily up until only 100 years ago and now, these days, people mostly wear them for special occasions.

Hanbok are graceful and vibrant in colours, slim at the top and wide at the bottom, resembling a bell shape. In my opinion, hanbok for girls are rather princessy! (Which I love!) There shape is very flattering for all figures.

WHERE TO RENT HANBOK?

There are a lot of hanbok rental shops in Seoul, especially near the main tourist sites. We chose Oneday Hanbok because we wanted to plan our rentals before the trip to avoid disappointments. Pre-booking isn’t a requirement but if you do book, you have priority when you arrive at the shop and you won’t have to waste time waiting for someone to serve you.

WHY RENT HANBOK?

Why not! As an adult, you don’t often get to dress up anymore… Renting a hanbok is a fun and it lets you experience a little of the Korean culture. It is a lot of fun taking photos around Seoul, photos you will look back and say ‘I am glad I did that!’

Furthermore, admissions to Seoul palaces are free when you wear a hanbok! You won’t even need to queue up to go in.

OUR EXPERIENCE

Before our trip, we booked a date and time get our hanbok fitted. We chose early in the morning so that we have plenty of time to enjoy the day.

On arrival, we checked-in at the reception and did all the paperwork before being sent to try on our hanbok. You are allowed to try 2 different styles and pick which one you like. If you want to try on more, it will be an additional 2000 won per fitting.

After we have picked up the styles we want, someone came over to help us try it on. I was a bit worried at first about the fitting as I was 4 months pregnant at the time. But I found that hanbok are very loose fitted and it is actually perfect for a growing bump!

You are allowed to choose accessories after you have been fitted with your hanbok. I chose a hair piece and a little handbag to hold all my valuables. We were able to leave our things at the shop which was convenient and it meant we were able to enjoy the day with a lighter load.

WHERE TO GO

There are a lot of places nearby that you can visit in your hanbok. Please note that most palaces are closed on a Tuesday so it might not be the best time to rent a hanbok.

Here is a suggested list of places to visit:

• Namsangol Hanok Village (closes Tuesdays)
• Bukchon Hanok Village
• Gyeongbokgung Palace (closes Tuesdays, free entry with hanbok)
• Gwanghwamun Square
• Jongmyo Shire (closes Tuesdays, free entry with hanbok)
• Changgyeonggung Palace (closes Tuesdays, free entry with hanbok)
• Changdeokgung Palace (closes Tuesdays, free entry with hanbok)
• Unhyeonggung Palace (closes Tuesdays, free entry with hanbok)
• Deoksugung Palace (closes Tuesdays, free entry with hanbok)
• Gyeonghuigung Palace (closes Mondays, free entry with hanbok)

Don’t worry about trying to get to every location. Most palaces look very similar to each other and we found that going to one is more than enough to take the photos you want.

We went to Changdeokgung Palace and also Bukchon Hanok Village for most of our photos. We decided to keep our schedule relatively free as we did not want to rush around in our hanbok.

If you do decide to go the Bukchon Hanok Village, try going early in the day as it was so crowded when we went in the afternoon. It was almost impossible to take a photo without a crowd nearby!

PHOTOS

We were lucky to have our parents with us for the day to take photos for us. My dad is a pretty good photographer so we just gave him the camera!

If you want to have amazing photos to remember the day by but no one to help you, you can hire a photographer with your Oneday Hanbok rental. They have great package deals that will give you a discount on your hanbok rental!

ONEDAY HANBOK

The service at Oneday Hanbok was excellent.  Although the shop was a little crowded in the morning, they handled it extremely well. They have a wonderful selection of hanbok. All of them are very pretty and the accessories are free to rent.

Oneday Hanbok is located at 2nd Floor, 4 Bukchonro5-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul (approximately 300m from Exit 2 of Anguk Station and across the road from Jae-dong Elementary School). Street Address : 2nd Floor, 4 Bukchonro5-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul Land address : 2nd Floor, 12 Jae-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul.

Reserve your Hanbok rental HERE

** Disclaimer: Thanks to Oneday Hanbok, our rental was free of charge for the purpose of this review. However, all photos and opinions are our own**