The mixed identity experience
Most Korean-American women Eric works with carry the same quiet experience: they grew up Korean at home and American everywhere else. They speak Korean with grandparents but not perfectly. They cook Korean food at family gatherings but less than their mothers did. Hanbok is one of the threads back.
Why clothing carries culture differently than food or language
Korean food, you can eat any night. K-pop made Korean music global. Korean language has apps. Hanbok is rarer. For most Korean-American women, hanbok is reserved for ceremonies. Owning a piece changes that, slightly, by moving hanbok from “only at family weddings” to “available, on your own terms.”
Start with one piece, not a wardrobe
You do not need a full traditional ceremonial set on your first commission. Many customers start with a modern daily set in linen or a silk-blend jeogori that pairs with what they already own. See daily wear hanbok for what this looks like.
Once you wear it for a year, you start to understand what you actually want for the next piece. Almost no one regrets starting small.
Common first-piece occasions
Engagement photos for a Korean-American woman marrying outside the culture. Chuseok or Seollal photos for a daughter who lives across the country from her parents. A trip to Korea to visit family. A milestone birthday of a parent. A photo project the woman is doing for herself.
Eric has wired the most common occasions into the contact form, but if your reason is more personal, write it in. He reads every message himself.
Everyday modern hanbok as daily practice
Modern daily hanbok is genuinely wearable. A sage linen jeogori with a cream chima reads as a thoughtful long-skirt outfit with an unusual jacket. People at the coffee shop will not know it is hanbok unless they grew up around it.
Worn weekly, a daily hanbok stops being “a special thing” and becomes part of the wardrobe. That is the goal.
Eric’s perspective
Eric is Korean-American himself. He grew up in California with a Korean mother (Mrs. Lee Youngsook), watched her quietly maintain Korean traditions across decades, and built The Korean In Me so that other Korean-American families could find what she taught him.
He understands the texture of these decisions. Whether you are commissioning your first hanbok or trying to recapture a feeling from a grandmother’s closet, send him a message.
If you have a daughter
Children’s hanbok in your daughter’s size, even just for the next Lunar New Year, often becomes the photograph she keeps later. See children’s hanbok.
Talk to Eric
Looking for hanbok that reconnects you? Eric at The Korean In Me sources authentic hanbok personally from Seoul, inspects every piece in San Mateo, and works with each customer on sizing and color. Contact Eric to inquire →