• Journal of the Korean Society of Costume
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• v.65 no.7
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• pp.129-144
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• 2015

This study is aimed to better understand the lifestyle and fashion trend of Korea in 1954 and 1955, a period right after the Korean War. The study examined "The Journey of Duty", which was a color slide film of Seoul and Suwon made by a US soldier stationed in Korea during that time, as well as various documents. The films are assumed to be outcomes of the US Army wanting to record the situation in Korea, and the study was able to use 110 of the slides to examine the fashion trend of the times. There are three noticeable trends shown on "The Journey of duty". Koreans in western clothes, women wearing work pants called Momppae, and black color being in fashion. Most of the men and the children either wore only western clothes or western clothes with the Hanbok. But women rarely wore western-style clothing, such as blouse with skirt. They usually wore Hanbok or wore reformed Hanbok. The work pants, Momppae, becoming an everyday wear is the most unique finding from the slides. Women either wore just the pants or over the traditional Korean skirt. Black-colored clothes were in fashion. This color first spread after the Costume Reform Movement in the 1920s' and the prohibition of white robe. The wearing of white clothes did increase after the Korean liberation in 1945, as national spirit was promoted. However, many people still wore black due to economic reasons, as we as practical reasons. So the Korean fashion in 1954-1955 was in a transition period, as people were beginning to change their daily wears from traditional Korean costumes to western-styled clothes. The reasons for this change could be attributed to people only having access to western goods, as well as their awareness of western-styled clothes being more practical.