In our recent travels in both Thailand and South Korea, we became very interested in the cultural phenomenon of people visiting historic sites (like temples, palaces etc) and dressing up in replica clothing from ancient times.
The trend seems to be particularly evident in those two countries, although I believe it’s common in Japan too, and maybe on a smaller scale in other nations as well.
A lot of it is of course about social media, with people often seeming much more interested in getting photographs of each other than they are in exploring and experiencing the place they are visiting.
But there are other things going on too, such as wanting to express cultural pride (a large proportion of the costumed people are locals), and just having fun with a bit of escapist role-play.
And there are now plenty of businesses offering costume hire located outside the major historical venues.
At the Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul, the authorities even offer free entry to people wearing traditional hanbok outfits. But the entry fee waived is only KRW3000 (less than AU$3), so that’s not likely to be a major incentive.
And the day we were there was the last Wednesday of the month, which is designated as ‘Culture Day’, and entry to many sites and institutions is free.
You can usually tell the people in rented costumes – because they are probably still wearing their sport shoes!
These costumed characters (below) were not actually visitors to the Palace, but staff performers who were on the way to a stage performance. Gorgeous costumes…
