One Day Hanbok **Relocated**

When a country boasts lovely traditional clothing, I think it’s only natural to catch the attention of the foreign eye and invoke curiosity. The 한복 (hanbok) is certainly no exception. For many tourists, the ideal Korean experience would include the chance to roam the grounds of an ancient korean palace dressed in a colorful traditional hanbok. Luckily, this experience has become more easily attainable as of late.

Many places, especially those that attract tourists like Insadong and Myeongdong, provide various facilities and opportunities to try on hanboks. Photo studios, tourist information offices and even some of the palaces have hanbok on hand for visitors to try on. With the exception of professional photo studios, most of these options are either free or fairly cheap. So if you’re looking to try on a hanbok, take a few pictures and go on with your day… one of these options might best suit your needs.

Personally, I find that many of the previously mentioned places have really old hanboks or very limited options. If you’re looking for a more modern look, like what people wear today, you may not find what your looking for at these places. I also know that size can be a big issue for some foreigners, especially women who are bit top heavy or have a more voluptuous figure. So, if you’re looking for something a bit more you may want to consider renting a hanbok.

Recently my boyfriend suggested doing a photoshoot for 설날 (Seol-nal), aka Lunar New Year. We didn’t want to be limited by time, location or style, so we decided to look into various hanbok rental places to see what we could find. Eventually, we came across a place called One Day Hanbok.

Like the name implies, One Day Hanbok offers daily hanbok rentals, particularly for people looking to take pictures at the palaces. You can choose to rent per hour at ₩4,500 (minimum 2 hrs) or take advantage of their promotional prices. Currently, you can rent a hanbok for 4 hrs at ₩13,000 or 24 hrs at ₩26,000. For us, 4 hours was more than enough so we opted for that deal.

Next, we got to browse the hanbok selection. It wasn’t massive, but they had two nice full racks to choose from. It was a pretty good selection of different styles and colors. Their sizes also range from XS all the way up to XXL for both men and women. However, for children they do ask that you call in at least 2 weeks in advance to make sure that they have some options available. Luckily, we had no problem finding hanboks we liked in the right sizes. For girls, there are also various hair accessories to choose from at no additional cost!

Finally, in order to rent out the hanboks you have to pay for the rentals upfront and leave a deposit. For the deposit you have two options: You can leave your passport or ARC (Alien Registration Card) along with a ₩30,000 deposit (per hanbok) or you can leave a copy of your passport or ARC (Alien Registration Card) along with an ₩80,000 deposit (per hanbok). One passport/ARC is good for up to 4 people. You get everything back once you return them, so we went with the first option. We also had to sign a simple contract acknowledging the condition of the hanboks, our deposit option and that we will be charged extra for any damages. They keep a copy, give us a copy and that’s it! Pretty basic stuff.    

The guy who works there was very nice, helpful and also spoke English very well. He helped us find the colors and styles we were looking for, as well as help us get dressed. I didn’t want to go through the hassle of getting redressed later, so I wore my hanbok out of the store. If you don’t feel like wearing it out, like my boyfriend, a nice zip up bag will be provided for you. 

Overall it was a pretty good experience. The hanboks were nice, the service was great and the price was reasonable. So if you want to rent a hanbok, I definitely recommend this place! You can find it inside 을지로4가역 (Euljiro 4 Ga Station) in front of Chungmuro Station, exit 8. Click HERE for step-by-step directions or scroll down for more info. Also, as a bit of bonus info, if you wear a hanbok to any of the palaces… you get FREE admission. How awesome is that!?! Now get out there, grab a hanbok and get your picture takin’ on.

• Hours
  • 10:00am~8:00pm Everyday
• Address
  • 서울특별시 중구 퇴계로 213 일흥빌딩 3층 303호
  • #303 Floor 3, 125-3 Chungmuro 4-ga, Jung-gu, Seoul
• Reservations
  • [email protected]
  • Include: name, date, time, number of people
• Website
  • http://www.onedayhanbok.com