On July 12, 2023, at 6 o'clock, a wonderful event was held at the Floating Island Convention Hall on Sevit Island. On a beautiful day, Ms. Kim Kwang-ja, a hanbok designer, and Ms. Kim Ji-young, the director of the Global Cultural and Economic Exchange Association, united to complete a colorful and successful selection contest.
Following the opening ceremony
The event started with a welcome speech by Kim Kwang-ja, the CEO of Good Day Dazzling and a hanbok designer. According to the welcome speech
"This is the fifth hanbok event and the second event under the new name of the International Diplomatic and Cultural Ambassador Selection Contest." He emphasized that the purpose of the event is to introduce the beauty of hanbok, a Korean costume, and to open a space for exchanges to understand each other's culture by sharing traditional costumes of each country.
He also showed his joy in being able to showcase the traditional Korean hanbok, the fusion clothes that are welcoming the new era, and the traditional clothes of each country. Afterwards, Kim Kwang-ja said that he would like to ask everyone to enjoy another hanbok festival on a beautiful day and ask for a lot of love and interest in Korean hanbok in the future.
Good Day Dazzling is a hanbok brand that promotes hanbok to the world. Hanbok is our traditional clothing with beautiful lines and beautiful colors, and it has changed through the ages. It has evolved into the jerkin and skirt pants and jerkin we know today.
As hanbok passed through the flowering period and entered the modern era, it was not commonly worn in daily life and was rarely seen except at festivals and weddings."I want to promote hanbok that is disappearing from daily life to the world," said the founder of Dazzling Hanbok on a Good Day.
After realizing that "how to wear hanbok" is important to promote hanbok to the world, CEO Kim Kwang-ja came up with a new idea.
With the idea that hanbok worn in the traditional way is confusing and difficult to wear, Good Day Dazzling has been developing hanbok in a fusion style with the motif of western dresses.
The upper body of the skirt has a line like a dress and is finished with a zipper to make it easy to put on and take off.
In addition, they made hanbok with materials that are easy to store and resistant to dyeing, and began making hanbok with various fabrics from various countries, not just silk.
By solving the inconvenience of wearing traditional hanbok, the company vowed to continue its efforts to promote Korean hanbok to many people around the world beyond the Korean people.
The ceremony was followed by a congratulatory speech by Ms. Kim Ji-young, President of the Global Cultural and Economic Exchange Association.
The congratulatory remarks were as follows "Under the influence of k-TREND, various cultures such as Korean food, music, and drama have been influencing the world, and I am sure that Korean traditional costumes will also capture the hearts of the world and expand their interests. Following the congratulatory remarks, the Mexican Ambassador to Korea, H.E. Carlos penafiel soto, represented by the ambassadors of each country.
This was followed by the contestant stage with about 50 hanbok models who passed the preliminary round and made it to the main round. The special performances that were particularly popular on this day were the spear and singing of Kim A-Young, a Korean dancer, and Park Jun-Young, a shouter, who received a lot of applause. The most popular and eagerly awaited part of the event was the performance of the ambassadors and ambassadoresses of the various embassies. The traditional costumes, hats, and capes of each country were on display.
The first model was Ms. Marina Kazhurava from Belarus in traditional dress. The 170-centimeter blue-eyed beauty stunned the audience with her blue dress decorated with traditional embroidery. Next, the Ambassador's wife from Ecuador took the stage in a colorful traditional Korean dress, and her body type was so flattering that she looked beautiful in the hanbok.
Also, H.E. Teresa D-e Vega from the Philippines, who took time out of her busy schedule to attend the ceremony and showcase her traditional dress, wore off-white one-piece pants with Filipino features.
The highlight of the day was the Peruvian Ambassador's wife (Madan Jeanette Somocurcio) and her daughter (Ms. Duclos Somocurcio), who is learning Hangul in Korea, who shared the stage with their colorful Peruvian costumes, hats, and mantos, which attracted the most attention from photographers. The Indonesian Ambassador and his wife, dressed in traditional costumes, shared the stage together.
Madam Mahri Durdyyev of Turkmenistan showed off her colorful traditional outfit. The Ambassador and his wife from Sierra Leone were dressed in the same colorful traditional costumes and made a friendly appearance on stage.
In addition, the Ambassadors of Malaysia, Lebanon, Nigeria, Uzbekistan, Angola, Azerbaijan, Rwanda, and Cambodia, as well as the Consul Generals and Counsellors of the embassies of these countries, were present, and Mr. Park Dong-sun, Chairman of the HANAM Chain, was honored as the winner of the selection contest. The event was a wonderful event that specially showcased the traditional costumes of each country's embassies, ambassadors, and madams, and we look forward to next year's event.