Renting a hanbok and walking around Seoul in it has become a cool activity for both tourists and locals alike. The popular area where you can see people strolling and sightseeing in hanboks is Jongno-gu, home to four of the five grand palaces of Seoul and the traditional neighborhood of Insadong and Bukchon.
Since planning our trip to South Korea, suiting up a hanbok was already part of our to-do list. We wanted to visit the palaces and capture the historic feels by wearing such traditional clothing. We also wanted to look good and take lots of photos for social media sharing. Lastly, we wanted to take advantage of the free admission to the palaces when wearing a hanbok.
The great news is there are a lot of hanbok rental shops all over central Seoul. We were able to research several shops before choosing Hanbok Girls due to its proximity to Gyeongbokgung Palace and the positive reviews on Google. We tried making a reservation via email but Hanbok Girls only accept reservations for groups of 10 or more. Although there are no guarantees that there'll be no queue and we'll be getting our preferred hanboks, we still decided to try our luck walking in.
We walked from the Yellow Brick Hostel to the shop. Hanbok Girls is located along a narrow street named Jahamun-ro 2-gil. We did not have any problems finding it as it is just a block away from the National Palace Museum or the southwest side of Gyeongbokgung Palace complex. We just looked for the Hanbok Girls signage and found the shop inside a low-rise blue building along the street. The shop is on the third level. If taking the subway, Hanbok Girls is about 2-3 minutes from either Exit 3 or 4 of Gyeongbokgung Station.
Upon arrival, we saw that there were already a couple and a group of girls who came ahead of us. We were warmly welcomed by one of the two staffs. We started to ask questions about the rates and availability. The staff spoke very little English so it was quite a challenge getting the message across. Good thing there was a board where the prices were listed and we attempted to communicate in a combination of basic words and sign language.
Hanbok Girls has about 600 selections of hanboks in different designs, colors, and sizes. For men, the selection is much smaller than the women's section. It was a good thing that we arrived early so we were able to choose and get sizes for our preferred designs.
After waiting for our turn, the staff helped us in identifying our sizes. By just looking at our frame, she was able to give us the right-sized baji or loose pants, and jeogori or basic upper garments. We then proceeded to the fitting area. Since the weather was pleasant outside, we took off all of our clothes except our underwear and tried on the garments. Once we were in our basic hanbok, she made suggestions on the designs of the durumagi or vest to be worn over the hanbok that would look best on us. We chose vests worn by a yangban or noble man, and worn by a wangseja or crown prince.
She helped us put on the vests and tied the ribbon herself. She tried explaining that the distinction between men and women hanboks, aside from the skirts, are the way the ribbons are tied. She also chose and put on the belts that would match our hanboks. After that she asked if we would want to add some accessories. We chose to add a gat or a headgear.
After being styled, we were instructed to leave our things in designated lockers. The lockers are free of charge.
We decided to rent the hanboks for the entire day since we planned to visit as many sites as we can. For two sets, we paid a total of KRW75,900. Although it was more expensive than some rental shops, we can say that it was all worth it. We were attended well and in comparison to what we saw in the palaces, our hanboks looked noticeably better in terms of design and quality.
The whole process took about 40 minutes. Afterwards, we went on to stroll around Seoul's grand palaces and traditional neighborhoods.
By 6:00PM our rental time was up and we had to return our hanboks. We were surprised that there were more people in the shop than it was when we were there in the morning. We thought they were there waiting to return their rented clothes, but they are just about to start their day in a hanbok. It never crossed our minds to visit the palaces after sunset but we could probably try it in our next trip.
Overall, we were pleased with our hanbok experience. We would definitely recommend Hanbok Girls to anyone who wants to try the Korean traditional clothes while they are in Seoul!
Check out the website of Hanbok Girls here.
If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below. Let us know if you are excited to try on a hanbok now!
Read our other Seoul-related posts:
Seoul: A Budget Travel Guide for Juans
Seoul: A Travel Guide for First Timers
How to Apply for a South Korea Tourist Visa for Filipinos
Experiencing Palatial Grandeur Inside Gyeongbokgung Palace
Seeing from Above the N Seoul Tower
Beyond Seoul: Exploring Nami Island
Beyond Seoul: Visiting the Garden of Morning Calm
Beyond Seoul: Being Inspired at Petite France
How to Get to Nami Island, Petite France, and the Garden of Morning Calm
Waking Up to Good Things at Yellow Brick Hostel Seoul
How to Claim Shopping Tax Refund in South Korea
Since planning our trip to South Korea, suiting up a hanbok was already part of our to-do list. We wanted to visit the palaces and capture the historic feels by wearing such traditional clothing. We also wanted to look good and take lots of photos for social media sharing. Lastly, we wanted to take advantage of the free admission to the palaces when wearing a hanbok.
 |
| A beautiful wangseja hanbok |
We walked from the Yellow Brick Hostel to the shop. Hanbok Girls is located along a narrow street named Jahamun-ro 2-gil. We did not have any problems finding it as it is just a block away from the National Palace Museum or the southwest side of Gyeongbokgung Palace complex. We just looked for the Hanbok Girls signage and found the shop inside a low-rise blue building along the street. The shop is on the third level. If taking the subway, Hanbok Girls is about 2-3 minutes from either Exit 3 or 4 of Gyeongbokgung Station.
Upon arrival, we saw that there were already a couple and a group of girls who came ahead of us. We were warmly welcomed by one of the two staffs. We started to ask questions about the rates and availability. The staff spoke very little English so it was quite a challenge getting the message across. Good thing there was a board where the prices were listed and we attempted to communicate in a combination of basic words and sign language.
Hanbok Girls has about 600 selections of hanboks in different designs, colors, and sizes. For men, the selection is much smaller than the women's section. It was a good thing that we arrived early so we were able to choose and get sizes for our preferred designs.
After waiting for our turn, the staff helped us in identifying our sizes. By just looking at our frame, she was able to give us the right-sized baji or loose pants, and jeogori or basic upper garments. We then proceeded to the fitting area. Since the weather was pleasant outside, we took off all of our clothes except our underwear and tried on the garments. Once we were in our basic hanbok, she made suggestions on the designs of the durumagi or vest to be worn over the hanbok that would look best on us. We chose vests worn by a yangban or noble man, and worn by a wangseja or crown prince.
She helped us put on the vests and tied the ribbon herself. She tried explaining that the distinction between men and women hanboks, aside from the skirts, are the way the ribbons are tied. She also chose and put on the belts that would match our hanboks. After that she asked if we would want to add some accessories. We chose to add a gat or a headgear.
 |
| Hanbok accessories c/o Hanbok Girls website |
We decided to rent the hanboks for the entire day since we planned to visit as many sites as we can. For two sets, we paid a total of KRW75,900. Although it was more expensive than some rental shops, we can say that it was all worth it. We were attended well and in comparison to what we saw in the palaces, our hanboks looked noticeably better in terms of design and quality.
The whole process took about 40 minutes. Afterwards, we went on to stroll around Seoul's grand palaces and traditional neighborhoods.
By 6:00PM our rental time was up and we had to return our hanboks. We were surprised that there were more people in the shop than it was when we were there in the morning. We thought they were there waiting to return their rented clothes, but they are just about to start their day in a hanbok. It never crossed our minds to visit the palaces after sunset but we could probably try it in our next trip.
Overall, we were pleased with our hanbok experience. We would definitely recommend Hanbok Girls to anyone who wants to try the Korean traditional clothes while they are in Seoul!
 |
| Hanbok Girls is Two Juanderers-recommended |
If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below. Let us know if you are excited to try on a hanbok now!
Read our other Seoul-related posts:
Seoul: A Budget Travel Guide for Juans
Seoul: A Travel Guide for First Timers
How to Apply for a South Korea Tourist Visa for Filipinos
Experiencing Palatial Grandeur Inside Gyeongbokgung Palace
Seeing from Above the N Seoul Tower
Beyond Seoul: Exploring Nami Island
Beyond Seoul: Visiting the Garden of Morning Calm
Beyond Seoul: Being Inspired at Petite France
How to Get to Nami Island, Petite France, and the Garden of Morning Calm
Waking Up to Good Things at Yellow Brick Hostel Seoul
How to Claim Shopping Tax Refund in South Korea
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