Characteristics of American and Korean Outfits
Recently, Korean pop culture such as K-pop and Korean dramas have been introduced to the world. Americans had a chance to get to know the ways Koreans wear clothes. They might have realized that the style of clothes worn by Koreans is different from their own. Through the article below, we will examine the characteristics and differences of American and Korean outfits, and find out the cultural background for this.
Characteristics of American Outfits
For Americans, clothing is one of the means of revealing their individual freedom and values.
Americans take individual liberty seriously. They have a great sense of resistance to being violated or infringed on their freedom. For them, clothing is one of the means of revealing their individual freedom and values. As they discover and establish their personal identity, they find a social identity that suits them. Their personal identity refers to an individual’s disposition (extroverted, introverted, masculine, feminine, taste…), race, and so on. The social identity includes one’s social position, group affiliation, race, and etc. Accordingly, for most Americans, fashion trends do not play a significant role in choosing what to wear.
By understanding the ways mainstream white people wear their clothes, we can infer their cultural identity to some extent. The white Americans I have met are likely to enjoy revealing their tastes without showing off themselves too much by wearing less saturated and less formal clothes. Most of them tend to wear clothes that are modest and not showy. They treat clothes not as fashion items but as a practical means, and they don’t seem to take them that seriously. Even If they do, they try to make it look like they don’t care much about their clothes.
One of the reasons why they prefer practical and unobtrusive outfits is that American society itself stems from the idea of equality that abolished the aristocracy and slavery. Another reason is that they value the sense of community as Americans. They consider it important to have an altruistic attitude while living in harmony with the people around them. And they tend to perceive people who dress up too much as selfish people who think only about themselves. In order not to undermine the sense of community and upset the people around them, they refrain from exposing their vested interests by overdressing themselves.
The above attitude also originates from other American values; they consider it taboo if someone tries to be perfect in every way. Americans tend to think that people who look too perfect or try to look perfect are not sincere. They are in favor of people who acknowledge and can admit their flaws. This tendency is also evident in the American mass media. When a talented, good looking person — especially a white person — dresses up to perfection on a TV show or a movie, that person is usually portrayed as a bad guy.
They also show a specific social identity by wearing clothes of a certain color or style. Many New England white people like to wear green-colored clothes to reveal their Irish ancestry and enjoy a conservative yet rustic look. Conversely, people of color tend to express their socially oppressed values through high-saturated colors and fashion trends in their outfits.
Characteristics of S. Korean Outfits
For Koreans, clothing is not an expression of individuality, but rather a means of expressing a sense of belonging to the group they belong to.
Koreans tend to value group consciousness and values more than individual freedom and regard it as a virtue to follow them. They also tend to easily accept group values as personal values. For them, clothing is not an expression of individuality, but rather a means of expressing a sense of belonging to the group they belong to or want to belong to. They reveal their social identity through their clothes and equate it with their personal identity. In Korea, social identity means social position, group culture, current trends, etc. Personal identity refers to an individual’s disposition (extroverted, introverted, masculine, feminine, taste, and so on). For Koreans, their personal identity, such as taste, is a means of revealing how well they fit into social standards. This originates from Korean culture which seeks to find individual values through social standards and comparison with others. Therefore, in Korea, when a current trend or individual’s social position changes, the individual’s outfits and taste are likely to change accordingly.
We can infer the cultural identity of Koreans to some degree through examining the ways they wear clothes. In Korea, there is no great objection to wearing clothes that are exaggerated or that make them stand out. They are used to expressing their opinions directly, so they tend to wear clothes that reveals their intentions directly. Also, Koreans view perfection and the pursuit of perfection as virtues. They openly dress themselves up according to the social standards and try to imitate perfect people shown in the media.
Even in Korea, there are negative views on people who try to look too top-notch or perfect. But the behaviors are not taboo as they conform with the society’s standards. Therefore, many Korean TV shows have positive views on good-looking people grooming and adorning themselves.
Koreans tend to have negative views on people who pursue their own identity without conforming to social standards, and who talk down on the people trying to meet the social standards. In America, on the other hand, there is a tendency to criticize people who try too hard to look perfect or who do not accept others’ criticism; they are considered as under-socialized.
The collective consciousness and values of modern Koreans are greatly influenced by external environments such as American culture. In today’s Korean outfits, Western and Korean values are simultaneously revealed. Trends derived from a mixture of zeitgeist cultures imported from the West (startup, hip-hop, LGBTQ, etc.) and the values pursued by Koreans are rapidly being incorporated into Korea’s mainstream culture.
The article was written based on the author’s experience; subjectivity may be involved. If you have any different thoughts from the opinions expressed in the article, please share your thoughts through the comments. We welcome rich conversations on the topic.
Written on February 5, 2022 (Drafted in 2020)
Contact us: kshin@allthatculture.co
