First-Generation Hanbok Designer Lee Rija Passes Away at Age 85

Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] Lee Rija (real name Lee Eun-im, photo), a first-generation Hanbok designer, passed away at 10:50 PM on the 21st due to old age. She was 85 years old.

She was the first in Korea to hold a Hanbok exhibition in 1975 and used the title of Hanbok designer. She sparked a Hanbok boom domestically and widely promoted the beauty of Hanbok internationally.

Born in 1935 in Nonsan, Chungnam, she graduated from Chungnam National University with a degree in English literature. Due to financial difficulties, she started sewing and opened a small Hanbok shop. Later, with her genius talent and effort, she became a master who greatly contributed to the development of modern Hanbok. In 1966, she established the Lee Rija Hanbok Research Institute and in 1970 developed and distributed the "Lee Rija-style Hanbok pattern" that complements the Korean body shape.

At that time, Hanbok was jar-shaped with pleats at the waist in a straight line. However, she designed skirts with a flared A-line hem, which had the effect of making Korean women appear taller on overseas stages.

From 1974 to 1977, she won the Best Folk Costume Award at global beauty pageants such as Miss Universe. She held over 100 Hanbok fashion shows worldwide in countries including the United States, Japan, China, and the United Kingdom, and was invited to the French pr?t-?-porter shows.

She led the fashionization of Hanbok by utilizing various decorative techniques such as saekdong (colorful stripes), gold leaf, and embroidery. Paintings of plum blossoms and magnolias by famous artists like Hong Seok-chang and Kim Geum-chul, as well as calligraphy by calligrapher Ahn Kwang-seok, were also incorporated into Hanbok. She made Hanbok for many notable figures. From Mrs. Francesca Rhee to Lee Soon-ja, Lee Hee-ho, and Kwon Yang-sook, the wives of former presidents wore Hanbok made by her. Even at the funeral of former President Syngman Rhee’s wife, Mrs. Francesca, she was dressed in Hanbok made by Lee Rija.

She was also the first to dress mannequins in Hanbok for display. In 1996, she built a Hanbok exhibition hall and founded the nonprofit organization Uriot Association.

In recognition of her contributions to the development of Hanbok, she received the Hwagwan Cultural Medal and the Shin Saimdang Award in 2002.

In the 2000s, she popularized Hanbok designs using patchwork fabric. After being diagnosed with stomach cancer in 2000 and starting her battle with the illness, she made clothes by sewing together small pieces of fabric. She donated Hanbok worn by first ladies to the National Folk Museum in 2009, and a special exhibition of Lee Rija Hanbok was held.

Her surviving family includes her husband Hwang Yoon-joo, former professor at Sangmyung University; eldest daughter Hwang Ui-sook, professor at Baewha Women’s University; eldest son Hwang Ui-won (business); and second son Hwang Ui-myeong (business).

The funeral is being held at the Seoul Red Cross Hospital funeral hall, with the funeral service at 10 AM on the 23rd, and the burial site is Pyeongon Forest in Yongin.

The family announced that due to the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), they will not receive visitors and will hold a private family funeral.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.