Influence of the Korean War on Fashion

Street scene in Seoul, September 1953
The Korean War is sometimes referred to as "The Forgotten War" in the U.S. It wasn't highly publicized like World War II and Vietnam, and it was relatively short, lasting from 1950-1953.  However, it was one of the more impactful conflicts that still affects international relations today. The rate of civilian casualties in the war was higher than during World War II and Vietnam as well, and another generation of American GIs experienced war in a place they likely never would have ventured to otherwise.

(Read a summarized timeline of the war here.)

The conflict also affected the people back home. When troops went to war, many of them were traveling overseas for the first time in their lives. They stopped in various countries along the way to the front, oftentimes buying souvenirs and garments for loved ones back home. These little pieces from their travels made their way into the wardrobes of mothers, wives, girlfriends, and sisters all across America. 

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In addition, Americans back home learned about a country and culture they may not have ever encountered before. Although the first wave of Korean immigration to the U.S. began in 1903, most of the original 7,500 immigrants were contract workers on sugar plantations in Hawaii. Legislation in the 1920s effectively stopped immigration from Asia except for a relatively small number of students allowed in for college studies. 

Sgt. Johnie Morgan arrives in Seattle with his wife, 'Blue,' 1951. Source.
The Korean War sparked the second wave of Korean immigration to the U.S. as nearly 100,000 women and 300,000 children entered the U.S. as war brides and adoptees. Their acceptance into the wider American society (and Korean communities in the U.S.) was often mixed depending on marital status, race of their spouse, and racial mix (in the case of adoptees). However, they were now a part of American history, and the aesthetics and styles of Korean and other Asian cultures began making their way evermore into the American consciousness.

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Life in Busan (South Korea), around 1951
Life in Busan (South Korea), around 1951
When they landed in Korea, American GIs would have seen scenes similar to the pictures above and below showing the rural life of people in Busan around 1951. Traditional hanbok was still the main style of clothing for most Korean women at the time, though women in cities had begun to "modernize" and Westernize their fashions under pressure during the Japanese occupation of Korea in the previous decades. Still other women Westernized their look in response to the flood of American men landing on their shores--acts of survival, opportunism, and/or love. 


Life in Busan (South Korea), around 1951
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When American troops made their way to the Korean front, they traveled through (and sometimes took their leave/vacation time in) countries like Japan where there were other American bases and military presences. (This began with American troop movements around Asia during WWII and continued during the early 1950s.) These cultures' aesthetics also made their way to the U.S. in trinkets and souvenirs sent home, and later generic "Asian" or "Oriental" vibes were incorporated into Western clothing as ignorance about the distinct differences between Asian cultures was rampant.

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Korean Grandmother, 1952
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The mixing and refashioning of various Asian aesthetics had been happening over the last few decades in Western fashion, but the occurrence of the Korean War kept Asia in the minds of Americans. Souvenirs, pictures, and letters sent home gave them glimpses of far-off places. Conical hats, asymmetrical closures, Mandarin collars, dragon-laden silks, and frog closures were seen frequently in fashion throughout the 1950s and 1960s.  As the Vietnam War geared up, fashions would begin to include more long-length Vietnamese ao dai aesthetics.

Vogue, October 1958

Vintage advertisement, 1956

1956-7 Alden's Catalog Page
A late 1950s, early 1960s maternity set showing Asian influence from my own collection:

Further reading:

6 comments

  1. Thanks so much for this WONDERFUL post, so right up my alley! Hope you do many more of them.

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    1. I plan to! I like digging a bit deeper than just pretty dresses and hats every once in a while!

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  2. Sooo interesting!! I hear about Korean war in movies all the time but I completely forgot it was actually quite a short war - so yes indeed you don't see as many Korean American pieces. It's also interesting how they combine the Korean and Vietnamese influence and - you're totally spot on - slap the oriental label to just generalise them!! So interesting!! And again, another great and respectful report on cultural vintage :)

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  3. I love hearing reading these types of posts. I remember being very intrigued by the horribly inaccurate western reproductions of asian clothing lol Though I like the dress from the "Vintage advertisement, 1956" though I would want a different fabric (clearly)

    I think these mishmash of asian cultures totally has created misinformation about asian cultures. I still see people mixing up Chinese and Japanese clothes, and most Westerners don't know what a hanbok is. I remember someone trashing on Sandra Oh's dress on the red carpet, and it was clearly a nod to the hanbok. Later the writer apologized, but I can't find the article (apparently Sandra Oh's mother wore a hanbok to the Emmy's and now that is flooding the google search engine lol)

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    1. Ha, you're so right! I learned a lot about various types of traditional Asian clothing while pastoring at an intercultural church that had a lot of Asians in it. There is SUCH variety! I hope that as cultural minorities become more visible in the West that we'll get to see more of this diverse richness in the fashion here.

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