Historic

Ideology of Korean Modern Girl's Fashion During 1920-1940

---

Abstract

During 1920-1930, a group of women called Modern Girls appeared in Korea. They wore Western style clothes, hairstyles, and make-up, as well as enjoyed leisure such as theatre, café, and shopping at department stores. The Modern Girls phenomenon in Korea was heavily influenced by the New Woman movement in Japan that was highly similar to the flapper movement in the United States. Modern Girls were the first group of women employed fashion for the demonstration of their ideological social identities in the Korean history. Korean Modern Girls’ fashion was the target of criticism for the disquieting ideas and messages implied in their fashion that shook Korean society’s ideological landscape of the era, especially regarding views of women’s rights and lives as well as ideal womanhood. The heated controversy for Modern Girl’s fashion well illustrates how different social groups respond to a specific fashion based on their ideological viewpoints.

Keywords: Modern Girls, Fashion, Womanhood, Ideology

How to Cite:

Cho, S., (2022) “Ideology of Korean Modern Girl's Fashion During 1920-1940”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings 79(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/itaa.15746