Geometric abstract art has been a persistent form since ancient times and is defined in modernity as a genre of abstract painting. According to previous studies, the geometric structure of traditional Korean costume possesses uniqueness based on Korean thought and philosophy. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to first derive the characteristics of Wilhelm Worringer’s theory, a theorist of geometric abstraction, and then compare the spiritual similarities between the traditional Korean costume and geometric abstract art, with the aim of examining the artistic competitiveness of Hanbok. Photographic materials from domestic and international museums, as well as books published by museums and government agencies, were analyzed. Further, the characteristics of Worringer's theory of the abstract impulse were derived. The results are as follows. First, the external factors are characterized by a single geometric shape on a flat surface with restrained spatial expression. The internal factors include anxiety, comfort from religion or ideology, and the need for a visual refuge for rest. Second, traditional Korean costume and geometric abstraction share common spiritual contexts of artistry, transcendence, and stability according to Worringer's theory. Third, the study of the spiritual similarities between the traditional Korean costume and geometric abstract art through Worringer’s theory reveals that the artistry of traditional Korean costume is expressed in universal forms, transcendence as intrinsic origins, and stability as a unique aesthetic consciousness. These findings provide a framework for reinterpreting the originality and universality of traditional Korean costume as Korean cultural content, infused with the characteristics of modern art.

Modernism is an internationally accepted design style. In addition, traditional Korean costume is not the clothing of the past, but its form is also used in modern fashion. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the social and cultural contents of the morphological structure of traditional Korean costume, in order to derive the design characteristics of modernism and examine the global applicability of traditional Korean costume structure. For this study, photographic materials from museums, schematic drawings of relics, and Hanbok production books published by government agencies were analyzed. Further, this study examined traditional Korean costume, especially the modernism characteristics derived from Paul Greenhalgh and previous studies. The results are as follows. First, The traditional Korean costume is a cut based on basic shapes, along with a silhouette appears according to the background of the times. Second, the characteristics of modernism can be divided into universality, functionality, and simplicity. Third, as a result of analyzing the form structure of traditional Korean costume based on the characteristics of modernism, universality is expressed as standardized form, functionality as practical aesthetics, and simplicity as sustainable diversity. Furthermore, Korean costume has a difference in that was greatly influenced by various Eastern ideas and aesthetics of the late Joseon Dynasty. These findings provide a perspective of modern reinterpretation of the uniqueness and universality of traditional Korean costume in line with globalization by utilizing the design characteristics of modernism, an international style.

A lot of work has been done on the topic of Korean traditional costume. In spite of the amount of the work, however, not much work has appeared that summarizes the overall research trend in such a way that we gain insights into the future direction of the Korean traditional costume field. This study aims to work out an analysis of the research trend that may shed light on the current status of the field and also on the things that have to be done to further develop the Korean costume design field. The analysis reported in this work is based on the articles that appeared in two journals: Journal of the Korean Society of Costume published by the Korean Society of Costume (2,661 articles from the year 1977 to 2019) and Journal of Korean Traditional Costume published by the Society of Korean Traditional Costume (762 articles from the year 1998 to 2019). The result of the analysis shows that only a very small amount of work is devoted to actual designing of Korean traditional costume, and this has to change to globalize Korean traditional fashion and draw worldwide attention to it. So more work is needed particularly on actual designing of Korean traditional costume. This does not mean that we simply have to maintain tradition and replicate the original designs, but we have to endeavor to work out novel designs by, for instance, creative destruction and restructuring, maintaining the essence of the tradition of Korean costume.