Korea is probably the high-tech country on the planet and Korean pop is the most recent cultural wave, including music, cinema, soap operas, etc. that triumphs all over Asia and beyond. However, Korean young people have discovered a new love for a very traditional outfit, the handbok.

Why are young Korean urbanites, normally so inclined to adopt the most modern western fashion, so keen now to dress like their countryside grandparents used to for formal occasions?

Was the Korean development so rapid that this sudden transition was too much to absorb in just two generations and is now provoking a backlash, a strong desire to look and feel more traditional?