“Global Spotlight Like K-Pop Demon Hunters”...Park Bo-gum’s Hanbok Heads to Times Square This Chuseok

On Chuseok day, actor Park Bo-gum will appear on the giant electronic billboards of New York’s Times Square dressed in traditional Korean hanbok. The project, part of the Hanbok Wave campaign jointly organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Craft & Design Foundation, aims to reimagine hanbok as a modern fashion statement and bring it to the world’s biggest cultural stage.

 First Male Lead for Hanbok Wave

The Hanbok Wave program collaborates annually with Korean celebrities to showcase the beauty of hanbok to the world. Figure skating icon Kim Yuna was featured in 2022, followed by singer-actress Suzy in 2023, and actress Kim Tae-ri in 2024. This year marks the first time a male actor has been chosen as the sole model: Park Bo-gum.

Park presents a new spectrum of men’s fashion by combining traditional curves with contemporary patterns in his hanbok looks. He actively participated in the creative process, expanding the imagery of men wearing hanbok beyond conventional limits.

 Designs Rooted in Tradition, Reimagined for Today

Top Korean hanbok designers joined forces for the project. The collection includes four distinct outfits: one embroidered with hibiscus to embody scholarly dignity, another reinterpreting Goguryeo attire, a silhouette inspired by jeogori and cheollik garments, and a design reflecting the bold spirit of traditional landscape paintings.

 Global Landmarks as Cultural Stages

The campaign video will be screened not only in Times Square but also in Paris’ Citadium Caumartin, Tokyo’s Shinjuku district, and Milan’s Piazza del Duomo. In Seoul, it will run throughout October at Shinsegae Square in Myeong-dong. Additional photo cuts and interviews will be released on social media on Chuseok, while a special edition photobook will be published by Harper’s Bazaar Korea on October 10.

The choice of Times Square and other global landmarks goes beyond mere advertising. These venues-visited by hundreds of thousands daily-are hubs of popular culture and fertile ground for viral social media content. By placing hanbok in such spaces, the project positions traditional Korean attire within the global fashion narrative.

 Riding the Wave of K-Pop Demon Hunters

The strategy also intersects with the explosive global buzz around K-Pop Demon Hunters (often abbreviated as “Kedeheon”), which has driven surging search volumes in 2025 through memes and soundtrack virality. This cultural momentum serves as a catalyst, making traditional elements like hanbok more naturally accessible to global audiences.

In this sense, the campaign is not just a fashion showcase but a symbolic act in the broader expansion of K-Culture -where tradition meets modernity, and the local merges with the global.

Official Statement

Lee Jung-mi, Director-General of Cultural Policy at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, stated:

“Through actor Park Bo-gum, we aim to present the refined aesthetics of men’s hanbok to the world and demonstrate how traditional culture can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with global trends.”

by Ju-baek Shin, The Korea Metaverse Journal

jbshin@kmjournal.net