초록
This study aims to investigate various cultural activities of the Korean youth including the subcultural and popular cultural activities and their characteristics and influences on the youth fashion during the period 1996-2004. This study employs a qualitative approach based on the previous discussions of relevant literatures dealing with Korean youth culture and their fashion styles. The result of the study shows that the most prominent characteristic in youth fashion of the period was 'bricolage.' The appearance of 'Seotaiji' and the activities of his group laid the cornerstone of youth culture in the early 1990's. The influence of postmodernism changed the conventional sexism and androgynous outfit thrived. The androgynous effect also had strong influence on men's fashion in what turned out to be Metro-Sexual in early 2004. During the period 2000-2004 the postmodernism regained its popularity both in culture and fashion. 'Body' was also an important part of youth culture and has become the most popular and prevalent word of this era. At the same time the 'Well-Being' and sports look were the new trend of youth fashion. Sports look, also known as Caports, is one of these new trends and the most important youth fashion style like mix & match reformation. The youth became more and more aware of the body image and were interested in fashion as well. This trend awareness of their body and Well-Being image as well as their inclination to the fashion in the youth is expected to continue. Therefore the fashion industry, as their marketing strategy, needs to analyze the characteristics of the cultural trends among the youth and to prepare for the future need of youth fashion.