• Journal of the Korean Society of Costume
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• v.61 no.3
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• pp.1-19
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• 2011

In the process of modernization from the traditional Korean Han-bok to today's modernized fashion. The Republic of Korea received the most influences form the United States among other western countries. The U. S. A. was the primary country who helped to release S. Korea from Japanese colonization in 1945, and provided the most economic and military aids after the Korean War in 1950. The purpose of this case study is to find out the traits of Americanization in modern Korean fashion through sociocultural evidences and reference pictures. The Americanization can be defined as the U. S. A. influencing cultures of other countries, and sometimes resulted in the substitution of a given culture with American culture. Americanization generally is a part of westernization. The analogous terms for Americanization, are Coca-colonization, McDonaldization, Starbuckslization, and Hollywoodization. The theories related to Americanization are theory of economic determination, global system theory, conspiracy theory, modernization theory, and theory of dependence. However, Americanization of Korea cannot be explained in one single theory, but only can be explained as a hybrid of two cultures. There also is a critical viewpoint of de-Americanization. Americanization of Korea were studied in three important chronicles, a period of modernization (1945-1950s), a period of industrialization & popularization(1960s-1970s), and a period of consumerization(1980s-present). The traits of Americanization in the process of modernizing Korean fashion, were found as simplicity, functionality, popularity(kitsch & mimicry), anti-traditional ethics(unchastity & skin revealing), and materialism(lavishness & trends).