BTS hanbok designer Kim Rieul passed away this week, his family confirmed on the 12th. He was just 32 years old.
Kim Rieul, the hanbok designer for top K-pop idols like BTS and MONSTA X, sadly passed away on Tuesday night, according to Korean media reports on February 12. He was only 32 years old.
Rieul’s family, who confirmed the sad news and said that, “It is true that Kim Rieul passed away yesterday,” as reported by Chosun Biz. His family has still not shared the cause of his death. Rieul’s real name was Kim Jong Wong.
ABOUT KIM RIEUL
Kim Rieul, a modern hanbok designer, was born in 1993 in Namwon, North Jeolla Province. In 2023, he was included in Forbes’ list of Asia’s 30 Under 30 Leaders. He first gained attention in 2016 when he started his own brand, ‘Rieul,’ and introduced his unique hanbok designs.
Kim became more famous when BTS wore his hanbok-inspired black outfits during their stunning performance of “Idol” at Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul. This performance aired on NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in 2020 and amazed fans worldwide. BTS members RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook rocked his designs, making his work even more popular.
Kim’s brand not only created stylish hanbok outfits for BTS but also designed beautiful pieces for other famous K-pop stars. His work was worn by MONSTA X (Shownu, Minhyuk, Kihyun, Hyungwon, Joohoney, IM, and former member Wonho), CLC, Zico, Tiger JK, and many more.
Rieul’s modern hanbok brand combined traditional style with modern comfort
In a YouTube interview with AYO, Kim Rieul expressed that his idea came when he noticed how excited his international friends were to rent and wear hanbok in Korea. However, he also realized that traditional hanbok is not always very comfortable.
Kim Rieul wanted to make hanbok easier to wear for modern people, so he started designing hanbok suits. He changed the traditional outfit to suit today’s fashion and began renting his designs for free to people representing Korea. This way, more people around the world could see and learn about hanbok. For Kim, promoting Korean culture was more important than making money.
Kim Rieul explained why he was interested in hanbok while growing up in Jeonju, a historic city. In a 2021 interview with The Korea Herald, he stated, “I saw many hanbok rental shops opening in a tourist village. The rental business became popular less than 20 years ago. But as the market grew, problems appeared, many shops started using cheap Chinese fabrics instead of real Korean ones.”
Bringing Back Traditional Korean Clothing
Even though Kim Rieul had no background in fashion,he was actually a big soccer fan,he wanted to make hanbok a part of everyday outfits. At that time, hanbok suits didn’t exist, so he started creating them from scratch.
However, his journey wasn’t easy. Almost all hanbok makers and factories refused to work with him because making hanbok suits was difficult and time-consuming. Also, hanbok fabric is hard to handle. It took Kim six months to make his first hanbok suit.
Social media changed everything. When he posted photos of his designs on Instagram, they quickly got over 20,000 likes in just a week. His unique fashion ideas made him famous, and soon, he became one of the most in-demand hanbok designers among celebrities and local designers.
Kim didn’t stop at suits,his brand also experimented with new fashion styles by mixing hanbok with tennis skirts, leather jackets, and sweatshirts, creating fresh and modern looks while keeping the traditional Korean essence.
