"Is That a Daenggi on the Bag?" 250 Million Won Sales Sensation... Hanbok-Inspired K-Fashion [NE Coffee Chat]

Interview with Yerin Kim, CEO of K-fashion Startup Likehan
Transforming Traditional Materials into Everyday Products
Aiming for the Global Market... Targeting North America and Singapore

A bag made by combining black hanbok fabric with leather, featuring a traditional Daenggi attached to its side. This is not just a Daenggi-shaped decoration; it is an actual Daenggi, crafted by faithfully recreating the traditional process. This "Daenggibaek" has gained explosive popularity this year on crowdfunding platforms, generating sales of 250 million won. Likehan, the K-fashion startup behind this bag, creates products using traditional materials that can be experienced in everyday life. Their goal is the global market.

71to96 Daenggibaek. Likehan

On December 26, Yerin Kim, CEO of Likehan, said, "Our goal is to become a K-fashion house that transforms tradition into a modern lifestyle." The brand name for the K-fashion products created by Likehan, founded in 2022, is "71to96." The name comes from the birth years of her mother, designer Hyunhwa Yoo (born in 1971), and herself (born in 1996). At Likehan, her mother, a hanbok designer, is responsible for traditional materials, while Kim plans and launches modern products that appeal to younger generations.

Kim grew up watching the traditional culture consumer market gradually shrink while working alongside her mother, who specializes in hanbok. Nowadays, many brides and grooms no longer feel the need to wear hanbok at their weddings. Witnessing this, she began to consider how to reinterpret traditional materials to meet the expectations of modern consumers, which became her motivation for starting the business. She said, "I decided to create hanbok that someone in their twenties like myself could wear, and products that could be carried around."

Yerin Kim, CEO of Likehan (right), and designer Hyunhwa Yoo are posing for a commemorative photo. Likehan

The first product they launched in 2022 combined hanbok fabric with tracksuit material. The focus was on creating comfortable clothing that still showcased the beauty of hanbok. As more consumers responded positively, they continued to experiment with diverse ideas. Kim explained, "We made clothing embroidered with the five-clawed dragon pattern from the royal robe of the Joseon Dynasty, and to evoke a Korean sensibility, we incorporated the night sky of Gyeongbokgung Palace."

Although there have been many attempts to incorporate traditional materials into fashion, there are few cases of companies or brands achieving sustained growth. Kim analyzed that this is because most efforts have stopped at mere "borrowing." She said, "If it is just simple borrowing, consumers are not interested. At Likehan, even when creating patterns, a hanbok designer and a Western-style designer with a combined 90 years of experience work together to ensure high quality." Their strategy of developing products based on thorough consumer feedback has also proven effective. Kim said, "We are developing a wide range of products across various categories. From the production stage, we share the process on social media, monitor consumer reactions, and then decide which products to launch."

Likehan started with clothing. Beginning this year, they expanded their categories to include accessories such as bags, keyrings, and hats-a decision made with the global market in mind. Kim explained, "Unlike clothing, which is purchased depending on season and size, accessories like bags are more accessible to global consumers." Currently, Likehan's products are available on six domestic and three international platforms. They are also showcased at a select shop in New York, and are scheduled to enter an offline store in Singapore in April next year. Kim said, "While there is talk of K-pop, K-food, and K-beauty, there is still no leading K-fashion brand. I want to establish Likehan as the representative K-fashion brand that embodies Korean sentiment."