The Hotel Shilla Seoul pushes out a woman in hanbok, Korean traditional costume, saying, "No admittance! It's because hanbok is dangerous." The woman gets angry and asks, "What country's hotel is it?"
The hoo-ha started when hanbok designer Lee Hye-sun of Frozen Flower fame ( who usually goes around in hanbok) was denied entrance into the ParkView buffet restaurant at the Shilla Hotel on the grounds that she was ...well, wearing a hanbok. Apparently compliants from some hotel guests have prompted the hotel staff to discourage guests from wearing the national dress of Korea for fear of causing people to trip over its billowing and long hemlines.
It didn't take long for Shilla to respond to the furry of comments by enraged Netizens with a formal apology from none other than the Shilla CEO herself, Lee Boo-jin. BTW, she also happens to be the oldest daughter of Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Kun-hee.
The affronted designer and the CEO who had to do some damage control
Then again, what is really Shilla Hotel's policy on the hanbok? Wouldn't it be better for the hotel to put up notices to remind guests to be careful where they tread? For goodness's sake, surely that shouldn't even be necessary as everyone should exercise common sense and be careful when approaching someone in a hanbok. Personally I'd prefer to admire from a distance and would steer clear of any ajumma in a hanbok because I doubt I could afford to pay for her laundry bill if I accidentally bumped into her and spilled some gochujang on her dress or worse, if I have to pay compensation for a torn hanbok. Do you have any idea how expensive and hard to maintain these beautiful and delicate garments can be???
sources:
http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_entertainment/473002.html
http://www.koreaherald.com/lifestyle/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20110413000988
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2934882
