Imagine a woman strolling through a department store with no items on her shopping list. After all, she already has everything she could want.
This image depicts an affluent young woman inspired by the “Hyunbaek-core” fashion trend gaining traction on social media among Koreans in their 20s and 30s. The term pairs “Hyunbaek,” short for Hyundai Department Store, with the aesthetic-defining suffix “core.”
It is about more than expensive clothes. The appeal is looking well-dressed without seeming to have made an effort.
The look favors silk and cashmere over bold designer logos. Like quiet luxury and old-money fashion, Hyunbaek-core signals wealth through understated clothes. But it trades the tailored polish of old-money style for a more casual look, as if the wearer just threw on whatever was in her wardrobe.
Critics say the trend may speak to the appeal of being born rich. For young people who see fewer opportunities to get ahead through hard work, inherited wealth can seem all the more desirable.
The association also reflects the department store’s growing popularity with younger shoppers. With The Hyundai Seoul in Yeouido leading the push, the retailer has courted young, affluent consumers. People in their 20s and 30s made up 46.7 percent of its visitors in the first nine months of this year, compared with 37 percent in 2020.
junheee@heraldcorp.com