Park Shin Hye Was Delighted To Wear Dazzling Hanboks

"The Royal Tailors" is not just a story about a fashion conscious queen and the rivalry between royal tailors. It has also been described as a historical fashion show and a fascinating look into the fine art of making traditional Korean clothing.

In the film Park Shin Hye and Yoo Yeon Suk play a fictional Joseon era queen and king. They wear the traditional Korean clothing known as hanbok, although in the film it occasionally features a slightly modern twist.

Although the hanbok is still worn in Korea today, especially for formal and semi-formal occasions, it usually refers to the clothing worn during the Joseon era. A beautiful hanbok was a sign of wealth and influence among the nobility.

Park Shin Hye was lucky enough to wear more than 30 hanbok in the film. As "The Royal Tailors" was her first historical film, she said she delighted in the chance to wear such beautiful costumes. She was especially fond of the glittering dress her character wore at one royal banquet scene. It took 3,000 pearls and beads to create the one-of-a-kind dress.

"In a royal banquet scene, the queen wears a hanbok resembling a wedding dress that has an elegant and beautiful look," said Park Shin Hye at a press conference for the film.

Altogether more than 1,000 hanbok were created for the film, pushing the clothing budget to almost $1 million, which was a significant portion of the production costs.

Designer Cho Sang Kyung was enlisted to create the film's costumes. She focused on the Yeongjo period when historical records say that short jackets first became fashionable.

In the film, the queen has two designers and it is the desire to create stunning clothing for her that sets off a disastrous rivalry. This rivalry echoes through the palace creating political conflicts.

Han Suk Kyu plays Jo Dol Suk, the royal master tailor, who heads the sanguiwon. That's the section of the palace that deals with royal garments and medicine.  The film shows the details of how the costumes are created there.

Go Soo plays Lee Gong Jin, a gifted young designer, who is jealous of the royal tailor's power. So, Go Soo attracts notice by designing exquisite and unconventional clothes for the queen.

The clothes he creates impress the court and will likely impress viewers too.

The film's release date is Dec. 24.