Abstract
This study examined the historical transition of the school uniform of Seoul National University (SNU) with regard to who created the uniform, why they created it, why it changed, and how it was abolished. It also aimed to reveal the connection between the academic uniform and the uniforms of the military training organizations established at the university. To recreate the history of the school uniform of SNU, we used archival and autobiographical sources as a primary source. In doing so, it become apparent that the history of the SNU uniform is connected with Korean modern history. After the Korean liberation from Japan, and during the United States Army Military Government in Korea (USAMGIK), Seoul National University was established as the most prestigious national university. With a polarizing of public opinion around the extreme Left and Right, SNU enacted a school uniform system to cultivate effective leaders of the anti-communist solidarity. As South Korea shifted to a wartime posture, the uniforms at the University became an identical style to a middle school uniform. In the post-war period, SNU created a new school uniform for males in 1955 and for female in 1957. As a result of a military coup in the early 1960s, regulations on school uniforms became stricter. By the mid-1960s, the uniform was redesigned into a blazer style reflecting the uplifting atmosphere in the university due to the economic development. However, by the end of 1960s, the state power tried to transform the university into a military camp. School uniforms were mandated for male students, and a School Drill Uniform appeared too. When Park Chung-Hee’s regime ended, the school uniform of SNU, the symbol of the militaristic control and the source of pride, was abolished.
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