A study on colour associations and clothing colour choices in Korea

The goal of the research under discussion was to examine clothing colour choices made for different occasions and the emotional effects of different colours on the wearer, based on social norms and colour associations in South Korea. The research included a review of literature on colour associations, fieldwork on social dress codes, one-on-one interviews with 10 subjects, a three-week observation of these subjects wearing different coloured clothing and follow-up interviews. The results may be summarised as follows: First, people are affected by social norms when choosing which colour to wear. Second, clothing colour has an impact on the feelings of the wearer, which are then conveyed through facial expressions and body language. Third, clothing colour is an effective way of influencing the self emotionally. A person can improve his or her mood by wearing a cheerful colour, and all subjects involved in the research were found to ‘feel good’ in the colour they thought they looked attractive in.