We’ve all seen the inclusion of various Korean culture throughout K-pop. From their traditional clothing Hanbok to their traditional foods, there’s never a shortage of Korean culture throughout the various themes K-pop groups/soloists have.
One of the most popular Korean culture themes for idols, though, tends to be the Korean school uniform. Since many idols start their careers when they’re still in high school—some have even been in middle school—the school theme overlaps easily for them. From brand deals with school uniform companies—for example, BTS had a sponsorship deal with Smart School Uniform for quite a few years—to the heavily incorporated school theme for albums—again, for example, ATEEZ’ Fever series albums all took place in a school theme where they dressed in school uniforms—you’ll find the Korean school uniform around every corner of K-pop.
If you’re looking for idols who’ve worn their own personal Korean school uniform, then look no further! We’ve compiled together a list of seven idols who showed up on V-Live rocking their own uniforms.
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The Korean School Uniform: General Information
Much like any other uniform, the Korean school uniform has a few basic things about it.
Firstly, there’s usually always a shirt, blazer, and tie (for both male and female students). For the males, they typically wear pants. Whereas the females typically wear skirts. It’s not uncommon for females to wear pants now, though, if they so choose to.
Of course, each school is different and each requires different styles worn. But these are just the basics you’ll see throughout the Korean school uniforms. Typically, they’ll have their school logos on the jacket so you can always tell which school they’re from without having to ask.
How popular is the Korean school uniform look for idols?
As mentioned earlier, it’s not too uncommon to see an idol rocking the school uniform—whether on stage or for a photoshoot, you’ll find plenty of idols wearing the uniform.
To appeal to a younger audience, many groups have adapted the school uniform look into their concepts and stage themes. For instance, in 2017, BLACKPINK came back with a performance of their song “As If It’s Your Last” on Music Core sporting slightly modified Korean school uniforms.
And the same is true for male groups in K-Pop. It’s notoriously known that EXO rocked the Korean school uniform look in their song “Growl,” but there are other groups that have taken on this theme as well. For their 2015 song “Mansae,” Seventeen took to wearing matching school uniforms for most comeback stages they performed. The music video itself even takes place at a high school, extending the school theme past just the wardrobe.
Again, as mentioned earlier, ATEEZ has recently done this with their Fever series albums (this includes their albums: Zero: Fever Part.1, Zero: Fever Part.2, Zero: Fever Part.3, and Zero: Fever Epilogue). For the first album of this series, the group released concept photos of them wearing their school uniforms and sitting on their desks.
And in the last album of the series, they released concept photos of them “graduating” from their series’ high school. Truly, this album series encompassed the entire school experience.
Image from ATEEZ’ Official Twitter
Where else do you see Korean school uniforms in entertainment?
If you’ve kept your eye on any Korean entertainment (besides K-Pop), then you might also recognize the school uniform theme carrying on in places that aren’t just idol-related. One of the most popular entertainment shows in Korea includes Knowing Bros. Though many idols do visit this show, it’s not their decision that makes them come decked out in their Korean school uniform.
Knowing Bros’ main theme includes the whole school concept. The main hosts/cast of the show sit at school desks in a classroom for the majority of each show. And their guests typically stand at the front of the classroom, much like a new student in school would do to introduce themselves.
Further, in some form, each person on the show is decked out in what can be considered their own take on the Korean school uniform.
Idols Wearing Their Korean School Uniform on V-Live
If you’re looking for some examples of idols wearing their school uniforms outside of their album themes and stages, then here are some that have shown off their uniforms on V-Live.
ONEUS (Hwanwoong)
At the end of 2021, ONEUS held their own Korean school uniform-themed fan sign where each member wore their high school uniforms (except the ones who couldn’t fit into them anymore). After it was over, Hwanwoong made an appearance on ONEUS’ V-Live wearing his uniform, stealing the hearts of their fans even more.
The Korean school uniform he wore was for the School of Performing Arts (SOPA) in Seoul, where he and many other idols his age graduated from. With its bright yellow color and well-known logo, this uniform should look quite familiar for idol fans. Many other admired idols who went to this school include some members from Seventeen, Joy from Red Velvet, Jungkook from BTS, members from Momoland, and plenty more.
For his V-Live on December 22, 2021, Hwanwoong talked with the fans and showed off his uniform for a little. He also posted selfies in his uniform on ONEUS’ Official Twitter account (which you can check out here). Unfortunately, there are no English subtitles for his V-Live, but feel free to check it out anyway.
TOMORROW X TOGETHER (Taehyun, HeuningKai, and Beomgyu)
One of the most common reasons we see idols wearing their Korean school uniform is simply because they’re still in school. Many fourth-generation groups in K-pop still have many members in high school. Because of this, we tend to see them wearing their uniforms on V-Live more often. This is the case for the members of TXT.
At the beginning of 2021, the youngest three members of TXT—Beomgyu, Taehyun, and HeuningKai—graduated from the Hanlim Multi Arts School. Like SOPA, Hanlim has also graduated quite the number of popular idols (including Seventeen’s WOOZI and ASTRO’s Cha Eunwoo).
The TXT trio has worn their Korean school uniforms on V-Live on multiple occasions. For instance, in July of 2020, the three of them decided to hang out with fans on V-Live and play Halli Galli.
The last time we see them decked out in their school uniforms is just before they graduated in February of 2021. They actually turn on the V-Live while still at Hanlim, fully decked out in their uniforms.
You can find the V-Live from 2020 here and the one from 2021 here.
CIX (BX, Yonghee, and Hyunsuk)
Though most (if not all) of the members of CIX have graduated from high school or received their GED, three of the members decided to show off their Korean school uniforms on V-Live a few months ago.
In November of 2021, CIX members BX, Yonghee, and Hyunsuk appeared on V-Live wearing their own school uniforms. Within the first fifteen minutes of the live, the three of them were showing off their uniforms like fashion models.
Though there are no English subtitles to understand what each member is saying (if you don’t understand Korean), they all are having more than enough fun to keep fans watching. From karaoke to yoga, you can watch the members of CIX rock their Korean school uniforms in a multitude of situations.
You can check out this V-Live here.
ITZY (Yuna)
Before her graduation, Yuna adhered to fan’s request and showed up on V-Live wearing her Korean school uniform. Much like the members of TXT, she graduated from the Hanlim Multi Arts School. She recently graduated at the beginning of February 2022.
For the hour-long V-Live, Yuna showed off her school uniform and had a nice chat with fans. She talked about various things that the fans were curious over, interacting quite a bit with the comment section.
You can watch this V-Live on ITZY’s channel here.
Stray Kids (Seungmin and Hyunjin [as well as I.N.])
To celebrate their graduation from high school in 2019, Stray Kids members Seungmin and Hyunjin hopped on V-Live to chat with fans while wearing their Korean school uniform.
Seungmin has his V-Live first on February 13, 2019 by himself in the car. In the short V-Live, only just past eleven minutes long, Seungmin spends it thanking fans for congratulating him and talking about his graduation. He talks about the bittersweet feeling of finally being done with school.
He graduated from Chungdam High School in Seoul.
You can watch his V-Live here.
On the other hand, Hyunjin had his V-Live the day after Seungmin, celebrating his own graduation. For his live, though, I.N. also made an appearance. Both were wearing their SOPA school uniforms and talking with fans over Hyunjin’s graduation.
You can watch Hyunjin and I.N.’s V-Live wearing their Korean school uniforms from SOPA here.
Twice (Chaeyoung and Tzuyu)
Just like Stray Kids’ Seungmin and Hyunjin, Chaeyoung and Tzuyu from Twice turned on V-Live while in the car for their graduation. They turned on the V-Live to share the last moments of wearing their Korean school uniform with the fans.
Both Chaeyoung and Tzuyu attended Hanlim and graduated in February of 2019. During their V-Live, the two walked down memory lane with their most memorable moments from high school and talked about how excited they were to be graduating.
As the last two to graduate from Twice, this was a special moment for both the group and the fans. Following their V-Live and graduation, the pair posted pictures in their uniforms on the group’s Instagram.
Image from Twice’s Official Instagram
You can watch their V-Live here.
ATEEZ (all members except Mingi and San)
Ending our list of idols who have worn their Korean school uniforms on V-Live, we have the group ATEEZ. Though all members of the group have already graduated from high school, they decided to give the fans a treat by showing off their school uniforms.
Around the release of their album Zero: Fever Epilogue, the group took turns jumping on V-Live and wearing their high school uniforms. It started with members Wooyoung and Yunho (in October) and ended with member Seonghwa (in December). Though it’s mainly because fans asked for the group to wear their Korean school uniform, it could also have something to do with their album. The Zero: Fever Epilogue album’s concept had a lot to do with graduation. It’s possible the members wore their school uniforms to match their concept.
Compared to some other groups, the members of ATEEZ went to quite a few different schools. Only two of the members—Yunho and Wooyoung—attended the well-known schools SOPA and Hanlim. Jongho, the youngest of the group, was the last to graduate in 2019—he graduated from Surak High School.
You can watch each of the members wearing their Korean school uniforms on V-Live here: Hongjoong’s V-Live, Seonghwa’s V-Live, Yunho and Wooyoung’s V-Live, Yeosang’s V-Live, and Jongho’s V-Live.
Has your favorite idol worn their Korean school uniform on V-Live?
Though this list only includes a small number of idols, there are still plenty more that have shown off their dashing Korean school uniforms for their fans. Whether they wore them because they’re still in school or just to show them to their fans, the Korean school uniform will always be an iconic look for idols.
If you’d like to get to know more about anything in the Korean culture, feel free to scroll through our Culture Category. And if you’d like to read more about idols, you can check out our K-Pop Category.
