Seoul is fast becoming a fashion hotspot. Many influences from K-dramas and K-pop come as a mishmash of Korea’s stylish traditions combined with modern Western fashion ideas.
All this brings about K-fashion, which is a mix of color, texture, fabric, and patterns amid a backdrop of pop, hip-hop, and R&B.
Because clothing and self-expression are major factors among Koreans, there are many clothing designers on the scene.
Therefore, the following list is the 20 Korean streetwear brands that are a must-see. They provide innovation, character, and panache in conjunction with creativity.
Regardless of which brand, each designer brings something special to the table.
They range from the practical and affordable to the avant-garde and expensive.
Korean Streetwear Brands Overview
Korea has a long history with fashion, devising its own beautiful and stylish garments throughout millennia.
But, they aren’t afraid to play, mix and experiment with other styles. Indeed, their haute couture blends the modern in the most creative and original ways.
These 20 Korean streetwear brands defy traditional fashion while staying in line with modern trends, fads, and looks.
What makes them stand out from Paris, Milan, or New York is their ability to use gauche colors while focusing on lines, symmetry (or not), and specialized cuts in a significant way.
The streetwear labels here are not in any particular organization or lineup.
Each comes with details about their websites, what year they established, how affordable they are (indicated by “$” – $ cheapest and $$$$ most expensive), and sneak peek videos.
- Hyein SEO
- Münn
- Goen.J
- The Nohant
- 99percentis (99%is)
- IISE
- KANGHYUK
- Charm’s
- Mahagrid
- ChanceChance
- Post Archive Faction (PAF)
- Beyond Closet
- thisisneverthat
- KORE Limited
- AderError
- The Bald Tiger
- D-Antidote
- Lianox
- pushBUTTON
- 13Month
1. Hyein SEO
- Year Established: 2014
- Designer/Founder: Hyein Seo
- Affordability: $$$$
- Website: https://hyeinseo.com/
Hyein SEO is a very popular fashion brand, especially among celebrities like Rihanna in the United States.
This high-end streetwear company offers some of the best clothes with a sexy edge. They’re the antithesis of traditional Korean social and conservative ideas.
They employ a sparse palette of colors and combine them with complex silhouettes.
For the fashion savvy, the style of Hyein SEO harkens back to Fenty x Puma collaborations. This is why many American hip-hop stars are flocking to the label in droves.
2. Münn
- Year Established: 2013
- Designer/Founder: Han Hyun-min
- Affordability: $$$$
- Website: http://munnseoul.kr/
For an androgynous line that delivers a balance between practical streetwear and brilliant cuts, Münn does not disappoint.
Every ensemble incorporates a variety of fabrics, colors, and textures with interesting and astonishing accessories.
They go beyond pushing the envelope and tread into risky territory with asymmetrical shapes.
3. Goen.J
- Year Established: 2012
- Designer/Founder: Goen Jong
- Affordability: $$$$
- Website: https://goenj.com/
From shirts and jackets to jumpers and dresses, Goen.J has it all! They provide luxury fashion that burgeons with romantic sentiments melded with a balance of structure and delicacy.
The designs make a visual impact and promote the dynamism influenced by the Paris fashion world.
4. The Nohant
- Year Established: 2012
- Designer/Founder: Noah Nam
- Affordability: $$ to $$$$
- Website: http://en.the-nohant.com/
The Nohant is famous for its casual streetwear styles that are more subtle and less eccentric than the ones mentions so far.
They have simple, practical clothing that’s very affordable to the more daring and expensive.
There are ruby-striped tees, hoodies, sweatsuits, and varsity jackets, as well as dusters, denim, and polos.
5. 99percentis (99%is)
- Year Established: 2011
- Designer/Founder: Bajowoo (Park Jong-woo)
- Affordability: $$$ to $$$$
- Website: https://en.99percentis.com/
Balancing a bit of the cute, cool, and creepy, 99percentis specializes in streetwear with a flair for the post-apocalyptic.
They design shirts, jackets, and pants with unusual face masks that reflect punk and motorcycles.
It presents a persona of anarchy and rebellion. This brand is a favorite of Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga.
6. IISE
- Year Established: 2013
- Designer/Founder: Terence & Kevin Kim
- Affordability: $$ to $$$
- Website: https://iise.co/
By infusing traditional elements of Korean culture with that of modern streetwear style, IISE truly stands out.
Their gender-neutral clothing has a relaxed de la mode with pragmatism and timeless cuts. The name, “IISE,” translates to “second generation.”
But what makes them really rise above the rest is their eco-conscious manufacturing practices along with using only local fabrics.
7. KANGHYUK
- Year Established: 2017
- Designer/Founder: Kanghuyuk Choi & Sanglak Shon
- Affordability: $$$$
- Website: not applicable
KANGHYUK’s focus is on utilizing pure materials with sensible design techniques. The creators often obtain inspiration from various iconography not commonly connected to fashion.
As an example, their launching line comprised vehicle airbags as the basis of materials. Their recent collaborations with Reebok attract many Americans.
8. Charm’s
- Year Established: at least since 2016
- Designer/Founder: Yohan Kang
- Affordability: $$ to $$$$
- Website: http://en.charms.kr/
Combining past eras (1990s with a tip of the hat to the 60s and 70s) alongside Japanese post-war rebellion and Hong Kong street gangsters, Charm’s makes what’s old new again.
It’s bold with a bit of grunge yet chic and modern. This is one of the streetwear brands most sought after by K-pop celebrities throughout Korea.
Their whole line shouts fun and sleek silhouettes with cool, calm fashion.
9. Mahagrid
- Year Established: 2017
- Designer/Founder: Doo Jin Lee
- Affordability: $ to $$
- Website: https://mahagrid.net/
Inspired by the skateboard culture of 1990s, Mahagrid features striped polos, baseball caps, tye-dye shirts, skate decks, and board shorts.
This fashion is very affordable and much more accessible than the other streetwear brands on this list. It’s ideal for daily wear or sports with lots of action.
10. ChanceChance
- Year Established: 2013
- Designer/Founder: Kim Chan
- Affordability: $$ to $$$$
- Website: http://chancechance.co.kr/
ChanceChance is a little-known fashion brand from Korea. They blend streetwear with punk and a dash of dandy.
They offer a colorful wardrobe with fabrics containing multiple textures. They’re practical and affordable yet display that bit of panache.
The K-pop boy band BTS endorses this clothing line too.
11. Post Archive Faction (PAF)
- Year Established: 2018
- Designer/Founder: Dongjoon Lim & Sookyo Jeong
- Affordability: $$$
- Website: https://postarchivefaction.com/
The streetwear presented by Post Archive Faction relays a post-modern zaniness to their style.
It recalls early Gareth Pugh but utilizes a much bolder and brighter palette of colors with a touch of chaos. PAF is highbrow, extremely experimental, bizarre, and chic.
However, they are also very accessible while providing the ultimate in haute couture.
12. Beyond Closet
- Year Established: 2008
- Designer/Founder: Ko Tae-yong
- Affordability: $ to $$$
- Website: http://beyondcloset.com/
Beyond Closet’s name reflects this streetwear brand’s mission: to produce pieces that go beyond hanging in the closet.
This varsity-inspired clothing label offers attractive and trendy threads that blend funky street with preppy high school.
All of which intend to celebrate style with a sense of individuality.
Their lines and collections are comfortable and cute with shirts, sweaters, graphic knits and so much more.
They have a very casual and unique approach to life and clothing. Plus, Ko Tae-yong loves to incorporate comedy with a laid-back appeal in his dealings with others.
13. thisisneverthat
- Year Established: 2009
- Designer/Founder: Cho Nadan, Choi Jonkyu, & Park Inwook
- Affordability: $ to $$
- Website: https://intl.thisisneverthat.com/
Offering pre-shredded baseball hats, distressed workman’s jackets and pre-scuffed New Balance sneakers, thisisneverthat is practically indistinguishable from Western clothing lines.
They utilize minimalism with an urban fashion sense. All of their clothes are simple, affordable, and great for the daily grind.
14. KORE Limited
- Year Established: 1998
- Designer/Founder: Jeremy Price
- Affordability: $ to $$
- Website: https://korelimited.com/
While many other designers on this list have varying styles and collections, KORE Limited offers only streetwear fashions based out of California.
Even though they’re Americans, they stay true to their Korean heritage. In fact, KORE is an acronym double entendre meaning, “keepin our roots eternal.”
It’s flashy and practical yet affordable and comfortable. The brand caters to a wide range of people to men, women, and children alike.
Korean celebrities love them, and they’re gaining worldwide popularity.
15. AderError
- Year Established: 2014
- Designer/Founder: Kevin
- Affordability: $$$ to $$$$
- Website: https://en.adererror.com/
As one of the top unisex streetwear brands on the Korean fashion scene, AderError is an original, offering eye-catching digs in a rare presentation.
They’re incredibly colorful, incorporating daring palettes in oversized garments.
They have even engaged in large partnerships with other brands like CASETiFY and Zara, among a host of others.
These collaboration efforts have put AderError on the map, with a huge customer base stemming from the United States.
16. The Bald Tiger
- Year Established: Unknown
- Designer/Founder: Unknown
- Affordability: $ to $$
- Website: https://thebaldtiger.com/
One of the most affordable and emerging Korean streetwear labels is The Bald Tiger.
They offer an American twist to their fashions, as is endorsed by Jessica Jung, an American performer with Korean roots.
The Bald Tiger combines American flags, eagles, and other symbology with Korean tigers and yin-yang symbols.
It’s great for those who want to show support and love for both the USA and South Korea.
17. D-Antidote
- Year Established: 2014
- Designer/Founder: Hwansung Park
- Affordability: $$ to $$$$
- Website: https://en.d-antidote.com/48
For American sportswear with a cyberpunk and mischievous twist, D-Antidote is a prime choice. Their variations are subtle yet attractive to the eye.
There are things like basketball jerseys and Western logos presented in a clever corruption. Everything has a futuristic undertone yet is understated enough for daily wear.
D-Antidote has compiled their streetwear fashion know-how with Fila, which has replaced both fashion suppliers back into the spotlight.
Their philosophy is to design clothing that fits in with the aesthetic of the city you’re in.
Therefore, more muted and neutral colors for places like London but bright and colorful for Seoul.
18. Lianox
- Year Established: 2017
- Designer/Founder: Miko Rytkönen
- Affordability: $ to $$$
- Website: https://lianox.com/
Lianox is a Korean fashion brand with a huge catalog that features its own lines of clothing along with other Asian couture.
What makes them so great is their beauty and aesthetics combined with desirable and affordable prices.
Their website has a great design as well, allowing for detailed search results via filter sorting.
Rather than search for a specific piece, like a shirt or jacket, it allows for finding the look you’re attempting to go for.
There are Y2K styles, e-girl outfits, hot goth threads, and a wide range of streetwear.
19. pushBUTTON
- Year Established: 2009
- Designer/Creator: Rei Kawakubo & Seunggun Park
- Affordability: $$$$
- Website: https://en.pushbutton.co.kr/
Helping to drive fashion into the modern era, pushBUTTON provides streetwear looks that are practical but also make a statement.
They are the epitome of deconstructed fashion in how they take essential style elements and rearrange them. This results in something avant-garde balanced with visual appeal.
20. 13Month
- Year Established: Unknown
- Designer/Creator: Song Sunmi
- Affordability: $$ to $$$$
- Website: https://en13month.com/
13Month offers Korean streetwear with retro vintage flair. Their unisex ensembles are sensible, essential and experimental.
Even though it takes on the characteristics of typical clothing, 13Month adamantly strives to create something that doesn’t exist.
They offer hoodies, t-shirts, pants, hats, and so much more in their vast catalog.
It’s an incredibly wearable brand for every day or to project a high sense of fashion. Plus, it’s very affordable, and they have a subsidiary line of beauty products.
These include skincare, cosmetics, and fragrances.
Conclusion
While this list of 20 Korean streetwear brands is big, it doesn’t contain all of them. The labels here are the most accessible and readily purchased worldwide with easy-to-use websites.
Truly, there are new Korean fashion designers popping onto the scene all the time.
This is due to Korea’s centuries-old relationship with fashion, style, and haute couture.
They have traditional garb with things such as hanboks, but Koreans also embrace influences from the USA, Paris, Milan, and Japan.
Korea’s penchant for engineering and mathematics combines with these in the most delightful way.
Their ability to mix international regalia with their own produces ensembles that take things one step further. Koreans aren’t afraid to play with bold textures, loud colors, and abstract materials.
