School Uniforms in South Korea

Almost all South Korean secondary students wear a uniform called "gyobok" (Korean: 교복). The majority of elementary schools, except some private ones, do not have uniforms; however, the uniform is strictly monitored from the start of middle school and up. Based on Western-style ones, the South Korean uniform usually consists of a shirt, blazer and tie, with skirts (which are replaceable with trousers in the majority of schools nowadays, skirts have recently sparked controversy for its shortening trend over the years) for girls and long trousers for boys.

More recently, the uniform is often worn by celebrities who target the younger, teen audience to sell entertainment products. The school uniform and school setting is frequently used as a venue for romance. As a result, the uniform has become something akin to an expression of fashion among students.

Name tags that are worn usually have different colors per grade. Oftentimes the writing is in black or white, whereas the background is colored.