{"id":6127,"date":"2025-09-06T14:35:10","date_gmt":"2025-09-06T14:35:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/6127\/"},"modified":"2025-09-06T14:35:10","modified_gmt":"2025-09-06T14:35:10","slug":"netflixs-k-pop-demon-hunters-sparks-global-fascination-with-jejus-hat-making-heritage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/6127\/","title":{"rendered":"Netflix\u2019s \u201cK-Pop Demon Hunters\u201d Sparks Global Fascination With Jeju\u2019s Hat-Making Heritage"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

The boy band Saja Boys, wearing traditional Korean gat hats. (Image courtesy of Netflix)<\/p>\n

\u00a0JEJU, Sept. 6 (Korea Bizwire) \u2014 A Netflix animated feature has unexpectedly cast a centuries-old Korean craft into the global limelight. In K-Pop Demon Hunters, the boy band \u201cSaja Boys,\u201d rivals of the girl group protagonists, don traditional hats known as gat \u2014 and audiences worldwide have taken notice.<\/p>\n

One character\u2019s performance, twirling a gat\u2019s strap around his finger, has gone viral, earning him the nickname \u201cthat kid with the hat string.\u201d<\/p>\n

The sudden fascination has drawn attention to Jeju Island, historically the center of gat making. The island\u2019s horses supplied the horsehair used for the hats, while local artisans developed delicate weaving traditions.<\/p>\n

Joseon-era scholars prized Jeju-made gat for their craftsmanship, describing them as \u201cthinner than cicada wings.\u201d<\/p>\n

The craft was long sustained by Jeju\u2019s women, who began learning the meticulous weaving of horsehair and bamboo from childhood. Families often worked together across generations, with grandmothers, mothers, and daughters contributing to orders.<\/p>\n

\"\u201cA<\/a><\/p>\n

A view of the Jeju Gat Exhibition Hall, showcasing a variety of traditional Korean hats known as \u2018gat\u2019. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)<\/p>\n

The tradition endures today through designated national and provincial masters, some now training their children to carry the practice forward.<\/p>\n

Preservation efforts have coalesced around the Gat Exhibition Hall, founded in 2009 in Jeju\u2019s Jocheon township.<\/p>\n

Built with land donated by a master artisan and supported by the Korea Heritage Service, the center showcases the history and intricate processes behind the craft, from horsehair weaving to bamboo rim-making.<\/p>\n

\"Foreign<\/a><\/p>\n

Foreign tourists wearing gat (traditional Korean hats) listen to a guide\u2019s explanation at Gyeongbokgung Palace. (Yonhap)<\/p>\n

This weekend, visitors will also encounter the hats at the 2025 Jeju Intangible Heritage Expo, held at the historic Jeju Mokgwana site. The festival features demonstrations from dozens of heritage holders, including gat makers, alongside traditional drinks, children\u2019s games, and other crafts.<\/p>\n

Attendees can try on not only the aristocratic gat but also the humble jeongdongbeollip, a woven work hat once favored by Jeju farmers and shepherds.<\/p>\n

What began as an animated flourish has become an unexpected bridge between pop culture and heritage \u2014 spotlighting a fragile tradition now finding new life on the global stage.<\/p>\n

Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The boy band Saja Boys, wearing traditional Korean gat hats. (Image courtesy of Netflix) \u00a0JEJU, Sept. 6 (Korea…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6128,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[156,7988,7982,7984,7986,7987,157,111,7991,139,69,7985,7983,7989,7990],"class_list":["post-6127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-entertainment","tag-global-influencer","tag-global-news-portal","tag-global-publicity","tag-korean-business","tag-korean-policy","tag-music","tag-new-zealand","tag-news-viral","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-pr-portal","tag-press-release-distributor","tag-social-influencer","tag-social-viral"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6127"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6127\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6128"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}