Cover Korean ballet show ‘Gat’ will come to Hong Kong in September 2026 (Photo: Yunbyul Ballet Company)
Korean ballet show ‘Gat’ will come to Hong Kong in September 2026 (Photo: Yunbyul Ballet Company)
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The gat—Korea’s traditional headwear that has recently been enjoying a renaissance thanks to productions like ‘Kingdom’ and ‘KPop: Demon Hunters’—will now take centre stage in a ballet production coming to Hong Kong next month
Perhaps no one could have foreseen the global renaissance of the gat. This traditional Korean wide-brimmed hat woven from horsehair, historically worn by the upper class during the Joseon dynasty, unexpectedly became an international style sensation. On screen, characters in the hit film KPop: Demon Hunters perform in gat headwear to the catchy track Your Idol, while the crown prince in Netflix’s Kingdom slices through zombies with his gat balanced flawlessly above his sword. These cinematic moments transformed a historic artefact into a global fashion symbol—so much so that gat-related merchandise sold out at the National Museum of Korea in the month following the release of K-Pop: Demon Hunters last year.
Now, this iconic silhouette takes centre stage in an entirely new medium: contemporary ballet. On September 26 and 27, Yunbyul Ballet Company will perform its celebrated production Gat in Hong Kong. Created by artistic director Yoon Byul and choreographer Park Soyun, the performance bridges historical Korean heritage with modern movement, turning a centuries-old headpiece into an expressive theatrical universe. “We thought that a tradition familiar to Koreans might feel entirely new to foreign audiences,” says Park. “We wanted to express that sense of novelty through contemporary ballet.”
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Above The trailer of ‘Gat’ by Yun Byul Ballet Company
Rather than treating the gat as a static prop, the production presents nine distinct varieties of traditional hats to explore the social roles and emotional landscapes of historical Korea. “The gat’s styles, materials and colours vary depending on the wearer’s social status, occupation and activity,” Park explains, adding that gat is a general umbrella term for many different types of traditional Korean headwear.
She points to the red version as an example: “Although it shares the same shape as a black heungnip, which is the iconic tall, translucent black hat, a red-lacquered jurip was worn by military officers.” There is also the white baengnip worn for national mourning, and the black heukrip for scholars who passed the civil service examinations.
The overall production is created around three overarching pillars: dance, meot (“stylish” or “cool”) and gat. In interpreting the classical black heungnip, Park drew inspiration from the dignified aesthetic of seonbi (classical scholars). “I visualised black, see-through materials, a sense of weight, solemnity and the courtesy and integrity associated with seonbi,” Park says. “I had to imagine abstractly in my head how that feeling should manifest when translated into ballet movements while crafting the choreography.” For the scene featuring the jurip, the dancers display swift, powerful movements evoking military officers wielding swords.
‘Gat’ (Photo: Yunbyul Ballet Company)
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Beyond visual costuming, Gat integrates traditional Korean musical motifs and fine arts. The score blends traditional Korean percussion—such as the janggu (hourglass drum) and kkwaenggwari (brass gong)—with contemporary electronic sounds. The stage design takes inspiration from minhwa (Korean folk paintings), embracing yeobaek-ui mi, or the aesthetic beauty of empty space.
Executing the choreography required reconciling two contrasting physical disciplines: the traditional Korean dance concept that emphasises grounding the body through rhythmic breathwork, and ballet’s upward bodily extensions. Park, who trained in ballet in Seoul, says that most Korean dance majors and ballet majors share foundational training in the city’s arts academies. For this production, she drew on her dual background, even inviting traditional dancers to rehearsals to refine subtle hand gestures and breathing patterns.
‘Gat’ (Photo: Yunbyul Ballet Company)
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In South Korea, ballet—which had its formal start in the country in the 1960s—was historically viewed as a niche discipline. However, viral digital media and pop culture crossovers have opened the art form to a far broader audience. “When we first created Gat in early 2024, our performance wasn’t famous, so ticket sales were quite challenging,” Yoon recalls. But a viral clip from the dance show Stage Fighter featuring Kang Kyung-ho exhaling tobacco smoke propelled public interest in ballet. Kang, who is among the performers in Gat, immediately drew thousands of first-time attendees to Yoon’s production. “Currently, about 70 per cent of our audience are first-time ballet viewers or people without extensive ballet knowledge,” Yoon says. “By watching our show, many become interested in gat, in ballet and become fans of our company.”
Yoon founded his ballet company with the vision of creating productions that break away from formulaic routines. He feels that identifying and incorporating trendy, engaging topics that capture media and public attention is key to promoting traditional art forms like ballet. Looking ahead, the company is adapting classic repertoire, including a new interpretation of Carmen. While open to drawing conceptual inspiration from global phenomena like K-pop, Yoon stresses that artistic resonance and technical rigour remain paramount. “Remaining trendy without losing authenticity is key,” he says. “It is about maintaining balance without losing ourselves in blind conformity. That is how I want to take ballet to the next level.”
Zabrina is the Senior Editor, Arts and Culture of Tatler Hong Kong. She specialises in performing arts, visual art and film. Her wanderlust was first fuelled by the Mighty Rovers Antarctica Expedition 2010. Over the years, she has interviewed A-list artists and filmmakers, including Oscar winners Chlóe Zhao and Tim Yip, Golden Horse winner Sylvia Chang, In the Mood for Love cinematographer Christopher Doyle, Pachinko author Min Jin Lee, and Coachella’s first Chinese solo singer Jackson Wang. She won gold at the WAN-IFRA Asian Media Awards for her 2021 feature on the waves of hate crimes targeting Asian Americans.
