Mila’s 1 Year Hanbok Session - South Korea Military Family Photography

Feb 1

Mila’s hanbok session for her first-year birthday photoshoot in South Korea was just perfection!

In South Korean history, there was a time when the mortality rate for infants was high, so children reaching their first year was a big milestone for a family. A child’s first birthday was cause for a huge celebration!

The first birthday party of children in Korea is called a doljanchi. The party has a few very specific components and activities, one of which is where the child ‘picks’ what kind of person they will be when they grow up by selecting a single item out of a group in front of their party guests! Luckily, nowadays the infant mortality rate in South Korea is extremely low, but this celebration is still very popular and very extravagant, in some cases rivaling the production of weddings! Kiddos always wear their best hanbok attire for the occasion, and nowadays celebratory photoshoots are fairly common! (Hanboks can be bought and even rented in Korea and in the US!)

I truly love that U.S. military families that live overseas are so open to the surrounding culture and find fun ways to honor and enjoy the traditions of their host nation!

Mila’s Mom, Felicia, and I had a lot of fun with Mila and her sister, taking her 1st birthday photos around a hanok village in Daegu! It was a wonderful spring day. From sitting on the porch of a traditional hanok, to holding on to her mom’s hand under a canopy of cherry blossoms, Mila had all eyes on her! And she looked like the most adorable Korean princess!