Girls shall wear:

• Navy blue pleated skirt (in other schools this could be substituted for skirts in almost any colour, unpleated only occasionally, and in some schools it is plaid – it should skim the tops of your knees, but this is one of the uniform rules most often broken)

• A white tailored blouse (again, this shirt can vary in colour from school to school. Most schools choose a formal shirt, some others choose a polo-style shirt. Sometimes you have to buy shirts with the school logo printed on them)

• A red and navy blue striped tie (this is meant to be worn at all times tightly around your neck, but at breaks and things the tie is occasionally loosened. Some form of neck adornment is present in most schools, whether it be a tie, a bow-tie, a ribbon, a neckerchief, or a cravate-style kind of thing)

• A navy blue blazer with the school logo embroidered (blazers are very, very common in Korean schools. They aren't liked much in the UK, but in Korea they are okay because blazers can be very fashionable)

• An optional black V-neck jumper in winter (it gets SO COLD in Korea in the winter. Most schools have some kind of provision for this, because students can't study themselves insane without being warm and comfortable, right?)

• Knee-high black socks (there are many fashions that come in and out with how to wear your socks in the schools that have them. The ones that Chunny has informed me of are wearing oversized socks that are stupidly baggy, trying to sneak in socks of different colours, socks with adornments such as sequins and socks with bows)

• Flat black shoes (as plain as you could get them, the school would prefer. Penny loafers are pretty common. Often the school tells you a place where you can buy the style of shoes that they like. Sometimes the actual shoe is part of the uniform code)

Boys shall wear:

• Black tailored trousers (to look like a cool man. One of the latest fashions I have heard of is the guys who think they are 'gangster' wearing really, really baggy school trousers)

• A white shirt (this essential is present in many Korean uniforms. Where would we be without the humble white shirt? Not to mention some guys look awful hot in their uniforms like this)

• A red and navy blue striped tie (again with the wannabe gangsters, they like to wear their ties loose with a small knot and a very very long, you know the bit that hangs down, the actual tie? Yeah, they like to wear that really long)

• A navy blue blazer with the school logo embroidered (blazers aren't as fashionable for boys, but they aren't totally nerdy either, so it's not the piece of uniform that is hated the most)

• An optional V-neck jumper in the winter (it is NOT GAY for guys to wear V-necks! They are actually considered quite fashionable)

• Flat black formal shoes (obviously the guys' shoes are going to be flat, but often they try and wear sneakers and the like, so it is often specified that their shoes must be formal! And this is checked when they enter the school)

Other Uniform Rules

• Colouring of hair is not allowed (girls that colour their hair can be sent home and not allowed back in school until they dye it back, given detentions and cleaning punishments, and in some extreme cases Chunny has sworn that in the more strict schools they'll shave it on the spot)

• Hair of boys must not get too long (again this is a rule that boys rebel against because it is becoming more and more fashionable to have long hair cuts, but this also can be met with the same punishments as above) or too short (skinhead cuts are not allowed)

• Hairstyles must be appropriate, safe for work and non-distracting (basically this means that girls need to wear their hair back for physical education, and that there must be no mohawk and crazy shaven patterns)

• Make-up is entirely forbidden (ha! Girls wear eye glue, and some mascara if they are feeling daring. Girls' faces can be wiped with a baby wipe when they pass the gates to see if they are wearing make-up and if they are they can be sent home, suspended and met with detentions and cleaning punishments)

• Jewellery in school is not allowed (sometimes girls can get away with wearing subtle jewellery, like I know a girl that wears a very thin silver band (ring) to school and gets away with it)

• Hair adornments must be appropriate, safe for work and non-distracting (no HUGE, brightly coloured bows or retarded flowers or fascinators fit for a racecourse – this is not going to happen. Little clips and bows are usually allowed)

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