Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Jane]

Anyone familiar with women's clothing size conversions from Korean to U.S?
For example, what is the equivalent in U.S. sizes for the Korean size 66?

Any insight is much appreciated.

[ciccone_youth]

I think Korean size 66 is about size 6...

But keep in mind, not all sizes in Korea are 55-66 etc. Most of what I've seen is S-M-L, or "free size", meaning one size fits all.

The free size is around US size 4 or 6, pretty small.

And S-M-L in Korea is not the same as in the US, it's made much smaller.

Anyways, if you're a small size in the US you'll be okay finding clothes everywhere.

[princess]

Sizes go like this...

44, 55, 66, 77, 88, 99, etc.

44 is the smallest of course, and would fit sizes 0-2, I'd say. 55 would most likely be sizes 3-5. 66 liike the poster above me just said would be like a size 6, maybe up to a size 8. The others would be bigger than an 8 of course.

Other things are sized by waist. 24, 25, 26, etc.

Free size is actually pretty darn big here. I am like a US size 0-2, and I can hardly find 44 here. Also, many stores only carry waist size 26 and up. Don't let anyone fool you when they say "ALL" Koreans are so small. BULL! I even have trouble finding small sized shoes sometimes. Many stores have only 240 and up.

Oh, and the theory that S, M, and L here are made much smaller is something I don't believe either. I have bought some smalls here that fit pretty darn big on me.

[Lukychrm42]

I know what you mean about the small sizes.. of course, I'm 5'1" (1.55 m), and I know that Gap sizes always run big, but the 0 and 1 seemed a lot bigger than they should be. Didn't see a 00. So I went to another place in Yawoori which had small sizes that mustn't have been Korean sizes, mostly 2s, but I didn't like the way they fit. Maybe because I have a normal-sized torso and legs, and not a freakishly long torso with short legs.

The problem is, when clothes are baggy they look sloppy on me, and I don't want to look sloppy at work when they're still nice clothes!

[ciccone_youth]

Yea, Princess loves to brag that everything is big on her.

Truth is, some stuff is really small, but some stuff is made big too. It all depends on where you shop I think.

If I go to Uniqlo and Zara, I can fit in all the smaller sizes. But in some Korean stores some dresses fit more snug, while some are way too big. You just have to try everything on.

[Faunaki]

[Jane]

[CentralCali]

This may help some.

[Faunaki]

[theholyinnocent]

Okay, sorry to bump up an old thread, but I have a question. My co-worker just sent me some "traditional casual" Korean clothes -- a little skirt/jacket combo outfit sort of thing. In the US I wear a 0-2, or a 24-25 inch waist. I am 5' tall so I'm just small in general, not particularly thin. I was curious as to what Korean size I am, for future reference, so I checked the tags on the clothes I just got.

The tag on the skirt says 66, then underneath that it says 66cm. The jacket says 85, then underneath that it says 80-85cm. The rest of the tag is in Korean, and while the website has an English section, it's just company info, not sizing stuff. The clothes are a touch big but not too bad -- I think the skirt sits a bit lower than it's meant to, and the jacket is a bit too broad in the shoulders, but overall the fit is not bad.

I checked a Korean size chart conversion and, given the fit of the clothing, I'm thinking that the clothing sizes I have are listed in centimeters, not in the 44/55/66 numbers. But I don't really know for sure. I mean, who really knows what measurement of a US 10 they're taking? A 1940's housewife dress or a 2008 Gap dress? etc.

So like is 66 the size, or the measurement? Do Korean clothes sometimes come measured in centimeters? Particularly "traditional" rather than trendy companies? Or is it more likely that the skirt is a 66 and the jacket an 88 (85?), or something? That seems strange but I have heard that Korean sizes can be strange, so I'm not really sure.

All the co-workers I'd feel comfortable asking went back to Korea for a few weeks, so aside from bringing my clothes over to the Korean Cultural Center and being like, "wtf size is this?", asking people here is really my only option. I know this is like the dumbest question ever, but I'm really just not sure what the number on the tag is indicating.

[hwarangi]

[theholyinnocent]

Hey, thanks! I didn't know that jackets sometimes came in differently-numbered sizes. That clears up some of my confusion.

I clicked my way around the Korean version of the site and found a size chart, which I Google Translated. The results, while informative, made me giggle:

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mall-dolsilnai.co.kr%2Fcompany%2Fsize.asp&sl=ko&tl=en

I think "heck of a woman" is the skirt/waist measurement? Awesome. That's what I'm calling my waist from now on.