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Traditional Korean Wedding Culture | Interesting Aspects & Differences

What Makes Traditional Korean Weddings So Much Different From Modern Ones?

Jeongyeong Yeo
4 years ago
Traditional Korean Wedding Culture | Interesting Aspects & Differences-thumbnail
Traditional Korean Wedding Culture | Interesting Aspects & Differences-thumbnail

When you think of Korean weddings, you probably think of Western-style romantic weddings that you've seen in Korean dramas.

However, besides the traditional Western-style weddings, there are still traditional weddings in Korea. Let's take a look at the interesting culture of Korean traditional weddings.


Marriage Age


In the past, men and women were not free to marry whomever they chose. Most of them were arranged marriages and the main considerations were on protection and money.

They also were heavily concerned with age as it was considered the most important factor in a happy marriage. This is called gunghap by Koreans.

Interesting Aspects of Traditional Korean Wedding Culture, What makes Korean traditional weddings so much different from modern ones?

Although this is mostly just a remnant of ancient society, there are still many people who believe it now. In the past, if the family opposed the wedding, they would often give the excuse, "They are not the right age," to save face and not give the real reason.


The Payment


If the families agreed to the union, then the rituals began. The first one was called yemul, in which someone had to deliver a heavy box of clothes, jewelry, and gifts to the bride's house.

The stipulation was that he cannot put the box down during the whole trip, which in ancient Korea could take several hours to walk from village to village.

Interesting Aspects of Traditional Korean Wedding Culture, What makes Korean traditional weddings so much different from modern ones?

Interesting Aspects of Traditional Korean Wedding Culture, What makes Korean traditional weddings so much different from modern ones?

Their arrival would be announced at the bride's house. The box would then be given to the bride's parents to inspect their new gifts. The man who carried the box all that distance would be given a hearty meal by the bride's family.

Interesting Aspects of Traditional Korean Wedding Culture, What makes Korean traditional weddings so much different from modern ones?

Then, the bride's family should reciprocate the gift-giving in a process called, yedan. The bride's family sends a box of goods suitable for the groom, like wine, wallets, etc.

Receiving the yedan is the official acceptance of marriage between the two families and sparks joy and celebration.

Interesting Aspects of Traditional Korean Wedding Culture, What makes Korean traditional weddings so much different from modern ones?

The families then begin assembling the rest of the materials needed for the wedding.

This includes the wedding papers, silk and satin (which symbolize Yin and Yang), the hanbok, jewels, 5 bags of grain, and a letter from the groom's father to the bride's father expressing gratitude for allowing their precious daughter to join their family.

The five colored grain bags represent five things: a green bag containing sticky rice (living together forever), a red bag containing red beans (luck), a yellow bag containing soybean paste (the bride's virtue), and a green bag containing cypress (the future).

Interesting Aspects of Traditional Korean Wedding Culture, What makes Korean traditional weddings so much different from modern ones?


Wedding Ceremony


In true traditional Korean weddings, there were was no maser of ceremonies, so the parents usually stood at the table, bowed to each other, drank, and managed the pronouncement of marriage.

However, when the Western marriage culture was introduced to Korea, the traditional wedding ceremony evolved.

Today's traditional Korean wedding will also have a master of ceremonies, who, in addition to presiding over the wedding, manages the delegation of both sides.

The modern traditional wedding will also be completed in one day, whereas in the past, it could take several days.

There were significantly more rituals and negotiations as part of the ceremony that are no longer present. Although there have been many changes due to the fusion with Western culture, modern weddings in Korea still have remnants of the traditional style.

Interesting Aspects of Traditional Korean Wedding Culture, What makes Korean traditional weddings so much different from modern ones?

For example, the groom brings a pair of wooden geese to the bride's mother to demonstrate the standards that the bride and groom must follow.

Geese mate with only one partner for life and won't find a new mate if the other dies. They also maintain perfect order and harmony when flying in the sky.

After that, the mother will take the wild geese and throw them into the bride's room. If the geese land on their side, the first child will be the daughter. If the geese land upright, the first child will be a son.

Interesting Aspects of Traditional Korean Wedding Culture, What makes Korean traditional weddings so much different from modern ones?

At the ceremony, the bride and groom will bow to each other from opposite sides of a table with assorted items on it: the hen indicates the determination to raise children; the rooster shows the determination to fight; the camellia, the chestnut, the red date, the red date, and the bamboo all represent different things, such as plentiful offspring and wording off evil spirits.

Interesting Aspects of Traditional Korean Wedding Culture, What makes Korean traditional weddings so much different from modern ones?


Post-Wedding Ceremony


One unique ritual in traditional Korean ceremonies is that the groom greets the bride's family after the ceremony and they start hitting the bottom of his feet.

This custom is still observed in traditional weddings today. It was believed that hitting the groom's foot would make sure he doesn't run away and abandon the bride.

Others believed that the groom would feel a lot of tension and anxiety for regarding the wedding, so hitting his feet would stimulate blood flow.

Of course, nowadways this process will cause a lot laughing until you cry.

Interesting Aspects of Traditional Korean Wedding Culture, What makes Korean traditional weddings so much different from modern ones?

When the wedding is over, the bride will have to visit her groom's family for the "pyebaek" ceremony. The bride usually offers small gifts to her new in-laws.

The parents throw handfuls of nuts at the bride and groom, who try to catch as many nuts as they can in a sheet of satin. The number of nuts that they catch symbolizes how many children they will have together as a couple.


Wedding Makeup


Interesting Aspects of Traditional Korean Wedding Culture, What makes Korean traditional weddings so much different from modern ones?

In Korean dramas, we can often see brides adorned with two red dots on her cheeks. This is an adaptation of traditional Chinese makeup that made its way to Korea. The dots are to ward off evil spirits that might bring bad luck to the marriage and to symbolize the bride's youth and virginity.


We hope you've learned something about traditional Korean wedding culture. If you have any questions, leave a comment or contact us at help@creatrip.com.