Korean Wedding Customs

Although we have yet to schedule the Korean ceremony, since many of you have asked about the Korean ceremony, we thought we should post some background and information about the customs.

Background
Long, long time ago, Korean weddings took place in the yard of the bride's house in the open yard space which allowed any passerby to come join in...which explains the puzzled look you get when you ask an older Korean person to RSVP! But these days, most Koreans have a "western" style wedding ceremony in a hotel or a wedding hall.

The Engagement
Traditionally, engagement gifts from the groom's side would be delivered on the eve of the wedding day. With faces blackened with dried squid's ink and in costume, friends of the groom would parade a box, or hahm, filled with gifts. As they approached the bride's house, they would chant, "Hahm for sale, buy a hahm." The bride's family would rush out to greet the gift-bearers, enticing them with money and food. Paul is planning to give this a go. If you're interested in joining the parade, please contact Paul!

Check out Liz's engagement ring!

Korean Wedding Outfits

Korean wedding outfits, fashioned after palacial costumes, are worn over traditional Korean outfits. (so, we're talking layers and layers of clothes!) The bride's silk robe is usually embroidered with flowers and butterflies. Then there's the bling, bling on top of the bride's head. It's a little black cap studded with gems and the likes. Then to top off the blushing-bride-look, she wears three red circles, yonji konji, the size of nickels on her forehead and cheeks. (I know you Indian brides are jealous!) These circles, traditionally made of red peppers but now often drawn on, are supposed to ward off evil spirits.

The groom's wedding outfit is also fashioned after the dress of the nobility. It is made of dark blue or green damask with auspicious symbols woven in gold. The headdress is the tall black cap of high-ranking officials made of silk. And no, no red dots for the groom!

The Ceremony

The ceremony takes place around a table in the middle of the bride's yard with a beautiful embroidered screen in the background. There's a lot of bowing (with assistance due to the heavy clothing), and the symbolic drinking of wine, or jung jong. The bride and groom sip from their separate cups, half of one gourd, and then the wine is mixed together, poured once more into the gourd cups and sipped again. This seals the deal!

One ritual often seen at Korean American weddings is the peh beck ceremony, which is usually only attended by family and close friends. The bride and groom offer the parents gifts of dried dates and jujubes, symbols of children. The parents then toss the dates and chestnuts at the bride as she tries to catch them in her large skirt. The more you catch, the "fruitful" you will be!

To read more about customs of a traditional Korean wedding ceremony, please click here. And guys, please don't get any funny ideas about performing Dongsangnye on me [Paul]!