Korean weddings are short and sweet, with guests’ preferences always being the first priority. The ceremony typically lasts no longer than a half-day, and Korean weddings embrace the concept of harmony and balance, symbolizing the unity of two individuals and their families. Traditional attire, such as the elegant hanbok, is worn by the bride and groom, representing centuries-old traditions and familial rituals.
Korean weddings are relatively quick affairs, lasting only a couple of hours at most. Pre-wedding traditions, such as samulnori and hahm, add a festive feel to the event. In Korea, food is an important part of the ritual, and ceremonies are simple affairs quite different from those in South Korea.
Two other South Korean traditions are Gyobaerye and Hapgeunrye, which happen during the ceremony. Parents from both families participate in many aspects of the wedding, wearing special attire, giving and receiving gifts, and providing blessings to the bride and groom throughout the festivities. Both bride and groom wear the traditional hanbok, a traditional Korean dress specially designed for the ceremony.
In traditional Korean culture, marriage between a man and a woman were decided by the bride and groom’s elders, who would give them gifts like jewelry, watches, cash, and nice clothing. The first ceremony is the formal wedding, which is largely secular and based on Confucian traditions but is typically more Western-looking.
📹 What are Korean Weddings Like?
We talk about what our experiences are like in Korean weddings. Not all weddings are like the ones we experienced, but they …
What are modern Korean weddings like?
Today, weddings often take place in a hall that seems like a factory. Wedding halls often have many weddings going on at once. When you enter the main hall, you see lots of activity as brides, grooms, and their guests move from ceremony to ceremony and then to the post-wedding buffet. Before the wedding, a friend or relative accepts cash gifts in anonymous envelopes. The first ceremony is the formal wedding. It is secular and based on Confucian traditions, but looks more Western. The bride and groom wear Western clothes, and the ceremony is in a big hall. This ceremony allows for a lot of flexibility, as shown by the picture of the groom doing pushups! The second ceremony is more traditional, a translation of the final rites of the old Confucian wedding. This takes place in a smaller room where the bride and groom sit, drink alcohol, and receive gifts. The bride and groom wear traditional Hanbok.
At what age do South Koreans get married?
In South Korea, you can get married at 18. In South Korea, you must be 19 to marry without your parents’ permission.
Data sources: Borgen Project, KOICA project “Better life for girls” to fund girls’ education, 2017, borgenproject.org/girls-education-in-developing-countries/ (accessed November 2021).; ECPAT International, Global boys initiative: The South Korea report, 2021, state.gov/reports/2021-trafficking-in-persons-report/south-korea/ (accessed November 2021).; The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, Joint statement on child, early and forced marriage, HRC 27, Agenda Item 3, website, 2014, fngeneve.um.dk/en/aboutus/statements/newsdisplaypage/?newsid=6371ad93-8fb0-4c35-b186-820fa996d379 (accessed January 2020).In 2021, UNICEF/KOICA gave start-up kits to adolescent girls. The Government of the Republic of Korea gave a voluntary national review in 2016.PDF (accessed January 2020). The Korea Times, 10 years of changes in Koreas foreign community, 2019, website, koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2019/12/113_281070.html (accessed January 2020). The Korea Times, Koreas role in ending child marriage in Bangladesh, website, 2018, koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/opinon/2015/10/197_182408.html (accessed January 2020).United Nations, Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform, 2017, sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg5 (accessed January 2020). UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Concluding observations on the combined fifth and sixth periodic reports of the Republic of Korea, 2019, docstore.ohchr.org/SelfServices/FilesHandler.ashx?enc=6QkG1d%2fPPRiCAqhKb7yhspi8ma2LKUu59rtKIJ7A7OTjVG5zeWk8mwh%2fyn2Ug%2buQGIl9EQGCKJvs6VNbe4xcA9wlB%2fcvQDLPYZG%2bfGW6RCdBlyvDCI9g4xCHM1%2fV8y%2bx (accessed November 2021).UNICEF Ghana, the Government of Ghana, KOICA, and UNICEF celebrate the results achieved for thousands of adolescent girls in Ghana in 2021.The government of Ghana, KOICA, and UNICEF celebrated the results achieved for thousands of adolescent girls in Ghana in 2021. United States State Department, Trafficking in Persons Report. June 2019. 2019, state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/2019-Trafficking-in-Persons-Report.pdf (accessed January 2020).
What happens during a Korean wedding ceremony?
A celebrant and a master of ceremonies lead the ceremony. After the vows are spoken, the bride and groom bow and sip wine from a gourd handed down by the mother of the bride. The ceremony is quick and usually lasts less than half an hour. After the vows and wine, the family and guests eat a simple meal. You must bring money to give to the bride and groom. The amount given depends on the guest’s relationship with the couple. It is traditional to give the chosen amount in one clean bill inside the white envelope. After the ceremonies, the groom’s family buys a house for the newlyweds, and the bride’s family provides the furnishings. Korean children are becoming more independent, so this tradition isn’t as common as it used to be. Both families decide what wedding gifts to give their children.
How many days is a Korean wedding?
Korean wedding ceremonies don’t take up a whole day. They last about 2 to 3 hours. Most Korean couples get married at a hotel or wedding hall for a few hours. Wedding halls are expensive, so many couples want to use them for as little time as possible. The ceremonies follow the schedule because the next couple might want to use the hall. Korean wedding ceremonies are compact and quick! You don’t have to spend your precious Saturday or Sunday on a wedding ceremony. Also, being late to the wedding is disrespectful. Show up at the wedding hall 20-30 minutes before the ceremony. This gives you time to talk to your acquaintance/friend and congratulate them.
What is marriage like in South Korea?
Traditional Korean weddings are based around and centered on traditional Confucian values. Every aspect of the wedding, from the arrangement of the marriage to the ceremony and post celebrations, had important and elaborate steps to go along with them. In traditional Korean culture, like many traditional cultures, marriage between a man and a woman were decided by the bride and grooms elders. As in Confucian values family and the customs of a family is placed above all. Marriage is considered the most important passage in ones life. This is not only the union between two individuals but two families. Additionally, a marriage was a way, particularly among elite families, of developing and/or maintaining a social status. For these reasons, a significant amount of time was spent in preparation before finally performing the actual wedding ritual. *The first step is called the euihon (의혼; 議婚), or matchmaking, this is when both the bride and grooms families discuss the possibility of marriage. Various factors are taken into consideration such as: social status, personality, appearance, academic and/or agricultural (industrial) achievements, as well as material harmony as predicted by a fortuneteller. In general the euihon is determined when the bridegroom-side sends a proposal letter of marriage and the bride-side sends a reply letter which permits this marriage.15 Once the response from the bride is sent back to the groom, if agreed, the groom then sets up a date for the ceremony. This second step is called naljja seoljeong (날짜설정; 날짜設定), or date setting. The grooms year, month, day, and hour (according to the lunar calendar), which is known as saju (사주; 四柱), is written on a paper and wrapped in bamboo branches and tied with red and blue thread. Lastly, the package is wrapped with a red and blue cloth and sent to the brides family. The birthdate of the groom is sent to a fortuneteller which sets the date based on the saju. That date is then sent back to the groom. The last step in pre-ceremonial traditions is called the napchae (납채; 納采), or exchanging valuables. Once the date is set, the groom then sends a box to the bride which is known as ham (함; 函). In the ham, there is typically three item: the honseo (혼서; 婚書), the chaedan (채단; 彩緞), and the honsu (혼수; 婚需). Of the three, the most important is the honseo, or marriage papers. This is given to the bride in dedication to wed only one husband. The wife is expected to keep this paper forever; upon death the papers are buried with the wife as well. The chaedan is a set of red and blue cloths which is used to make clothes. The red and blue is a representation of the Yin/Yang philosophy. Lastly, the honsu is a variety of other gifts given to the brides family. This can include household goods, jewelry and clothes.16 *In ancient times, weddings (honrye; 婚禮) were held in the brides yard or house. The groom traveled by horse to the brides house and after the wedding ceremony took his wife in a palanquin (sedan chair) to his parents house to live. The bride and groom wore formal court costumes for the wedding ceremony. Ordinary people were permitted to wear the luxurious clothes only on their wedding day. Hand lanterns are used for lighting the way from the grooms home to the brides home on the night before the wedding. Traditionally, the grooms family would carry a wedding chest filled with gifts for the brides family. Wedding geese are a symbol for a long and happy marriage. Cranes are a symbol of long life and may be represented on the womans sash. Pairs of wooden Mandarin duck carvings called wedding ducks are often used in traditional wedding ceremonies because they represent peace, fidelity, and plentiful offspring.
What age do girls get married in Korea?
In 2022, South Korean women got married for the first time at 31.26 years old, while men did so at 33.72 years old. The average age of South Koreans getting married for the first time has risen in recent years. Women reached an all-time high in 2022.
People in South Korea think differently about marriage. As people marry later, the number of marriages in South Korea has gone down. The change in how people think about marriage is also important. In one survey, about 44% of married South Koreans saw marriage as an option, not a necessity. Many singles don’t want to get married because they’re worried about having children. Wedding costs and concerns about careers are also reasons for marrying later.
Is there a kiss in Korean wedding?
Korean weddings don’t have vows or rings like Western weddings. The bride and groom don’t kiss when they’re announced as husband and wife. Weddings in Korea are very traditional. Bride and groom hold hands during the ceremony.
What’s Boogie Woogie? One of the best parts of weddings is dancing. I love boogie-woogie with my husband. I also like taking silly pictures in the photo booth.
Who pays dowry in Korea?
The groom or his family usually gave the newlyweds a home, which the bride and her family furnished. A bride’s dowry was for being taken care of for the rest of her life. Nowadays, things are more complicated because women are more independent, the country is wealthier, and real estate prices are high. In the past, simple gifts were given, said Han Gyoung Hae, a professor of family studies at Seoul National University. But now the gifts cost more, especially for the country’s new rich. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you’re reading this in Reader mode, exit and log in to your Times account or subscribe to The Times.
Can a Korean marry a non-Korean?
The Korean Ward office needs to see official documents proving you are eligible to marry. If your spouse is from another country, check with their embassy in Korea.
📹 5 things to know about Korean wedding culture
You can watch this video at https://koreanow.com.
I’m not sure if someone commented on the cake, but only the top tier (which gets cut) is real and the rest is fake. The cake (and champagne) will be boxed and handed over to the newly-wedded couple, which they would eat themselves or hand over again to the close friends/family. Mystery of the Wedding Cake solved!
I was invited to my thai friend’s traditional wedding and I was actually quite shocked that the wedding took a day. As a korean I’m just used to the one hour wedding.… but I prefer the one day way, cos I felt it was really for the couple. korean weddings are much like manufacturing married couples at a factory…
I’m all for saving money on weddings and things bc it is VERY expensive, but I feel like if a wedding is a life-bond between two people who want to spend the rest of their lives with each other, I feel as though this style of wedding is quite unromantic and if the wedding hall starts cleaning up AS THE CEREMONY IS STILL ON, I think that is very rude and disrespectful towards the couple.
compared to indian weddings this is NOTHING!!! it goes on for 3-5 days with around 5-6 ceremonies. the brides wedding dress is sent in by the grooms family. engagement dress is worn from the brides side. then there is dowry both from grooms side and brides side to eachother. at the wedding almost all close acquaintances gift the bride with gold ornaments. overall gifts r to be expected, the invitation says wedding starts at 8pm but all guests start arriving at 11pm (we dont believe in day weddings) we leave the venue at around 6am…there is soooo much food that even people related in no way whatsoever can barge in eat to their fill all for free!!! it is very traditional and overall one of the most enjoyed weddings worldwide!!!
I’ve never been to a wedding, don’t even plan on having one myself. My partner and I were just going to sign the papers and then let his family throw us a huge party so everyone can get wasted. His family loves to party and will find any excuse to do so. “Oh your “friend” from work you barely talk to is turning 50, hell yeah we will go to their birthday party! Oh our niece is turning 23 which isn’t a special age, lets have a huge party!” His family has at least 5 birthday parties a month for people I have never heard of and then party until 10pm or later, even on a school night.
In the part of India where I’m from weddings go on for DAYS. There are several events leading up to the actual wedding, and they differ according to whether from the bride’s side or the groom’s side. On the bride’s side there’ll be stuff like the Mehndi (henna) ceremony, haldi (where they rub turmeric and sandalwood all over the bride’s body) ceremony, sangeet (which is basically a party with live music and dancing) and then the actual wedding which will be followed by the reception. So if you’re coming from out of town for the wedding, the couple getting married or their families will put you up for a couple of days. SO MANY RELATIVES. SO MUCH FOOD.
Wow the banquet style wedding sounds exactly just like how weddings are in Vietnam, from the unwritten rule on how much money you should give, how people are not assigned seats and some might have to suffer eating awkwardly without knowing anyone, to the catwalk, smoke and fog, big screen, cake cutting and champagne pouring for show, and bride and groom having to greet every table. Wo And here I thought our way of organising weddings was just weird haha.
So in this type of Korean wedding, the bride doesn’t get to choose what type of theme, decor/flowers, color scheme for her wedding hall since several wedding parties would be using the same wedding hall. I guess, the same goes for the food either if it’s buffet style that the wedding hall provided. Seems impersonal, but I guess it depends on what you’re used to. lol, no cake for Martina and Simon. This reminds me of going with my friend who was having a near nuclear melt down because she couldn’t decide which icing, filling, design to choose for her wedding cake and that dang cake wasn’t cheap either.
Russian weddings are so enjoyable and they last up to 4-5 hours, so we have the wedding reception and then when we go to the food hall the bride and groom always make an entrance in really cool ways like they will dance in with all the bridesmaids and the guys and while we eat we have a hired person Whois in charge of the games and we play games for 2 hours and just more things happen but hard to explain. I love Russian weddings and their so special and I’ve been to a minimum of 15 in all my 16 years of life.
Within a month of living in Korea, a coworker of mine asked if I could sing a song at his wedding. I imagined that this would happen at a western style wedding reception because I didn’t know how weddings happen in Korea. A week before, I was informed that I would perform in the CEREMONY right after they said their vows!!! Holy pressure!!! I ended up performing on a huge white grand piano with smoke machines and flashing lights! This was after only living in Korea for two months. Unforgettable!
The people coming to the wedding without knowing the couple just for food reminds me of this guy in my hometown. He was actually the richest guy who lived in our area, but he regularly showed up to any sort of event that served free food. Our church has funeral dinners after each funeral where church members make the food and the family and friends who attend the funeral can eat for free afterward. He came to those all the time (without going to the funeral first) and just about anything else he could eat at. I don’t know for sure if he ever crashed a wedding dinner, but I wouldn’t have been surprised. He got banned from a ton of places in our area before he died.
Korean weddings sounds so coll and awesome! I grew up with a lot of Indian weddings and it would days for the ceremonies and months to even prep for the wedding. Ireally like the idea of ‘renting’ a wedding dress. It might take away some value bc other brides tried them on, but I think it’s better than buying a red or yellow sari and jewelry to go along with it.
wow! korean wedding are SO efficient. i know for taiwanese weddings (at least the one i went to), the bride and groom also greet their guests table by table at the reception. the guests buy gifts according to how much one wedding dinner meal costs per person, and multiply that by the number of family members, then they buy gifts or give money according to that price. so in a way, the newlyweds are paid back for the money they spent on the wedding
I wonder, guys, if you ever went to a Polish wedding 🙂 Of course it differs from family to family and there are regional traditions too but in general it focuses on friends and relatives getting together to celebrate and lasts for about two days. It’s usually quite expensive but if you’re resourceful, you can significantly cut the cost while maintaining all the usual elements of a wedding and even follow some of the recent trends. I actually like all those things that give the couple an occasion to express themselves and show their uniqueness, like custom wedding invitations, wedding dance, small gifts for the family, decorations, etc.
I am from Singapore and I realised there’s quite a lot of similarities. In Singapore, in most weddings, we eat while they are walking down the aisle. The cake and champagne will be there just for ceremonial purposes. We give cash money, not gifts. The groom and bride will personally go to every single table and thank them. However, weddings in Singapore aren’t that fast so I guess that’s the difference. Thanks for this awesome article into giving precious insights of lives in Korea! 😀
oh my gosh thank you guys so much for this vid.. I’m getting married to a Korean man but I have no idea how weddings go as far as this that we were to take pictures even before the wedding.. which is different. We may have two I guess but it should be a little different, since its in the US lol I don’t know ugh ._.
my picture is me at my cousin’s korean wedding. We ate after the ceremony, but yeah the whole thing took about two hours. By the time we were walking towards the elavators to the buffet hall they had already set up the next couple’s pictures! If i ever get married there I’ll definitely go the traditional route and not drive thru style like that.
I like that they are so effient but I agree martina kinda takes away from the specialness of the day if some one is telling you to hurry up and its over in a half an hour. I mean dont get me wrong I dont like super long weddings (Had to sit through a few of those). but I dont like super short either. oh well I do like they will change into a habak after words. After the wedding is said and done what does everyone do the rest of the day.
Japan (and I’m sure China) also has wedding halls with fake cakes, although I don’t think they’re as fast as Korean weddings. Chinese weddings receptions in the US are at large restaurants & guests that give less than $50 are rare because the dinner will always be at least 6 courses and include alcohol (beer, wine, or Hennessey).
yep they take the entire day or at the very least a few hours. basically you have the wedding ceremony which is 30 minutes-1hour depending how traditional you want it. they if ur rich u have a cocktail hour, then you have a reception where guest eat and dance and have fun and watch the bride and groom’s first dance and the bouquet toss. american weddings are usually like this give or take some things ^^
we also give cash to newlyweds, but it starts at 500 dollars with no upper limit, but relatives are expected to fork out at least 1,000 dollars, with 2,000 being the average these days, and we as a country are a lot poorer than Korea. the ceremony itself also takes place in a designated marriage hall (one per city), with only immediate family members invited to attend. everybody else shows up at the reception afterwards, with as many as 1,000 people invited. with the cash gift being so large, there’s an incentive to invite as many people as possible. if you don’t rsvp, you’e still expected to send at least 100 dollars.
Also, about Korean artists in Japan, they do have a good amount of popularity; when I tried to get tickets to a Big Bang concert, they sold out within 30 seconds. While I have many friends who are fans of Big Bang in Japan that are in college, most other groups are popular more among high schoolers, though I still have met a few in college. Also, Japanese versions of songs tend to be preferred because the lyrics are easier to learn, but they still also listen to the Korean songs as well.
Pretty similar to Chinese Indonesian wedding reception. We usually use a long wedding runway for show off, we rent a wedding dress which sometimes worth more than 5.000$ :v We rent an expensive decoration, with so much flower on it. For entertainment, we rent a whole band, cabaret dancer, opera singer, drag queen, magic show, etc. We also use a modern stage lighting for the stage. Its also normal to see a bunch of beautiful girl dressed in a fancy gown to help guests to find their table. Also sometimes, you may get a free motorcycle, I-phone, even car through the event’s lottery ‘.’ Banquet is a usual too, and our portion is way more larger than what you guys ate. Everyone seated according to what the wedding couple wants, they usually arranged it through a table card, they specified it into friends’ table, Halal table, Vegetarian, Family, Close relatives, frequent buyer (this is normal), etc. To avoid someone that we don’t know enter the wedding, sometimes we use barcode. Its so expensive and kinda show off. But its our tradition, to pleased every guest. Also, we believed, the more guest we got, then the luckier the couple would be. But at the end, this kind of expensive wedding is also used to prevent divorcing, the couple would think twice before they divorce because they’ll remember how expensive the wedding is :v Ps: we prefer fake cake because its a lot cheaper from the real one 🙂
You guys forgot to mention the Wedding MCs!! When me and my husband had our Korean wedding that was the thing I thought was the most bizarre (that and the fact that the wedding decor looked like we were getting married in Vegas). We didn’t need to have a wedding rehearsal because it was the MC’s job to tell us what to do and narrate everything for the audience. It was like being on a game show!
The wedding I went to in Korea was actually different. We all came in and they had an open room with seats and the pulpit. All of the close family got to sit down but cowkers and such had to stand. Then they had a western style wedding but much MUCH shorter. Then people had to come up in groups and surround the bride and groom for a picture. First was the bride’s family, then the groom’s family, then the coworkers. Then everyone went down to the buffet together.
I honestly love the idea of that conveyor wedding? I hate long ceremonies and traditional christian Brazilian weddings are like, a full 2 hours (because you have to do the FULL mass + wedding ceremony), and then a party all night. Which is why I loved this one Argentinian (also christian) wedding I went to, where the whole marrying process was like 30 minutes.
i’m indonesian and usually we had weddings in hotels. so the leftovers are taken care of by them. but sometimes there’s like a cultural wedding that’s quite different than the common ones. and in my country, it’s not the couple who going around from table to table to greet and thank people. but the guests have to line up, and we all greet and congratulate them, if you don’t line up, the couple won’t even know, you attended! it must be extremely tiring when the wedding is 2 days long ‘-‘
Wow this seems a bit different when I was at my friend’s brother’s wedding in Busan. Their wedding was inside one of the (What I call) “Mega” churches. We went through almost the same process except we ate before hand and after the bride and groom were blessed from the priest the bride and groom both had to bow to the parents on both sides of the family. The groom would full on get down on his hands and knees and bows to his parents while the bride gives standing full bow, and then her parents.
They are pretty close to Saudi Arabian weddings actually. But in here the whole hall is reserved for 1 wedding, and it’s divided to men section and women. the men don’t really take a long time in the wedding, 2 hours probably. But for the women,the wedding starts late at 8 or so ….and continues until early in the morning,3 am at least.
7:43 I think it’s interesting you thought this was an odd custom, I’m in the Southern US and almost every wedding I have ever been to the couple go from table to table greeting everyone. The only time I haven’t seen it done is if there were no actual tables because a meal wasn’t served so the reception was just dancing and drinks.
…I think I’m gonna have a cross wedding; quick, runway style in a church and then we have servers bring out food to the guests in the aisles. And we ain’t gonna forget about the flower girl and ring boy–they’re getting goodie bags for their hard work! Wedding and reception in 1 hour, in the church and we’re done!! Oh and the church should be in Mexico too for the honeymoon! Soooooo that’s gonna be a wedding, a wedding reception, and honeymoon in one day! 😀 YAY! So excited!
Wow! That kind of wedding (the second one) is almost exactly like how a traditional Singaporean wedding is like! Just minus the korean traditional hanboks and stuff. xD I also noticed that the bride and groom visit each table and take pictures with each of them for like a minute each then they hurry to the next one.
I was at disney land and some korean people were getting married and they all looked so fancy in their hanboks and outside the wedding reception place they had lil cartoons of the couple. then the next day some jersey shore looking people got married and everyone had leopard print even the bride there was also alot of hair product, makeup, fake tans and tiny dresses.
Wow..in my culture weddings are at least two days…usually friday to saturdays. Fridays are dowry negotiation and saturday big wedding feast…bride lives with groom prior to wedding, day of negotiation groom, bride, braidsmaid groomsman and wedding leaders go.to brides house. Once wedding over on sat. They all come back to grooms house to end wedding
I think it’s all Asian weddings where they go table to table to greet & thank everyone. Cuz the ones I’ve been to, the bride & groom do that xD The ones I’ve bee too were really efficient & like on point with what to do next. So it’s like wedding then to the dining place which is also sometimes/usually a dance hall. Some people don’t even attend the wedding ceromony & just the dining/dance hall xD Me & my parents did that once lol..
I’ve been to a traditionnal Korean wedding and… it was pretty much the same. Except for the wedding itself which was perfectly traditionnal, the part where you give “money gift” to have a ticket that gives access to the the “lunch room” was exactly the same. We all ate while the Bride & Groom weren’t there; they arrived at desert ! And 2hours later everything was finished! Still not used it. O_O
The first time I went to a Korean wedding I was shocked by everyone talking through the entire ceremony! It’s a very different wedding culture than I’m used to. I also cracked up laughing when you used “Puer natus est” for the cake-cutting bit. “A boy (Jesus) is born” isn’t exactly what I associate with wedding cake, but hey — to each his or her own. 😉
Korean weddings are very similar with Chinese ones, I think it might be the east-Asian cultural 😮 I remember all the wedding celebration meals I been to are very much like what you guys described, a lot of tables and people sit randomly, and the newly weds greet everybody actually we have those halls(for buffet) to celebrate big events such as wedding but also birthdays, I remember I had my 10th? during my primary school or near the end of that period, birthday in one of those buffet halls too.
Thank you for your question:) First of all I am worried about my ability of answering your Q and speaking English so please understand my skilllessness:) Well, If you know Korea’s history you can figure out K-pop very well. Since ancient times Korea people have enjoyed singing a song. There are two reason. One reason is our painful history. Korea suffered from many war between many country so our anscestors expressed their feeling as song. And the other reason is our traditional thought
Korean weddings seem so familiar to vietnamese weddings, we would have a traditional ceremony in the morning where the groom takes the bride from her house over to his house, they meet all the elderly then at night the ceremony would be like that . they would walk down the isle while everyones eating, there would be like different courses of food and then the bride and groom goes to legit every single table and that would take like half the wedding .
In most hispanic weddings (at least the ones i have seen) are the whole day from the wee hours of the morning to the wee hours of the NEXT morning. The dinner is served first, then the ceremony (i think this is first if you’re religious. i guess it depends.) then the couple dances. At this part, they can have the ‘dollar dance’ where other men can dance with the bride for a dollar. Then evryone dances until the next morning! Its very fun.
As I am living in Japan right now, I can easily answer your question and tell you that, no Japanese Idols tends to stay in Japan. Why I’m not quite sure; I think it’s something like they’re not nearly as popular as Kpop Idols, though I know groups from Johnny’s have tried world tours. All of their promotions, however, are in Japanese still.
Last time I was in SK, back in 2007, there were much more diversity than USA w.r.t radio playlist. I would say(I didnt count or anything) only about 50% were American pop. Various strands of European pop music were played very often, and you could even hear Latin and Caribean music too, from the same FM station. That’s the single thing I miss most from SK, even more so than food.
I’ve lived in Korea (more on than off) for the last 15 years. While W40,000 is wrong for the reason all 4s are wrong (sounds like the Chinese word for death), other eve numbers are OK. W30k generally works, though. Also, every wedding I’ve been to I have gone with “groups” (Groom’s climbing gym .. bride’s knitting group. colleagues. . . and it lasts all day!! Gathering with the group (if close, it includes the bride and groom . . . otherwise it’s just the group I am affiliated with. . . from bar to bar to noraebang for hours after the wedding!
I heard from my Korean friend that the guests you’ve invited to the wedding will judge your social status by looking at how many people you’ve invited. It was so bad to the extent that people invited strangers to their wedding to put on a show. And it was definitely not a happy occasion because there’s lots of tension.
Hmm how to ask this? I know you have been on St4R King and RM before as well as other Korean promotion sites. I know you were probably approached to do these things but can you share your experience trying to get onto TV? Is the Korean television/broad casting system completely different from NA? Could you compare them or highlight the different steps a person has to take? Do you think ‘training academies’ (like SM/YG) set up the only path to TV exposure?
I guess the weddings of this age in Korea are totally different xD When my mom had her wedding almost 20 years ago, it was totally traditional, with wedding pictures outside in forests where she had a really big white dress and like 6 other really expensive wedding hanboks which she still has, and she had the traditional hair and makeup and normal hair and makeup and whole bunch of different ceremonies that lasted quite a while. I guess they just don’t do that anymore…
Sounds pretty much like chinese weddings in the US Oo except for the length of time. those DO take at least a few hours just for the banquets. also it is very common (from what i have seen at least) to just have the banquet. and you give the gift of money more commonly than the gift of well.. gift @@ The banquets are usually 5-11 course meals, and it varies with the venue and budget.personally, i’ve had the most grand banquet( my sisters) right before my worst (cousin’s).
I’ve seen a few Korean weddings in the Wedding Halls and stuff in dramas, but for some reason it didn’t occur to me that everyone does that. I just thought the drama was low budget or something or that it was in a fancy hotel. I can’t really imagine something else other than a church wedding or even a beach wedding or on the rooftop of some famous place. Dang.
Hey Simon and Martina. I remember perusal a article a while back where Martina mentioned that she quite liked heavy metal, and then several times more recently that you also liked rock music (more than simon anyway) and I was wondering that outside of kpop what genres of music you both are into, and Martina what rock/metal bands are you into?
I wanted to know how long did it take you to learn the korean language? Is the majority of what you’ve learned from what you studied or from your day-life ? Is it difficult ? It’s because i want to learn japanese but it’s really difficult and they that once you know korean it’s easier to learn japanese and chinese.
What restrictions are there on visiting Korea as a tourist and on a Work Visa? Are there such things as holiday homes in South Korea in the same way you might get people owning “condos in Spain”? Also, the animal pictures in the background are adorable, almost as adorable as the food cupboard stickers ^_^
hi, I heard that wedding rings are not traditionally used in Asian countries. are there any special reason they do wear rings for? do you know about japans stand on wedding rings? other asian countries? if they do decide to forgo tradition and wear a wedding ring, is it acknowledged as so? do girls for example go all googlely eyed over them? and if so, do you think that might lead to there being established as “tradition”?
Hello Simon and Martina, I’ve been wondering, what approach do Koreans take to parenting? I’ve heard of Tiger Mothers and things like that but I was wondering how Koreans specifically approach parenting. Are they strict or not so much? Are there things that they would never do but that parents from other countries would have no problem with?
In Croatia you only give money so they can invest it in their new home or do what ever they want with it. It is like the cover charge for your chair plus whatever you give depending on how close you are,. After the cake at midnight you stand in line and give the envelope to the bride and groom and you take a picture with them.The wedding lasts until early morning and the bride and groom have to be the last ones there to say thank you to everybody and give them a thank you note and a bag of cookies from the reception.The wedding starts at the brides home and at the grooms home for their guests, after a few hours the groom and his guest come to the bride and the bride has to hide so they pretend he is looking for a wife and asks if there is someone for him in the house.
That description of the weddings feels like you walk in and are trampled over, eat and leave 0: middle eastern weddings and western weddings seem less “efficient” but more enjoyable, sincere in a way, relaxed and close knit. And ooh have you guys seen m.a.s.h? I think there was an episode with a traditional Korean wedding
Honey-Senpai is the anime character that shows up at both 08:27 and 08:31… He’s from the shoujo series Ouran High School Host Club, a third year student who acts like a little child (though he’s a skilled martial artist and really mature on the inside) and is a total freak for sweets, including cakes.
Hey Simon and Martina I was wondering if they are any contest in Korea just how we have here is U.S. where callers have a chance to meet a famous person also is their any chance for fans overseas or where can i go to enter or are their any at all, since well 🙁 I’m a student with a budget and i haven’t had enough money go to see any of my favorite K-pop Artist PLEASE give me some hope or will i have to settle with you tube articles and their music
i’m from Colombia and people normally have to places to go in that day, the church/civil…, and then go to a salon where they dance the balls and then everybody just start dancing like when we go to a club, then music is stop to eat the delicious food hehe, and then we continue dancing until the body holds
I am considering studying abroad for one year in South Korea or Japan. I can’t choose! I feel that Japan has so much history, nature and heritage that I want to see and I am currently trying to learn Japanese. But I would also like to live in Korea, I am practically interested in every cultural aspect there, music, movies, shows, fashion, language and so on. The conclusion sounds to me that I would like to travel in Japan but live in Korea. But I don’t know! What are your thoughts please anyone?
I’m not sure if they would be able to answer that question accurately since they focus on Kpop and not Jpop. If there were any Jpop groups that have crossed over successfully you would have known. KAT-TUN and Yamashita Tomohisa have appeared on Mnet a while back but it was just for a performance. I would say Kara and SNSD had the most success in Japan. Kara changed to a cuter style to fit the market and they still appear on variety shows. I know cause their sales are decent and I listen to both.
hmm.. i didnt kno u hav seperate account for tldr T_T…i was curious why i dont get tldr updates from you… anyway.. u guys are funny.. really.. my sister is preparing her wedding right now.. and i’ve been talking to my korean friend bout it.. and she told me all this fancy stuff we should do like wedding is about showing off money… so now i understand where shes coming from from this vid… we’re totally on a diff page
‘cooperation’. Whenever our anscestor work they always cooperate each other. So for improving efficiency they made ‘work song’ on the spot:) I think these two reason are foundation of K-pop nowadays. But the current of K-pop makes Korean people surprised as well as another country. Well.. There were many Korea song and singer that be loved by another country many years ago. I think K-pop can be loved by people all over the world thanks to development of internet and SNS.
i know for chinese ppl and japanese ppl (probably koreans too), legally married means u go to a city hall kinda govt office and register to be married 😛 Having a ceremony without the legal part means the law doesn’t recognize the couple as man and wife. There aren’t as many legal responsibilities and protections that comes with this “marriage” without registering especially when it comes to separation. I think being “married” without registering is called cohabitation.
Were you guys nervous about moving to Korea? Like, having to learn all the traditions of bowing and putting your hand on your elbow when giving a credit card or cash when paying and other stuff. I want to move to Korea, but I’m kind of scared that if I screw up on something, they will look down on me. And also, is it hard, trying to adjust to a different country, like were you guys home sick when you first moved to Korea? If you answered, it would be a great help. 🙂
dear simon and martina, i know you guys have done articles about teaching, being foreigners, and moving to korea but i was wondering what made you guys decide to go to korea to become teachers and live there? did you guys ever hear of kpop before you moved there? or was the culture interesting to you? or something else????
At a distant relatives wedding my relative was marrying a Korean girl and for the bouquet tossing it is directly tossed to the brides best friend and no one else is suppose to go up but the best friend. So I was very confused and then they announced that it was a Korean tradition for the bride to pass happiness over to the best friend does that happen at usual Korean weddings?
I think that the category 30$-50$-100$ is way too little… I think at weddings it’s MINIMUM 50 dollars… I am Korean, living now in Greece. They also give money at Greek weddings. Gifts at Engagement party (close friends and family) and then ONLY money at weddings. 50 euros is the bare minimum of going to a wedding in Greece. 50 euros is barely knowing them, 100 euros close friends, and no limit for family and super close friends (around 300 euros? for example)
I’ve never thought that there would be that efficient weddings. Interesting! I want to go to a Korean wedding now. I get to know some Koreans, though (just so that I’ll come to their wedding). They would’ve find weddings in western countries relaxing… Perhaps too slow? 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 27, 29, 31, 37…
I am expecting a baby soon and my sister has recently be-friended a really sweet girl from Korea. I guess i have “be-friended her as well…but i’m sure it’s weird since i’m much older than her. Any-who..I’m having a baby shower soon and I invited her…My sister said she had to explain the concept of a baby shower…I just never stopped to think that this custom wasn’t common in Korea. I thought that was really interesting.
It’s disgusting… I have never been so horrified as the day I finally accepted a invitation to go to a wedding. Korean weddings sap all the spirit and sacredness out of a wedding. Instead of having a hall dedicated to a groom and bride, there are two weddings going on at the same time and two more in line behind them. What they say is true, I ended up eating with a few members from our church group who knew the bride and groom, and the other 98% of the people in the room were complete strangers. It’s hard to mentally get beyond the fact that everyone in Korea does exactly the same thing in the same way at the same time in their lives and people being okay with the lack of individuality. I have lived in Korea for nearly eight years, and it still blows my mind that people here will do things simply because it’s the way everyone else does them. I would really like to see a traditional Korean wedding, something that draws from this country’s roots.