Traditional Marriage in Korea

When the right time comes, people will get married. So how do a new couple in Korea  prepare their marriage? Let us check it out~

Taerye (Great Ritual) means the marriage between a man and woman and it represents the joining of two families, rather than the joining of two individuals. Steeped in traditional Confucian values, the ceremonies and events surrounding the actual marriage were long and elaborate, from the pairing of the couple to the rituals performed after the ceremony. 

In the traditional Korean marriage, the elders of the prospective bride and bridegroom's families decided on all matters regarding the wedding, including the decision of whether or not to marry their son and daughter to each other.

Napchae (Date Setting)
After confirming each family's decision to marry their son and daughter through a matchmaker, the family of the bridegroom-to-be sent the hour, day, month and year of his birth by the lunar calendar (known as the Four Pillars) to the family of the bride-to-be and, in return, her family informed the family of the bridegroom-to-be the date of their wedding. The family of the future bridegroom then sent a letter of marriage and wedding presents to the family of the future bride.

Napp'ae (Exchanging Valuables)
Before the wedding, the groom's family sent presents to the bride and her family in a box called a Ham. Additionally, the Hamjinabi(person who delivered the Ham) and a small group of close friends of the groom also took a pot of Bongch'i Deok (red bean rice cake) from the groom's family. The bride's family would have a small party for the group, offering them food and drink for their efforts. The ceremony of delivering the Ham has evolved into a major event for friends of the groom, with the bearers "selling" the contents of Ham to the bride's parents.

The Ham usually contained 3 items. The Honseo (marriage paper), wrapped in black silk, specified the name of the sender and the purpose (marriage) of sending. It symbolized the dedication of the wife to only one husband. The wife was to keep this document with her forever, having it buried with her when she died.Ch'aedan was a collection of red and blue fabrics, used to make clothing. The blue fabrics were wrapped with red threads, while the red fabrics were wrapped with blue threads. The two colors represented the philosophy of Eum/Yang (Yin/Yang). The Honsuwas a collection of other valuables for the bride from the groom's parents.

Wooden Goose/Wedding Ducks (Kireogi)

A pair of wild geese made from wood represent the new husband and wife. In the Jeonanrye  part of the marriage ceremony, the groom gives a single kireogi to his mother-in-law.  The geese symbolize several virtues that the couple should follow in their married life: 1. Wild geese keep the same partner for life. Even of one dies, the other will not seek a new  partner for the rest of his or her life.  2. Wild geese understand hierarchy and order. Even when flying, they maintain structure and  harmony. 3. Wild geese have the nature to leave their existence wherever they go. People should leave a  great legacy for their descendants when they leave this world. In a traditional Korean wedding which was held in the bride's house, a bridegroom's first act after  arriving at the bride's house was to offer a wooden goose to the bride's family as a token of lifelong fidelity which was the beginning of the wedding ceremony. Still nowadays, wooden ducks are nice wedding presents appreciated not only in Korea but also in the western world. Gyobaerye (Bowing) This often marked the first time that the bride and groom saw each other. The groom and bride each had two attendants who helped them throughout the ceremony. First, the groom walked to  the east side of the wedding table.   Then the bride walked to the west end. The groom's helpers spread a carpet or mat out for the  groom, then the bride's helpers did the same for the bride. The bride and groom then faced each  other across the wedding table. The helpers washed the hands of the bride and groom. The  washing of their hands symbolized cleansing themselves for the ceremony. With the aid of her  helpers, the bride bowed twice to the groom. With the aid of his helpers, the groom bowed back  once to the bride. The bride then bowed two more times to the groom, who bowed back once  more. They finished by kneeling down and facing each other. The bowing represented the  promise of commitment to each other. Eum/Yang (Yin and Yang) Marriage represented the perfect union and balancing of the two primary elements of the  world: Eum, the dark, female element; and Yang, the bright, male element ("yin" and "yang").  Often, the marriage ceremony took place at dusk, representing a balance between light (day)  and darkness (night) The color blue stands for Eum, while red represents Yang. Chickens A male and female chicken (one wrapped in a blue cloth, the other in a red one) sit on or under the wedding table.  One meaning is the symbolism associated between roosters and the morning.  The crowing of the rooster marked the beginning of the day, a bright, fresh start, just like the marriage should be.  The crowing of the rooster also told the evil spirits that day was coming and they had to disappear.  The rooster in the wedding ceremony marks a hope that evil spirits will go away and not trouble  the new couple. A secondary meaning represents the hopes that the couple will have many  children, very important in a traditional agrarian society. As productive chickens made many  eggs, thus should the new bride produce many children.   Hapgeunrye (Drinking) This part of the ceremony had two main variations, due to regional differences.  The first variation had the couple drinking from the same cup, with their assistants passing  it back and forth between bride and groom.  The second variation had them drinking from separate halves of a gourd.  The drinking signified the destiny of the new husband and wife, as well as their harmony together. Using two halves of the same curd further symbolized that the bride and  groom each made up one half and only together could they be considered whole. First, one of the helpers poured alcohol into a small cup for the groom, who then drank it.  Another helper poured for the bride who sipped it or only pretended to drink. The groom's  helper then poured into the cup again (or used the gourd in the other variation) and the groom  drank again. The bride's helper poured again, with the bride sipping or pretending to drink again.  Finally, the groom and bride joined together and bowed three times: once to their parents, once to  their ancestors, and once to the guests. Fore more details on the procedure of wedding ceremony, you may refer to this two blog~ 1. http://www.thekoreaguide.com/2010/06/03/korean-traditional-wedding/ 2. http://www.sunacho.com/2010/korean-traditional-wedding.html  credited to: http://www.asien-zuhause.ch/Korea_Allgemein/Traditional_Korean_Wedding_English.html by JY