The Traditional Korean Wedding - Page 2
© Susan Johnson-Roehr
The opening of the marriage ceremony is signaled by the gyobaerye, when the bride and groom bow to each other upon meeting for the first time (this happens less frequently today). The bowing ceremony can be followed by a cleansing ceremony and then a drinking ceremony to symbolize unification (these ceremonies vary regionally). The ceremony is closed by bowing to the elders in the room--the ancestors, the parents and the guests. Then the bride would be introduced to her new parents.
Today, the post-ceremony traditions are somewhat difficult to maintain. In pasttimes, immediately upon getting married, the couple would be led to a special room in the bride's home in order that the marriage be consumated. Since both families had some emotional and philosophical investment in the joining of family lineages, it was important to both families that the couple start trying to produce progeny as soon as possible. Also, since the groom used to be quite young, maybe not even a teenager, by locking the couple in a room for a few days, the bride couldn't just up and leave.
After three days, the couple was freed from their wedding room. The wedding parade returned the couple to the house of the bridegroom's family where they would reside. At this point, the bride was formally introduced to her new family.
The traditional wedding ceremony--as well as the events of before and after--is actually quite complex, and these few paragraphs do not do it justice. If you would like to learn more about the Confucian basis of the wedding, the rituals, the clothing, and the meaning of the wedding ceremony, please examine the links below.
Traditional Korean Marriage (5 Stars)The Life in Korea site is one of my favorites, and this section detailing the traditional Korean marriage ceremony demonstrates why.
Traditional Marriage Ceremony(4 Stars) A very informative site giving a detailed explanation of wedding rites and rituals. This is a neat site because it discusses regional variants and has a page dedicated to wedding traditions specific to Seoul.
Weddings in Korea, By Mi Kyung Park (4 Stars) This is a personal website with photographs of an actual wedding. Very cool.
The Traditional Korean Wedding Page (4 Stars) This is another personal web site. This documents Kevin and Kyungsoon's wedding--great photographs.
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