Ethnographic Report on:

Wedding Ceremonies

Clifford Jonathan T. De Jesus

HUMSS 11-16

Polytechnic University of the Philippines

 Korean Wedding Ceremony

Pre-wedding performance

-Samulnori: traditional percussion quartet, literally means play of four objects.

Four instruments and their meanings are:

Kkwaenggwari (a small gong): thunder

Jing (a larger gong): wind

Janggu (an hourglass-shaped drum): rain

Buk (a barrel drum similar to the bass drum): cloud

-Buchaechum: Korean traditional fan dance.

Chin-young-rye(親迎禮): Bride’s family greets groom

-Groom enters the courtyard (wedding was usually held in bride’s family house) with girukabi
(person leading the way with the wedding geese – best man).

-The girukabi hands the geese to groom.

Jeon-an-rye(奠雁禮): Presentation of wooden geese

-Groom place wild geese on a table and bowing twice to his mother-in-law.

-Mother-in-law takes the wild geese into the house.

*The wild geese symbolizes harmony and love between husband and wife. Wild geese (it’s
actually mandarin duck, to be exact) mate for life: they keep their promises of love and never
find another, if they lost their partner.

*Wooden geese is used nowadays, instead of the live one.

Gyo-bae-rye(交拜禮): Facing each other and bowing

-The groom stands on the east, and bride walks to the west side of the wedding table.

-The helpers (two each for bride and groom) wash the hands of bride and groom.

-The helpers spread the mat on the yard for each other.
-Groom bows, then the bride and groom stand on the mat, facing each other (bride holds her
hands to cover her face).

-First, bride bows twice and groom bows back once.

-Bride bows twice again, then groom makes a deep bow and kneel down.

*The bowing represents the promise of commitment to each other.

*Bride’s bow is required to sit cross-legged on the floor and stand up. That’s why the helpers are
the must!

*In the olden days when arrange marriage was the custom, the wedding ceremony was the first-
time bride and groom saw each other’s faces.

Hap-geun-rye(合巹禮): Combine the gourd dipper

-The helpers of bride and groom prepare drink (usually rice wine) and side dishes.

-The groom bows, then bride and groom present drink and side dishes to the sky (to the greater
existence who’s looking down on everyone)

-The helpers pour the drink. After groom bows, bride and groom raise their cup.

-The helpers fill the cup which made of gourd dipper and groom bows.

-Bride and groom exchange gourd dipper.

*The two halves of gourd dipper represent the bride and groom to be one whole with one
another.
Seong-hon-rye(成婚禮): Declaration of wedding

-Bride and groom bows to both families and guests.

Picture time!

-Bride and groom, and with friends and families

After the wedding is a short Korean ceremony called pyebaek, which is for family members
only. The bride and groom will wear special wedding hanbok and will bow to their parents who
are seated behind a low table stocked with traditional and symbolic wedding foods such as
chestnuts, jujubes, and dried persimmons. The parents will bless the newlywed couple, and there
will be an entertaining round of “catch the jujubes and chestnuts” to predict how many daughters
and sons the couple will have!

As for whether guests wear hanbok to the wedding, the answer is generally no – except for the
female relatives of the newlyweds. The mother of the bride will typically wear a pink or purple
hanbok, and the mother of the groom will wear a blue hanbok. The rest of the female relatives
may or may not wear hanbok, according to preference.
Guide Questions:

1. How did the entire occasion proceed?

- During the Korean wedding ceremony, vows are taken in the kunbere ceremony. Both
bride and groom wear the traditional hanbok, a traditional Korean dress specially
designed for the ceremony. A celebrant and a Master of Ceremonies officiate at the
ceremony. After vows are spoken, the bride and groom seal their vows by bowing and
sipping wine from a gourd grown handed off by the mother of the bride. The ceremony
takes about a half an hour After the vows are spoken, the family and guests will
participate in a simple meal.

2. Where did it take place?

- Korea House at (Jung-gu, Seoul)

3. Who are the key personality aside from the wedding couple?

- The Korean tradition is that both sets of parents (who are probably sharing the wedding
costs) will invite everyone they know, regardless of whether the bride and groom have any idea
who they are! There’s usually no bridesmaids, flower girls, ring bearer, or groomsmen.

4. What are the rules procedure follows?

- In many parts of the world, the wedding is all about the bride and groom, in Korea, the
guests’ preferences always come first. The ceremony will take no longer than a half-hour. It will
be presided over by an officiant and an MC. There’s a speech, a brief musical performance, the
kiss, and… that’s about it. A meal will be served immediately after the ceremony.

5. How do you notice the restriction during the wedding?

- . There’s no reception. With the possible exception of some very upscale weddings,
there will be no dancing, no speeches, and no DJs or live bands. Guests are expected to eat their
meals, greet the happy couple, and leave.
6. What sorts of gifts are given?

- It is difficult to write about gift-giving because Korea has experience a lot of cultural
changes over the past forty years. Korean tradition dictates that the family of the groom buys a
house for the newlyweds, while the family of the bride buys the furniture and household items,
as well as gifts for the parents of the groom. The families of the bride and groom exchange
smaller gifts, such as luxury watches, jewelry, handbags, suits, and hanbok.

7. What did people say in their speeches?

- In Korean tradition, the bride and groom seal their vows by bowing and sipping wine
from a gourd grown handed off by the mother of the bride.

References:

Traditional Korean Wedding Ceremony:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8G0Qm8VVGFs&t=59s

Juno Kim. (2015, April 13). The Complete Guide to Korean Traditional Wedding
Ceremony. Retrieved from http://runawayjuno.com/runaway-tales/the-complete-guide-to-korean-
traditional-wedding-ceremony/

Melkimx. (2015, June 2). Korean Weddings 101: A Basic Guide to Wedding Customs in
Korea. Retrieved from https://www.soompi.com/2015/06/02/korean-weddings-101-a-basic-
guide-to-wedding-customs-in-korea/

https://www.linandjirsa.com/korean-wedding-traditions/