Korean Marriage Ritual Culture Customs

Marriage is a holy ceremony for almost everyone, especialy for the woman. There must be a special ritual and held in a special wedding halls. In Asia, many bride and the groom still hold a traditional way in the marriage ritual, such as pouring a tea for the eldest, and wears a traditional attire.

Korean Marriage Ritual

In Korea culture, the marriage between a man and woman represents the joining of two families, rather than the joining of two individuals.

As such, the event was often called Taerye (Great Ritual), and people from all over participated.

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 familiy 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 Korean 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 Korean bride. Napp'ae (Exchanging Valuables) Before the wedding, the groom's family sent presents to the Korean 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.


Arrange marriage in Korea
Jungme kyoron (중매 결혼) is an arranged marriage. Traditionally Koreans son bayo (손 봐요) or go on an arranged date or meeting with a potential marriage partner. Son bayo (손 봐요) literally means, to look at one’s hand. Son (손) means hand. Bayo = (look at, see). It dates back to the time when fortune tellers would “read” their clients’ palms to foretell of the future. In the same way, these arranged dates or meetings are used to determine whether the other person is suitable as a marriage partner. While jungme kyoron (중매 결혼) is an arranged marriage, it does not necessarily mean that one is forced to get married to a person he or she doesn’t like. There is considerable latitude over mate selection. Often people will go on several dates set up by a jungmejengi (중매쟁이) or matchmaker.

Although Koreans have kept several aspects of the traditional ceremony, most modern ceremonies resemble Western marriage ceremonies more than traditional Korean ones. However, many folk villages and museums across the country regularly perform ceremonies to keep the traditions alive.

Dating Korean Women Rules Culture

Dating in Koreans is a big major today. Different cultures make it diffucult. Like other Asian Cultures, Korean cultures are more traditional and conventional.

Koreans get their ideas of what Americans are like from our films, so some of them are sold on the idea that all Americans are promiscuous. This may be one reason that some Korean men are opposed to Korean women dating western men, but think that they might like to date a western woman. The double standard is alive and well in Korea. If you're a western woman and you want to date Korean men, watch out for signs of this attitude.

Korean Women do not like to show their affection in public. I have hardly ever seen couples holding hands, kissing, and hugging in public spaces. However, I hear that contemporary trends have changed. Because my parents are old-fashioned, they do not like to show affection in public.

In general, Korean women are submissive. They are taught that women should act in a delicate manner. When they smile, for instance, they tend to close their mouth with their hands. I am not sure if it is because they have bad teeth.

When it comes down to physical appearance, I do not think that all Korean women are attractive. I have seen ugly, beautiful and other women with a wide range of physical traits. I have seen a lot of fat, thin Korean women that are married to somewhat attractive Korean men. I think that their relationship is based more than on just physical attraction... And to be honest, I have not questioned what bonds them together, because it is not my business.

The good news is that this attitude is changing fast. Koreans used to be very matter-of-fact about marital sex and rather prudish about premarital sex. That's not so true any more -- Korea is experiencing something not entirely unlike the US sexual revolution of the late 1960s. In 2001, the Chollian Internet Service asked its users what they thought of living together before marriage. A sample comprising Internet users is probably not (yet) representative of the general population. Still, the vast majority -- 85% of men, and 90% of women -- said they thought that premarital cohabitation was a good idea.

Other surveys report that over 10 percent of high school students have had sex. This may seem low compared to the US and most European nations, but it's high for Korea. Maybe because of this, the Korean goverment has recently undertaken an expanded sex education program in the hopes of increasing contraceptive use among young people.

Lastly, yes, Korean men and women hold their national pride. Koreans are proud of their heritage, because there are many aspects of the culture they are proud of. Focus on education, hard-work, Korean food, beautiful geography, topography and comraderie are some aspects that makes me very proud of my heritage