Many have said that Korean weddings are no match to a Western wedding and despite the celebratory nature of this event, it can be somewhat monotonous and awkward. However, if the opportunity arises, I strongly suggest you take up a Korean friend/coworker's invitation to his or her wedding to see and experience this differences in this romantic ritual (if not to enjoy some free buffet-style food, beer and soju with some friends.)
Just recently I was honored to be invited to my first Korean wedding. It was to celebrate the union of my former Korean-Canadian co-worker and his Korean bride. A few old colleagues and I met up prior to and went together. It was a great opportunity and excuse for us to all get together again as well!We entered the wedding hall and there was a bit of confusion before we eventually found the right place. My friend's wedding took place in a wedding hall, which can be found all over Korea. It's a venue designed especially for weddings and is composed of many semi-private rooms. In each room there is seating room (sizes vary from hall to hall) and a different wedding going on. The whole thing seemed a little impersonal and chaotic, but our worries were put to ease when we found Mr. Son and his radiant bride greeting their guests.
Before the wedding began, the guests mingled outside of the "wedding room" and soon enough the bride came out in her Western style wedding dress (white, beads, frills, lace, silk, the whole she-bang) and posed like a sheep in a petting zoo for all the guests ooh-ing and ahh-ing about how beautiful she was. (She did indeed look very stunning!)
Once the photo frenzy had subsided, we entered the room where there was an aisle and plastic patio chairs set in rows. We were lucky to have an anglophone groom because he arranged for an interpreter through part of the ceremony, so us foreigners weren't too lost. This is one of the many different points of a Korean wedding. The bride and groom are mostly silent during the ceremony and the reverend/pastor/priest does most of the talking. This was a little different because a friend of the groom's sang a song that he dedicated to the newlyweds.
Post-ceremony, the couple has a traditional Korean ceremony between the parents while the guests go down to the dining hall (usually in the same building) to get their drink and eat on. Later, the husband and wife and their families make their way to the dining hall to eat, drink and be merry with the rest of the attendants.
Just recently I was honored to be invited to my first Korean wedding. It was to celebrate the union of my former Korean-Canadian co-worker and his Korean bride. A few old colleagues and I met up prior to and went together. It was a great opportunity and excuse for us to all get together again as well!We entered the wedding hall and there was a bit of confusion before we eventually found the right place. My friend's wedding took place in a wedding hall, which can be found all over Korea. It's a venue designed especially for weddings and is composed of many semi-private rooms. In each room there is seating room (sizes vary from hall to hall) and a different wedding going on. The whole thing seemed a little impersonal and chaotic, but our worries were put to ease when we found Mr. Son and his radiant bride greeting their guests.
Before the wedding began, the guests mingled outside of the "wedding room" and soon enough the bride came out in her Western style wedding dress (white, beads, frills, lace, silk, the whole she-bang) and posed like a sheep in a petting zoo for all the guests ooh-ing and ahh-ing about how beautiful she was. (She did indeed look very stunning!)
Once the photo frenzy had subsided, we entered the room where there was an aisle and plastic patio chairs set in rows. We were lucky to have an anglophone groom because he arranged for an interpreter through part of the ceremony, so us foreigners weren't too lost. This is one of the many different points of a Korean wedding. The bride and groom are mostly silent during the ceremony and the reverend/pastor/priest does most of the talking. This was a little different because a friend of the groom's sang a song that he dedicated to the newlyweds.
Post-ceremony, the couple has a traditional Korean ceremony between the parents while the guests go down to the dining hall (usually in the same building) to get their drink and eat on. Later, the husband and wife and their families make their way to the dining hall to eat, drink and be merry with the rest of the attendants.
No comments:
Post a Comment