A marriage ceremony

[조영희]

A marriage ceremony...it describes the ceremony in which a man and a woman vow
to establish a relationship as husband and wife.
For a man and a woman to meet, fall in love, and then get married with everyone's blessing,
the Korean traditional wedding ceremony has many conditions that must be met.
Since ancient times, marriage was seen as the most important ceremony in one's life,
so they took more care in preparing for it. Shall we take a look at the origins of Korea’s wedding traditions?
There is no detailed data describing the origin of wedding ceremonies in Korea.
Looking into the past based on historical documents from the Koryo Dynasty,
we can see that Korea had a very unique marriage system.
 In the Puyo kingdom, monogamy was officially declared, but in fact, polygamy was still practiced.
 In a practice called okcho [옥저], when the bride-to-be turned ten years old,
she was sent to the home of her future groom, where she would mature.
When she reached marrying age, she would go back to her family’s home
and spend a certain amount of time before getting married.
This process in which a young girl would be taken into the new family
as a future daughter-in-law was popular.
Since the royal family attached great importance to one's status or social standing,
they would marry people under similar circumstances.
This often led mostly to marriages between people of the same lineage,
 or marriage into the families of their in-laws.
 Later during the Choson Period, Confucian influence led to prohibition of marriage amongst members of the same lineage,
and as a result, marriage between people with the same surname and even the same clan of that surname was prohibited.
It is only recently that marriage amongst people with same surname and same family clan has been allowed.
For centuries, Korea was a society with a strict social hierarchy.
But since the wedding ceremony was considered to be the happiest of occasions,
on this day, even the common people were allowed to wear formal dress...
Let’s look at the clothes worn at a traditional wedding ceremony...
First looking at the groom, he wore tallyong [단령] official attire worn by government officials.
On his chest he wore a hyungbae [흉배], an embroidered insignia on the breast and the back of an official robe,
which showed his official rank.
 He also wore a samo [사모], a kind of hat made from black thread, and for shoes,
he wore buckskin boots called mok´wa [목화].
Now let's look at the bride.
 She would wear a suran ch´ima [스란치마], a long red skirt decorated with a splendid gold leaf.
She would also wear a yellow top. Over that she wore a vest-like hwarot [활옷], which came down low.
On her head she wore a bridal headpiece and she wore tanghye [당혜] for shoes, which were made of silk.
 When moving from one place to another, the bride was transported in a hand-carried kama [가마]
a palanquin carried by about four people.
The first thing to happen in a traditional wedding ceremony is uihon [의혼].
Uihon is when the parents of both sides get together and approve the marriage
after examining each other’s family, education, and personality.
 It is said that in old Korea, the bride and groom were not allowed to see each other's faces
until the day of the wedding...Amazing, isn't it?
 The second thing to happen in the marriage sequence was napch´ae [납채] and napp´ye [납폐].
 Napch´ae is the examination of horoscope data using the bride and groom's birth dates.
Napp´ye is when the bride and groom offer gifts to their families.
Whose gifts they were and why they were being given was important.
The third event was called ch´inyong [친영], which corresponds to today's wedding ceremony,
except in those days the groom went to the bride's house where the ceremony took place,
and he met his bride for the first time there.
Ch´inyong is composed of chon-allye [전안례], the exchange of wild geese,
which are a symbol of compatibility between husband and wife, signifying a happy life,
and kyobaerye [교배례], in which the bride and groom greet each other by bowing.
This is the first time the bride and groom meet face-to-face.
The last part of ch´inyong is hapkullye [합근례], in which the new couple shares one cup of alcohol.
After uihon, napch´ae, napp´ye, and ch´inyong have all been carried out,
the last part of a traditional Korean wedding ceremony, p´yebaek [폐백], takes place.
This is where the bride and groom greet the groom's parents and his family.
At this time, the groom's parents throw chestnuts and dates, and pray for tasan [다산], the bearing of many children.
The process of a traditional Korean wedding ceremony...a bit complicated, don't you think?
 But Koreans believed that the better they conformed to formality, the happier they would be.
 Nowadays, most people have wedding ceremonies based on Western practices,
 but there are still some couples who go through the traditional wedding ceremony.
There are a number of reasons for adhering to the traditional ceremony in spite of its complicated procedure.
First, a traditional wedding is far more memorable for the bride and groom, their family members and guests,
 than a more modern wedding..
 Second, the traditional ceremony turns the wedding into a festival in which all those present can enjoy themselves.
 In a traditional ceremony, p´ungmul [풍물] is performed instead of the wedding march,
which creates a cheerful environment.
 And finally, a traditional ceremony is not restricted by location.
Because it does not have to take place in a wedding hall,
 it can take place outdoors, on a plain, anywhere the bride and groom want, making it even more special.
 No matter how complicated the traditional Korean wedding ceremony is, no matter how important the procedures
 and manners are, the most important thing is the love between the bride and the groom...but you already knew that...