A Korean Wedding

     At the end of November, I travelled to Gyeongsangnam-do, in South Korea. As many you may know, I lived in this region for two years. One of my closest friends from that time was getting married. I managed to get some cheap tickets from Osaka, and so flew back to the place that had been my first home in Asia. It was nostalgic to return to the area, and eat all my old favorite foods.

     I’ve been to a few Korean weddings before. They are very different from weddings back in England. Where an English can sometimes last for more than 12 hours, between meals, ceremonies, and partying, the main portion of a Korean wedding is usually pretty fast – around an hour, with guests moving on in groups afterwards to smaller celebrations.

      This time, I was lucky enough to also see a much more private side of Korean Wedding culture. 폐백 (Pyebeag ペベク) 幣帛 in Japanese. This ceremony is extremely traditional, and recalls much of the Confucian culture of Korea. It’s also very fun. The newlyweds wear elaborate historic clothes, play traditional games, and the families give speeches to one another, expressing wishes for a happy and prosperous future. I was very lucky to get the chance to attend. I hope I can experience other traditions’ weddings in the future!