The bride's family, not the bride, was responsible for their share of the feast and ceremonial expenses. The Korean dowry is a traditional index of conspicuous consumption; installed in the couple's new quarters, the dowry reveals both the affluence and concern of the bride's family.
Traditionally, the bridegroom or his family was expected to provide the newlyweds with a home that the bride and her family were expected to furnish. A bride's dowry was compensation for being taken care of for the rest of her life.
In other cases, the bride and groom may cover all of the costs themselves. Ultimately, there is no set rule for who pays for a Korean wedding. It is up to the couples and their families to decide what makes the most sense for them financially.
At Korean weddings, it's customary for guests to give “congratulatory money” in an envelope. The money helps pay for the reception and goes as a gift to the couple. The amount varies depending on social status and relationship to the newlyweds. For a close friend or colleague, you may give over 300,000 won ($233).
The marriage represents two families coming together as one. As a result, parents from both families take active participation in many aspects of the wedding. Parents wear special attire, give and receive special gifts, and provide many blessings to the bride and groom throughout the festivities.
Marriage is a sacred institution in Asian communities and divorce the eighth deadly sin. Women have it particularly hard — seen as failing not only their partners and children, but also their extended families and reputations. The impenetrable patriarchy hurls most blame on the wife as their domain is the home.
There is no provision for a no-fault divorce (except for a divorce by agreement between the parties). The Korean judicial divorce process is a fault-based contest between a wrongdoer and the wronged. The courts reason that a guiltless spouse should not be forced into an unwanted divorce.
There is also a sense of responsibility and an expectation that the older person should take care of the younger one, which explains why the older person will usually offer to pay for the food. Yes, this is a manifestation of a double standard based on gender.
The opposite of a dowry is a “bride price,” also known as a “bridewealth.” As you might have deduced from the name, this is money that the groom would pay to the bride's family in order to secure her hand in marriage.
The money amount depends on status and how close you are with the family. If you are close with the bride, groom, or their parents, then it would be a good idea to give between W50,000-W100,000. However, if this relationship isn't as close such as with a colleague from work, then W30,000-W50,000 is sufficient.
An age gap of 12 years is significant in Korean culture because it means that the couple is a full zodiac cycle apart.
Wedding guests try to avoid wearing black or white since black looks too funeral, while white appears to compete with the bride in North America. This etiquette is very similar to a Korean one as well! In Korea, wearing a calm and darker shade outfit is recommended as a respect for the bride.
Korean couples usually get a couples' ring when they hit the 100 days mark of being together. All in all, we hope and expect you to have fun if you choose to date while living in Korea. You could experience so many great things by having a partner here; however, your life will be fun and fulfilling even without one!
Naturalization is the process by which a foreign national married to a Korean national acquires Korean citizenship. Once married and on a F£²-1 (Joining Family) visa, the foreign national is granted a period of sojourn between three to six months.
Do Korean guys marry foreigners? In 2018, 16,608 Korean men and foreign women married, with 6,338 coming from Vietnam, 3,671 from China, and 1,560 from Thailand. In total, 28% of all marriages between a foreigner and a Korean person involved a South Korean man and a Vietnamese bride.
Modern Korean couples often exchange jewellery early on in relationships, with promise rings and couple rings given prior to any engagement. These tend to be fairly simple rings without expensive stones or too much embellishment. The 100-day mark is when many couples decide to get a ring.
According to tradition, the bride and her family should cover the majority of expenses including the bride's dress, venue hire, cake, decorations and other services, while the groom's main responsibilities are to pay for the engagement ring, honeymoon and the flowers for the bride.
As a guide, here's a list of the expenses traditionally covered by the parents of the groom: the wedding rings, officiant's fee, marriage license, the bride's bouquet, boutonnieres and corsages for the immediate family, music (band/DJ), liquor at the reception and the honeymoon.
Sometimes the groom's parents pay for the officiant fees, the marriage license, the bride's bouquet, boutonnieres, and corsages for immediate family members, the liquor, entertainment, and sometimes even the honeymoon!
Everyone has an opinion one way or another, and women in Korea are no different in that regard. In traditional Korean society, the norm has been that the man pays for not only the first date but also the majority of dates that the couple goes on.
*Millionaires are defined here as individuals who have financial assets of one billion South Korean won or more. 1,000 South Korean won equals 0.83 U.S. dollars or 0.74 euros as of March 2022.
The traditional, old-school approach is that the man must foot the bill for the first date and all subsequent dates. Don't expect an opportunity to pay for the succeeding dates as it's generally how it'll be as long as you're together.
In traditional Korean culture, like many traditional cultures, marriage between a man and a woman were decided by the bride and groom's elders. As in Confucian values family and the customs of a family is placed above all. Marriage is considered the most important passage in one's life.
Even couples who marry for love often ask their parents to arrange the marriage to observe traditional good form. Arranged marriages continue to be popular because young men and women in Korea find casual socializing awkward and often feel they lack the experience to choose their own partners.
SEOUL - A divorce court in South Korea on Dec 6 awarded the former wife of Chey Tae-won, chairman of the country's second-largest conglomerate SK Group, a lump sum alimony of 100 million won (S$103,740) and 66.5 billion won (S$68.9 million) in division of assets.