Marriage in Korea
[3] Marriages during the Goryeo period were made primarily on the basis of political and economic considerations, at least among the aristocracy.
[citation needed] King T'aejo, the founder of the Goryeo dynasty, had 29 queens with which he built alliances with other aristocratic families.
Cousin marriage was common in the early Goryeo period, and non-royal aristocrats married daughters to half brothers of different mothers also.
However, such consanguineous marriages were gradually prohibited by banning such individuals' children from attaining positions in the state bureaucracy and later came to labeled as adulterous but often persisted despite these sanctions.
[4] Wedding ceremonies were held at the home of the bride's family and the average age of marriage was late teens with aristocrats marrying earlier than commoners.
[4] Weddings included gift exchange and a banquet, which were meant to display the bride's family's wealth.
[4] Thus, unlike during the Joseon period, brides and husbands remained members of both their natal kin group and their affinal family after marriage.
[4] A woman who remarried too frequently could gain a negative reputation as promiscuous, but Koreans of the Goryeo dynasty were not seen as prudish, at least by Chinese standards of the time.
[4] Distinctions were introduced at the beginning of the Joseon dynasty, in imitation of feudal imperial China, which distinguished primary and secondary wives, thereby clarifying the line of succession.
[4] During this period patrilocal residence after marriage became the norm through royally dictated changes to laws governing mourning obligations and inheritance rights.
[4] Concern among legislators over the perceived lack of marriageable women led to the passage of laws that made families subject to punishment for failing to marry her off at an appropriate time.
Unlike in South Korea, there are no legal provisions regulating or banning marriage between persons in cases of consanguinity or other types of familial relations.
[12] This codified prohibition was inspired by similar taboos in Tang China during Korea's late Joseon dynasty, which strove to realize Confucian ideals of governance and social order.
For these reasons, a significant amount of time was spent in preparation before finally performing the actual wedding ritual.
The first step is called the euihon (의혼; 議婚), or 'matchmaking', this is when both the bride and groom's families discuss the possibility of marriage.
Various factors are taken into consideration such as: social status, personality, appearance, academic and/or agricultural (industrial) achievements, as well as material harmony as predicted by a fortuneteller.
The groom's year, month, day, and hour (according to the lunar calendar), which is known as saju (사주; 四柱), is written on a paper and wrapped in bamboo branches and tied with red and blue thread.
The last step in pre-ceremonial traditions is called the napchae (납채; 納采), or exchanging valuables.
In the ham, there is typically three item: the honseo (혼서; 婚書), the chaedan (채단; 彩緞), and the honsu (혼수; 婚需).
[16] In ancient times, weddings (혼례; 婚禮; honrye) were held in the bride's yard or house.
The norigae (노리개) is a hanbok (한복) decoration which has been worn by all classes of Korean women for centuries.
[20] In busier wedding halls, formality (except for the couple and their families) is typically relaxed compared to Western standards.
The modern Korean wedding feast or reception, (kyeolhon piroyeon, 결혼피로연, 結婚披露宴) can be a mix of traditional and western cultures.
At a traditional wedding feast a guest would expect to find bulgogi (불고기, marinated barbecue beef strips), galbi (갈비, marinated short ribs), a variety of kimchi (pickled cabbage with a variety of spices, with other ingredients such as radishes, seafood).
Mandu (만두), dumplings filled with cabbage, carrot, meat, spinach, garlic, onion, chive, and clear noodle.
Steamed rice cakes (tteok) sometimes embellished with aromatic mugwort leaves or dusted with toasted soy, barley, or millet flour are presented as a tasty ritual food.
There is mounting evidence to suggest that there is a statistically higher level of poverty and divorce in the Korean men married to foreign women cohort.
[36] Movie director and producer Kim-Jho Gwang-soo had a private non-legal ceremony with Kim Seung-hwan, the head of the gay film distributor Rainbow Factory in September 2013.
[43] Studies also suggest that marriages between a Korean husband and a foreign wife may have the highest rate of divorce, due to their lower quality of married life.
The Supreme Court of Korea does not completely rule out divorce that is petitioned by the spouse that was found to be at fault.
