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A Korean Wedding Ceremony and The Paebaek Piggyback
Getting married in Korea? Wondering what a traditional wedding ceremony in Korea is like? Whether you’re having a modern wedding ceremony in Korea or a traditional wedding ceremony, one part of the events will be a paebaek ceremony. A unique and traditional step in the wedding process in Korea, this ceremony in which the bride and groom wear traditional Hanboks is what truly unifies the family. Here’s everything you should know about the paebaek ceremony and what it means. Learn about the traditional paebaek ceremony in a Korean wedding ceremony: (This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a certain percentage of a sale if you purchase after clicking…
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A Guide To A Traditional Korean Wedding Ceremony By A Multicultural Couple That Did It
Getting married in another country or married to a person from another culture or country comes with a host of lessons and learning. When we decided to get married we very quickly decided we wanted to have a traditional wedding ceremony in each our home countries. So, with that, it was time to figure out how to plan a traditional Korean wedding ceremony. These days, many Koreans opt for a more western style wedding ceremony but since we were going to have that in the States where I’m from, we wanted to be traditional from beginning to end. But, what happens in a traditional Korean wedding ceremony? I wondered. And,…
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What Does A Traditional Korean Wedding Dress Look Like?
When I began planning our wedding ceremonies (yes, we had two!), the American wedding ceremony being much more familiar was a breeze. When it came to the Korean ceremony, there were so many questions that stood out like: What does a Korean wedding dress look like? What do Korean women wear in a wedding? Is there a traditional Korean wedding dress? Or, do women wear more modern dresses these days? I wanted to be culturally appropriate and we decided to go traditional because we’d be doing a traditional American ceremony as well. There is in fact a difference in the traditional Korean wedding dress versus the standard traditional dress, or…
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My First Hanbok & Getting Married To A Korean Man
My how the time has gone. I didn’t realize it’d been three weeks since I last posted on here until today when I logged on. When planning a wedding, or in my case two, but mostly half of only one, things just pile up. This past weekend I got married to Jae-oo in our first wedding ceremony. As we’ve decided to become a multi-cultural duo we’ve opted for a very traditional Korean ceremony in his home town and then in a couple months a traditional American ceremony in my home town. That’s getting a little ahead of my topic for this blog though as I’ve decided to go back a…
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The Mural Village In Seoul You Haven’t Heard About
There are hidden gems all over the city of Seoul and Gaemi Maeul (개미마을), or Ant Village, is one of them. This mural village in Seoul was painted by students in a similar fashion to the much more popular Ihwa Mural Village and also the murals in Mullae-dong. This mural village sits on the side of Mt Inwang, Inwangsan, which is popular with hikers in Seoul. And that’s probably the only people that find this mural village really. Get off the beaten path in Seoul and see something different… like the Ant Mural Village. This mural village in Seoul is hidden away. Find it if you can: (This post contains…
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Rocky Chaesukgang Cliff In Jeollabuk-do Is A Must See
When looking to get away from Seoul to the seaside of Korea, Jeolla is often calling. Whether it’s spring in Korea or winter in Korea, a rocky seaside offers something to see and enjoy in my opinion. There are gorgeous sandy beaches on the east coast of Korea, but Jeolla has some really gorgeous cliffs and rocky coastline to enjoy. Chaesukgang Cliff (채석강) is one of the best things to see in Jeollabuk-do. After stopping in nearby Gunsan City or Seonyudo Island for some sightseeing, we headed south to visit the cliffs in Jeonbuk National Geopark (전북 서해안권 국가지질공원). Jae-oo and I had visited this area almost a decade ago…
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King Suro’s Tomb in Gimhae, Korea
Get ready to learn more about history and legends with a visit to King Suro’s Tomb (수로왕릉) in Gimhae, Korea. There are a number of interesting things to do in Gimhae, a suburb of Busan, and this is just one intriguing place. Learn about the legend of King Suro, who, according to ancient records, passed away at the remarkable age of 158 in the year 199. (This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a certain percentage of a sale if you purchase after clicking at no cost to you. Thank you for your support.) How To Get There Address:26 Garak-ro 93beon-gil, Gimhae-si, Gyeongsangnam-do (경상남도 김해시 가락로93번길 26) Directions:…
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The Busan Rock Festival Rocked My World
Never able to pass up free room and board and backstage passes I went with my husband down to Busan for the annual Busan Rock Festival (부산 록 페스티벌) this past weekend. There are some amazing summer festivals in Korea and this is one of them. Not only one of the top music festivals in Korea, but since it’s free, it’s massive. (This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a certain percentage of a sale if you purchase after clicking at no cost to you. Thank you for your support.) What To Know About The Busan Rock Festival The Busan Rock Festival kicked off in 2000 and is…
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Hiking In Seoul: Gwanak-san Mountain
Saturday some of the teachers in the Men’s Hiking Club asked me to join them for their hike up Gwanak Mountain. A little back story: I’m at an all boys private high school. Because it’s all boys it makes sense that most of the teachers are male as well, just to keep the order I imagine. When I say most I mean 64 of the 69 are male. In the private and public schools teachers seem to have a club for just about anything they have more than 4 teachers interested in and at my school they’re mostly based around a sport of some kind. At the training for the…
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The Yeouido Cherry Blossom Festival: How To Get There & What To Expect
Spring means cherry blossoms cherry blossoms cherry blossoms all around Korea, and a sea parting down in Jindo, but that’s another story for another time. The place to see the cherry blossoms in Seoul is either Yeouido, or Namsan so I hear. Have you heard that too? Must have or else you wouldn’t have ended up here. Yes, the Yeouido Cherry Blossom Festival (여의도 봄꽃축제) near the Yeouido Han River Park is one of the most popular spring festivals in Seoul, Korea every year. Yeouido abloom with cherry blossoms is utterly gorgeous, but it can also be pretty busy so know what you’re getting into. Here is a guide to…
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The Nonsan Strawberry Festival: A Guide
Need some strawberries in your belly? Find a strawberry farm in Korea. There are plenty. If that sounds daunting though, head to a strawberry festival because they have free transportation out to nearby farms so you can pick to your belly’s content. Nonsan Strawberry Festival (논산딸기축제) is one of the best strawberry festivals in Korea especially considering it’s the largest producers of strawberries in Korea. What to know about Nonsan Strawberry Festival: (This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a certain percentage of a sale if you purchase after clicking at no cost to you. Thank you for your support.) How To Get There Address: 319 Daegyo-dong, Nonsan-si, Chungcheongnam-do…
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Korean Dramas: “Pasta” Made Me Want To Eat Pasta
If you like Korean dramas or are interested in them, you definitely need to watch “Pasta”. Not only is the drama great, but the soundtrack is great. Produced by the group Every Single Day, the OST is awesome and though I say that with some bias as one of the writers and musicians is my own husband, the drama is worth a watch. This was the band’s debut working on Korean dramas and now they have almost 20 K-dramas under their belt. I would say it was a pretty successful foray into the industry. Pasta has a fun storyline that will make you hungry for pasta every time you sit down…
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Jindo Miracle Sea Road Festival: The Most Unique Spring Festival in Korea
Spring is a beautiful time in Korea. There are cherry blossoms that begin to bloom and more flowers that bring the country to life. There’s more than just flowers though. For four years I’ve heard about the Jindo Sea Parting Festival (진도 신비의바닷길축제) and for four years it’s been during the week. No one has power over the seas after all so this Korean festival was also during the week and thus as I work, I couldn’t go. However, this year the seas were parting on the weekend and so I set out making plans to go to this super unique spring festival in South Korea. The Jindo Sea Parting…
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Sometimes we meet famous people and don’t even know it!: My Princess Korean Drama
Well, I take that back. I did know I was meeting famous people, however, with Korean famous people it’s almost like an oxymoron to me because I don’t really know how famous they are or what their names even are. It’d be nice to know the equivalent American famous person just so I’d have an idea of just how famous they in fact are. Alas, that never happens and I just smile and nod and get shoved into a picture by someone with me. (This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a certain percentage of a sale if you purchase after clicking at no cost to you. Thank…
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Korean Comfort Women Wednesday Protests In Seoul
The number of people that you find outside of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul on Wednesday mornings fluctuates from crowds to just a few. Whatever the number, they all have the same goal, protesting in the name of the atrocities put upon the Korean comfort women during WWII. To support the Korean comfort women, there are Wednesday demonstrations in Korea and you can join. Learn more. (This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a certain percentage of a sale if you purchase after clicking at no cost to you. Thank you for your support.) Every Wednesday from 12 to 1 the Japanese embassy puts down their blinds and…
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The House of Sharing: Learn About The Comfort Women In Seoul
If you come to Korea and have the opportunity to learn about the comfort women from the women themselves, don’t pass it up. The House of Sharing was set up in 1992 funded privately by some Koreans and a Buddhist organization. Originally housing 12 of the surviving grandmothers, or comfort women from WWII, as of 2019 there were 6 women living in the home. These women have become activists, giving testimonies of the atrocities they endured, protesting and traveling abroad to spread awareness of a system that is still happening today around the world. Should we learn about the past so we don’t repeat it in the future? Yes, and…
