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Paebaek Ceremony in Korea: From Chestnuts to Piggybacks
You might think the main wedding ceremony is the most meaningful part of a Korean wedding, but in many ways, the paebaek ceremony is where things become truly personal. This traditional Korean wedding ceremony is smaller, more intimate, and centered on family. It is the moment when the bride and groom bow to their elders, receive blessings and advice, and symbolically unite the two families. It is also the part of the wedding that many people remember most because it includes some of the most iconic traditions: the Hanbok, tossing the dates and chestnuts, and yes, the famous piggyback ride. When I had my own Korean wedding ceremony, the paebaek…
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Traditional Korean Wedding Ceremony: A Step-By-Step Guide
Getting married in another country, or to a person from another culture, comes with a host of lessons. When we decided to get married, we agreed almost immediately that we wanted a traditional ceremony in each of our home countries. For our Korean ceremony, that meant figuring out the taerye, “the great ritual”, from the beginning. Many Koreans today opt for a Western-style ceremony, but since we were doing that version in the United States, we wanted the Korean ceremony to be fully traditional. What followed involved a live goose, a split gourd, an asymmetrical number of bows, Hanbok sleeves two feet longer than my arms, and one of the…
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Traditional Korean Wedding Dress: What Is a Wedding Hanbok?
You might think a Korean wedding dress looks similar to a Hanbok you’d rent in Seoul for photos, but once you step into a real traditional wedding ceremony, you quickly realize, it’s a whole different level. When I began planning our wedding ceremonies (yes, we had two!), the American wedding ceremony being much more familiar was a breeze. The Korean ceremony? I had so many questions. 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…
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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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Chaesukgang Cliffs: Tide Pools, Sea Caves, and Korea’s West Coast at Its Best
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). My husband and I had visited this area almost a decade…
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King Suro’s Tomb in Gimhae, Korea
There are a number of interesting things to do in Gimhae, a suburb of Busan, in South Korea, but one that I found most fascinating was visiting King Suro’s tomb (수로왕릉). The legendary founder of the Gaya Kingdom and the ancestral figure behind of of Korea’s largest clans, the origin story you’ll learn is fascinating… even if you don’t believe every detail. The tomb grounds are beautiful and the surrounding neighborhood has some beautiful cafes and fun markets to stop into. If you’re visiting Gimhae, this should be on top of your list of things to see. This is one stop in Gimhae that you have to visit. Beautiful, calm,…
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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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Yeouido Cherry Blossom Festival Seoul: Dates, How To Get There & What To Expect
Spring in Seoul means cherry blossoms everywhere. One of the most famous places to see them is the Yeouido Cherry Blossom Festival in Seoul (여의도 봄꽃축제), where nearly 2,000 cherry trees line Yeouiseo-ro behind the National Assembly Building. Each year, thousands of locals and tourists head to Yeouido to walk beneath the blossoms, try festival street food, and enjoy performances along the Han River and I can tell you from personal experience (multiple times), it doesn’t disappoint. 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 the Yeouido Cherry Blossom Festival: (This post…
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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. The seas part and a natural bridge extends from the mainland out to a nearby island. The Jindo Sea Parting Festival is one of the most unique festivals in Korea. This naturally…
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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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The Wednesday Demonstrations in Seoul: How to Attend the Comfort Women Protest
Every Wednesday at noon, near the site of the former Japanese Embassy in central Seoul, a crowd gathers. Some weeks it’s a couple dozen people. Some weeks it’s a hundred or more. All of them are there for the same reason: to demand that Japan formally acknowledge and take legal responsibility for its WWII military sexual slavery system, commonly known by the euphemism “comfort women.” These are the Wednesday Demonstrations (수요시위), and they’ve been happening continuously since January 8, 1992, making them one of the longest-running weekly protests in the world. If you’ve read my piece on the Statue of Peace, you already know some of this history. This article…
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House of Sharing: A Comfort Women Memorial Near Seoul
If you come to Korea and have the opportunity to learn about the comfort women, don’t pass it up. The House of Sharing was established in 1992, funded privately by Korean citizens and a Buddhist organization, as a home for the surviving halmoni, a respectful Korean term meaning grandmother, who had been subjected to wartime sexual slavery during World War II. The day I visited was filled with testimony, tears, and stories of resilience through an ordeal that would leave anyone searching for words. I have not stopped thinking about it. Today, the House of Sharing operates primarily as the Museum of Sexual Slavery by Japanese Military, a permanent memorial…
