Korean Weddind: Ceremonial Clothing

Commoners generally wore white clothing except for special occassions or festivals. Whereas wedding clothes were bright and festive, funeral clothes were subdued and bland. People also wore colorful clothes during festivals and other celebrations. These clothes represent formal ceremonial clothes worn by females during the Chosun (1392-1910) Dynasty.


Wedding Clothes
With marriage being one of the most important steps in ones life, the wedding ceremony has grown into a very formal and lavish ceremony, with bright, intricate clothes worn by the bride and groom. In addition to the clothes, they also wore ceremonial head gear. The groom wore a black hat, while the bride wore a veil covering her face until halfway through the ceremony. Additionally, she wore a long hair pin. (For more information, see the Traditional Marriage spotlight.)

The costume to the left depicts the clothes worn by the bride-to-be when the future groom delivers the ham to the bride's family. The ham was originally a box from the groom containing red and blue silk that was to be used to make a dress. It also had various other gifts for the family such as bedding, money, charcol, or food. The family would then offer the bearer of the ham food and some money for travel expenses. In recent years, the tradition has degenerated into the groom and his friends demanding large sums of money for delivering the ham, then spending all the money getting drunk.

Modern wedding clothes are more subdued with lighter colors than their traditional counterparts. These pictures actually represent modern interpretations of traditional clothes. These days, most couples opt for a more Western style, with the groom wearing a suit or tuxedo and the bride wearing a white gown similar to those found in the West.

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