By Korea.net Honorary Reporter Elena Kubitzki from Germany

After the third or fourth Korean wedding I went to, I clearly noticed one thing: the average Korean wedding is much different from a German one. In Korea, people usually don’t get married in a church or another special and romantic place, but in some sort of “convention hall” in which a dozen couples are wed each day. As a guest, you don’t have to worry about getting the couple a thoughtful present but just hand in a sum of money. The ceremony itself lasts for about half an hour, after that the next couple will have to use the same room. After the bride and groom are married, the guests can eat something at a buffet in the same building and the newlyweds will briefly walk from table to table, thanking everyone for coming. After that, the wedding day is essentially over.

And even though these convention halls are without a doubt very elegant, I always found it somewhat sad that everything was over so fast. In Germany, a wedding usually lasts the whole day with people dancing, drinking, and partying well into the night. Having a time limit of 30 or 60 minutes would simply be unthinkable. And what I personally missed most of all at those weddings was the dancing. What is a wedding without a dance, right?

The customs of Korean wedding are different, too. In many Western countries, it is seen as a sign of bad luck if the groom sees his bride before the wedding ceremony on their wedding day. Actually, seeing his future bride in the wedding dress at all should be reserved for the wedding ceremony. However, Korean couples don’t seem to worry about that. Even before the ceremony, many pictures are taken with the family and some couples even kiss on the wedding day before they are wed! As a German, I surly wouldn’t be doing that, even if I did get married in Korea. But superstitions are different in every country after all.

Anyway, this month I finally managed to sneak a little bit of German culture into a Korean wedding ceremony. That is by dancing! The older sister of a friend of mine got married, so my friend asked me and another friend to form a dance group! She wanted to surprise her sister with a special performance. So for one month we practiced diligently but still were a bit nervous on the actual day of the wedding. But, we managed to surprise the couple and give them a great performance. After our dance, many friends and relatives of my friend came to thank us for creating such a lively atmosphere and preparing such a thoughtful gift.

Of course, this wedding also was over far too soon for my taste. But I still did get the feeling that I was part of something special on that day. I am sure to remember this ceremony for a long time to come. After all, you don’t get to dance at every Korean wedding.

wisdom117@korea.kr

* This article is written by a Korea.net Honorary Reporter. Our group of Honorary Reporters are from all around the world, and they share with Korea.net their love and passion for all things Korean.