Before the Ceremony
Eui Hon (Matchmaking)
The process of finding a prospective wife or husband for ones child usually involved the services of professional matchmakers who would gather information about local unmarried people and their respective social levels, education, and family lineages. The matchmaker would match prospective partners and have their parents meet each other. The parents would also meet the prospective mate for their own child, but the future bride and groom would not meet each other at this time. The groom's family would send a proposal of marriage to the bride's parents, who would either accept or decline the proposal on behalf of their daughter.
Napchae (Date Setting)
sajuAfter the proposal was accepted, the groom's family would prepare a Saju, which specified the year, month, date, and exact hour of the groom's birth, according to the lunar calendar, and deliver it to the bride's family. White paper, 40 cm tall and 90 cm wide, was folded 5 times evenly, and the Saju written in the middle, then put in a white envelope. Rather than sealing the envelope, the groom's family wrapped the envelope in bamboo branches then tied it with red and blue thread. Finally, the entire package was wrapped with Sajubo, a wrapping cloth with red fabric on the inside and blue on the outside.
Based on the information contained in the Saju, a fortune teller determined the best date for the wedding. The bride's family then sent a Yeongil to the groom's family that stated the wedding date and inquired about the groom's body size.
Napp'ae (Exchanging Valuables)
Before the wedding, the groom's family sent presents to the bride and her family in a box called a Ham. Additionally, the Hamjinabi (person who delivered the Ham) and a small group of close friends of the groom also took a pot of Bongch'i Deok (red bean rice cake) from the groom's family. The bride's family would have a small party for the group, offering them food and drink for their efforts. The ceremony of delivering the Ham has evolved into a major event for friends of the groom, with the bearers "selling" the contents of Ham to the bride's parents. (In recent years, the groups have become very boisterous, demanding large sums of money that they promptly spend on alcohol.)
The Ham usually contained 3 items. The Honseo (marriage paper), wrapped in black silk, specified the name of the sender and the purpose (marriage) of sending. It symbolized the dedication of the wife to only one husband. The wife was to keep this document with her forever, having it buried with her when she died. Ch'aedan was a collection of red and blue fabrics, used to make clothing. The blue fabrics were wrapped with red threads, while the red fabrics were wrapped with blue threads. The two colors represented the philosophy of Eum/Yang (Yin/Yang). The Honsu was a collection of other valuables for the bride from the groom's parents.