The Korean Wedding

After a busy week of work and little time to make preparations, it was with a hint of apprehension that I woke at 5.30am on Thursday morning for the long journey ahead. After meeting Hema and enjoying two large mugs of tea, I was beginning to relax and enjoy the thought of a holiday ahead. We were soon on the plane and regretting the quantity of tea we had drank as we powered down the runway. When the seat belt sign went off, we were those annoying people who have to get up straightaway to use the bathroom.

In Helsinki we had time to order some proper lunch, as the only thing we could do with the meatballs and mash potato we were given on the flight was to discuss the [lack of] merits of mash compared to rice as an in-flight meal. After a pizza, two cups of tea and some pulla, we were back on a plane bound for Seoul. FinnAir's in-flight entertain kept us busy for a few hours (except when the flight attendent decided to interupt us with pointless information in three languages). Eventually I drifted off to sleep for a bit, only to wake up to Hema looking angry and telling me how lucky I was to have slept -- she had not had any!

We landed in Seoul to be greeted by two of Jin's friends who took us to our hotel (where we quickly showered and changed into our wedding dress), then for lunch (where we tucked into a large bowl of Bibimbap) before we headed to the wedding venue. It was chaos when we arrived as a previous ceremony was drawing to a close. There were people everywhere, but the familiar farang face of Mark was no where to be seen. Luckily we found Mark's family, and then some of his friends, while we waited for him to exit the dressing room. Eventually he appeared, adorned in traditional Korean dress -- what I can only describe as looking like several purple curtains tied up with little pieces of rope. But I was quickly to find out more about the intricacies of Korean dress as I was told I must go get changed straight away before rehearsal. I was led to the dressing room, where a large pile of cyan-coloured curtains awaited me. Ten minutes later I was all wrapped up and practicing my Korean bow. My role in the ceremony was to carry a wooden goose, as a symbol of fidelity, and pass it to the groom at the correct moment.

After practicing the bow several times I started to feel a bit more comfortable in my new attire. It had this magical quality of making people want to take photos of me, which I happily obliged as the polite Brit that I am. Pete and Wendy arrived much-amused by my hat, which was so big that I had to be careful not to injure people with as I moved around. Quite soon though, we were ready for the ceremony proper to begin. It started with a drum performance, then a group of beautifully dressed girls performed a fan dance accompanied by a orchestra of Korean instruments. Next, the groom took the stage, and after I had passed him the goose, he was on his own trying to remember all the things he had to do in the right order. One wrong bow and the whole ceremony would be invalidated! Luckily, with all that Forest Hermitage training under his belt, he executed the whole thing perfectly (well, at least I thought so!). The bride had an equally tough job, holding her arms up horizontally whilst holding a large piece of cloth (I dare not call it a curtain) for the whole ceremony. Jin did have the fortune of wearing a stunning dress, brightly coloured and so beautiful that had Mark bowed in the wrong manner then probably no one would have noticed as they were all too busy admiring Jin. The final part of the ceremony involved Mark and Jin sitting opposite one another, taking sips of rice wine from two halves of a gourd -- it was all symbolic stuff!

After the official part, it was time for some more photographs, before we were ushered into the dining area for a large buffet of Korean food. I remember that there were at least five types of kim chi (spicy rotting cabbage) -- delicious! It was a long time before the married couple came to join us and they looked quite exhausted, but Mark had found time to get changed into a hideous pink outfit. After a few mouthfuls of food he was off again to speak to more of the guests, and we were soon on our way to the next venue.

What could be a more suitable location for Mark to host a wedding reception than a tea house. And what could be a more suitable end to our day then eating cake whilst drinking tea. It was the perfect way to end an exciting day, in a traditional Korean tea house relaxing with Mark and Jin, their family and their friends. Perhaps too relaxed as I seemed to get very chatty with Jin's students who were very delightful -- and female. I also insisted on having my photograph taken with Jin's mother and her aunt (who then could not stop talking about me apparently). But by far the most entertaining part of the night was the speeches. Mark started with a very romantic speech in Korean (I know because everyone was going "Ahh! Aww!" at the end of every sentence), followed by an equally soppy speech in English, which created a minor flood from the teary-eyed girls in the audience. And then it was Jin's turn. I don't what she said in Korean, but in English it started off quite romantic until she got to: "I love Mark very much because... Oops I have forgotten my speech". At which point she had to refer to her notes.

Once the cake was polished off, Pete, Wendy, Hema and I set off on foot for our delightful little guesthouse. We were exhausted from being awake for a day and a half, but that was soon forgotten as we laid down to sleep in our little wooden huts with heated floors (sleeping on the floor has never before been such a luxury). My mind was busy from the excitement of a very special day, but as soon as my floor mattress was warm I drifted off into a deep and happy sleep.

Congratulations Mark and Jin!