The Happy Day, Day 4.
Friday was the big day and the main reason for our trip at this time. My brother-in-law was about to be married.
We'd met his fiance for the first time after landing at Seoul Station and were able to share supper together before she headed out to prepare at home for the big day.
My brother-in-law was moving at a hectic pace and a bit nervous, I'd say, but very happy and attentive to all of us just as he should have been focusing on himself. Helping out tremendously, however, was one of his childhood friends from Busan who'd become our chauffeur for the day (he'd been a driver for his military service so he was infinitely well qualified.)
We were also very happy to meet our future sister-in-law. She speaks English (big bonus for me) and has a very endearing sense of humour. There was no time at all that we felt like we hadn't known each other for ages, which is a pretty big feat when you're welcoming two people from abroad into your life.
All of this just added to feelings I already had. Korea is definitely a second home. It didn't quite feel that way when I lived there, but since marrying my wife, I've felt that I now significantly have a foot in each of our countries. Being so warmly received by my in-laws in Korea, however, and having the old comfortableness of Seoul come back to me upon arriving there, it started making me wonder how long before we'd be planning the next trip and whether it might be for more than a week or two. My wife and I love our families and feel blessed every day that we won the jackpot on both sides of the family tree.
The wedding itself would be held at Korea University, where both my brother-in-law and his fiance had attended. I think there was a desire to make it a more secular affair and the officiant of the service was actually a political figure whom they had both worked with at one time on matters of labour and human rights. I suppose, as I have extended my family through Korea, this actually made me feel closer to the national fabric of the country too. I sometimes think I have made more bonds with Korea after leaving the country than while I was there.
Now, I didn't get a photo of the poster but it's worth noting that the university is also the proud home to Korean super woman and record-breaking weightlifter Jang Mi-Ran who had competed at the Beijing Olympics that summer.
It's certainly a beautiful campus and reminded me a bit of my old alma mater in Canada. We raced to get there through Seoul traffic (with a brand new GPS that's all the rage now in Korea) and quickly took photos of the bride and groom in tux and dress. They'd be changing into more traditional clothes immediately after the service so now was the best time to get their shots out of the way. They even had a star photographer, the author of a travel guide which had featured my sister-in-law while she did volunteer work abroad.
The service went well. My wife, her best friend and I actually played a few songs on ukulele, tambourine and guitar for the service to help celebrate. Afterwards, we had a buffet dinner downstairs. Over 500 guests were there, including many from my wife's rather huge extended family in the east. They'd chartered a bus to bring them in. After eating, we raced upstairs and a second, traditional ceremony was held, as you can see above.
What was maybe less traditional was that after my sister-in-law gave my wife a sticky piece of yut to eat, she slipped it to me and I had to finish it. You see, the tradition is that the bride gives it to her new sister-in-law as a symbol to "keep her mouth quiet", from whence comes a rather rude expression in Korea when used out of context, which I suppose would be more in line with my wife giving it to me.
I haven't included a photo of all the food unwrapped because, you see, at the time of the ceremony, I had no idea it was real. It looked so beautiful, I assumed it was just props. I was so wrong. My sister-in-law's wonderfully talented aunt is a specialist in traditional foods and runs a catering business to that extent. Everything you see on the table above is real, including the male and female chickens (wrapped out of view) and even foods such as stingray which we'd be snacking on later.
Ceremony over, we got out of our suits as best we could and into more comfortable clothes. We hopped into two vans and, much like my wife and I, began their honeymoon with a family road trip to share more time. We headed out of Seoul and into the countryside to a "pension" resort near the headwaters of the Han River.
Labels: Korea Trip 2008
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