{"id":5998,"date":"2018-08-22T23:41:55","date_gmt":"2018-08-23T04:41:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/korean\/?p=5998"},"modified":"2018-08-22T23:46:33","modified_gmt":"2018-08-23T04:46:33","slug":"korean-wedding-ducks-symbol-of-fidelity-and-love","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/korean\/korean-wedding-ducks-symbol-of-fidelity-and-love\/","title":{"rendered":"Korean Wedding Ducks: Symbol of Fidelity and Love"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last Saturday, one of my friends asked me about the significance of the Korean wedding ducks. While I shared the meaning and some of my fond stories relating to the wedding ducks with her, I thought you might be interested in learning the history and symbolism of Korean wedding ducks.<\/p>\n

\"Korean<\/a>

\u201cKorean wedding ducks\u201d Image by Rystheguy on Wikimedia Commons under CC-BY-SA-3.0<\/p><\/div>\n

Symbol of Fidelity <\/strong><\/p>\n

Incorporating a pair of wooden ducks in the \uacb0\ud63c\uc2dd\u00a0<\/em><\/span>(wedding ceremony) was derived from the old Korean \uc804\ud1b5\u00a0<\/em><\/span>(custom). Initially, a man would gift a pair of live ducks or geese to his soon-to-be bride\u2019s \uac00\uc871\u00a0<\/em><\/span>(family) in order to express his wish to get married. In Asian countries, \uae30\ub7ec\uae30\u00a0<\/em><\/span>(geese) and \uc6d0\uc559\u00a0<\/em><\/span>(mandarin ducks) symbolize \uc2e0\uc758\u00a0<\/em><\/span>(fidelity), \uc0ac\ub791\u00a0<\/em><\/span>(love), \ud3c9\ud654\u00a0<\/span><\/em>(peace), and \uc790\uc190\u00a0<\/em><\/span>(offspring) because they are known to be monogamous animals that mate for life.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \n
      \n
    1. \uacb0\ud63c\uc2dd \u00a0<\/em><\/span>[kyeol-hon-sik] \u2212\u00a0 wedding ceremony<\/li>\n
    2. \uc804\ud1b5 \u00a0<\/em><\/span>[jeon-tong]\u2212custom<\/li>\n
    3. \uac00\uc871 \u00a0<\/em><\/span>[ga-jok]\u00a0 \u2212\u00a0family<\/li>\n
    4. \uae30\ub7ec\uae30<\/em><\/span>\u00a0 [gi-leo-gi] \u2212geese<\/li>\n
    5. \uc6d0\uc559<\/em><\/span>\u00a0 [won-ang]\u00a0 <\/em>\u2212mandarin ducks<\/li>\n
    6. \uc2e0\uc758 \u00a0<\/em><\/span>[sin- eui] \u2212\u00a0fidelity<\/li>\n
    7. \uc0ac\ub791 \u00a0<\/em><\/span>[sa-lang]\u2212 love<\/li>\n
    8. \ud3c9\ud654<\/em><\/span>\u00a0 [pyeong-hwa]\u00a0 \u2212peace<\/li>\n
    9. \uc790\uc190 \u00a0<\/em><\/span>[ja-son] \u2212offspring<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Later on, the wooden ones replaced live ducks and geese. A prospective couple would carefully select a carver for their wedding ducks, and the completed ducks would be wrapped in a colorful cloth before the wedding ceremony. During the wedding ceremony, the wedding ducks were placed on the table, and the couple unwrapped the ducks upon their marriage.<\/p>\n

      Visual Marker of the Couple\u2019s Relationship<\/strong><\/p>\n

      The wedding ducks should be kept somewhere in the couple\u2019s \uc9d1 <\/em><\/span>(home), facing \ubd80\ub9ac <\/em><\/span>(beak) to beak. Usually, a duck with \ube68\uac04\u00a0<\/em>\uc0c9\u00a0<\/em><\/span>(red color) represents a \uc2e0\ubd80\u00a0<\/em><\/span>(bride) and \ud30c\ub780\u00a0<\/em>\uc0c9\u00a0<\/em><\/span>(blue color) represents a \uc2e0\ub791\u00a0<\/em><\/span>(groom).\u00a0 My favorite part of this tradition is that the position of ducks signifies the couple\u2019s \uad00\uacc4\u00a0<\/em><\/span>(relationship). When ducks are facing beak to beak, this signifies that a couple is having a \ud654\ubaa9\ud55c\u00a0<\/span><\/em>\uad00\uacc4<\/em><\/span>(harmonious relationship), on the other hand, when ducks are faced away from each other, this means a couple is having an \ub9d0\ub2e4\ud23c<\/em><\/span>(tiff).<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. \n
          \n
        1. \uc9d1 \u00a0<\/em><\/span>[jip] \u2212 home<\/li>\n
        2. \ubd80\ub9ac \u00a0<\/em><\/span>[boo-ri] \u2212 beak<\/li>\n
        3. \ube68\uac04\u00a0<\/em>\uc0c9 \u00a0<\/em>[<\/span><\/span>p<\/span>pal-gan-saek] \u2212 red color<\/li>\n
        4. \uc2e0\ubd80 \u00a0<\/em><\/span>[sin-boo] \u2212 bride<\/li>\n
        5. \ud30c\ub780\u00a0<\/em>\uc0c9 \u00a0<\/em><\/span>[pa-lan-saek] \u2212 blue color<\/li>\n
        6. \uc2e0\ub791 \u00a0<\/em><\/span>[sin-lang] \u00a0\u2212 groom<\/li>\n
        7. \uad00\uacc4 \u00a0<\/em><\/span>[kwan-gye] \u2212 relationship<\/li>\n
        8. \ud654\ubaa9\ud55c\u00a0<\/em>\uad00\uacc4 \u00a0<\/em><\/span>[hwa-mok-han kwang-gye] \u2212 harmonious relationship<\/li>\n
        9. \ub9d0\ub2e4\ud23c \u00a0<\/em><\/span>[mal-da-toom] \u2212 tiff<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          Traditionally, female ducks had a red string tied around the beak as a reminder that a \uc544\ub0b4\u00a0<\/em><\/span>(wife) should keep silence (not become a nagger) and support her \ub0a8\ud3b8\u00a0<\/em><\/span>(husband). Nowadays, wedding ducks are not only popular wedding favors to Korean people but also a popular \uae30\ub150\ud488\u00a0<\/em><\/span>(souvenir) to foreigners who visit Korea. You will often see both male and female ducks would have strings tied around their mouth, as a reminder to a couple that \uc778\ub0b4\uc2ec\u00a0<\/em><\/span>(patience) \u00a0and \uce68\ubb35\u00a0<\/em><\/span>(silence) are virtues in their relationship: Interpretation of this would symbolize the \uc874\uc911\u00a0<\/em><\/span>(respect) to each other.<\/p>\n

            \n
          1. \n
              \n
            1. \uc544\ub0b4<\/em><\/span>\u00a0 [a-nae] \u2212\u00a0 wife<\/li>\n
            2. \ub0a8\ud3b8 \u00a0<\/em><\/span>[nam-pyeon] \u2212 husband<\/li>\n
            3. \uae30\ub150\ud488 \u00a0<\/em><\/span>[gi-nyeom-poom] \u2212 souvenir<\/li>\n
            4. \uc778\ub0b4\uc2ec \u00a0<\/em><\/span>[in-nae-sim] \u2212\u00a0 patience<\/li>\n
            5. \uce68\ubb35 \u00a0<\/em><\/span>[chim-mook]\u2212 silence<\/li>\n
            6. \uc874\uc911 \u00a0<\/em><\/span>[jon-joong] \u2212 respect<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

              Although many wooden ducks are mass-produced these days, many Korean people still value the meaning of the Korean wedding ducks. When you visit Korea, you will realize that Korean wedding ducks are one of the popular items for sale at souvenir stores.<\/p>\n

              \uac10\uc0ac\ud569\ub2c8\ub2e4<\/em>!<\/em><\/span>\u00a0(Thank you!)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

              Last Saturday, one of my friends asked me about the significance of the Korean wedding ducks. While I shared the meaning and some of my fond stories relating to the wedding ducks with her, I thought you might be interested in learning the history and symbolism of Korean wedding ducks. Symbol of Fidelity Incorporating a…<\/p>\n

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