Pyebaek

What it is

Pyebaek brings a new couple together with the groom's relatives in a room apart from the wedding crowd. The older pair sit on cushions behind a table, a painted screen at their backs, and the newlyweds face them. The couple make a deep bow that begins on their feet and finishes on the floor, foreheads pressed to their hands. What follows is part welcome and part teaching: cups of wine change hands, food is offered, and the elders give the pair their thoughts on married life. Only family members are in the room.

Food on the table

The table is usually put together by the bride's mother, who thinks about what will carry well on the journey to the groom's home. Dried or sweetened dates and chestnuts are common, and these are thrown into the bride's lap to wish the couple many children. Gotgam, dried persimmons, are a prized offering, because the tree must be grafted before it will bear fruit, so the fruit stands for a marriage that endures. Handmade meat jerky goes to the groom's mother. Nine small snacks, called anju, may be laid out for the groom's father, nine being a number of completeness. Sweet fried cookies called yakgwa, a cinnamon punch named sujeonggwa, and a sweet rice drink, sikhye, can also appear.

Dress and objects

For the ceremony the couple wear hwarot, a ceremonial outfit made of a wide-sleeved jacket, the jeogori, and a long skirt. In the Goryeo and Joseon dynasties only queens wore hwarot, and later it became clothing for special days among ordinary people. A bride's hanbok is often a green jacket with an X-shaped front, a waistband and a red chima, or skirt, embroidered with signs of long life, children and good fortune. Her hair is dressed in the traditional way with pins and a small crown called jokduri, and some brides add red dots on the cheeks. The groom wears blue hanbok with a dopo overcoat and a black hat called gat.

Today and change

Modern weddings often move pyebaek to the end of the reception, and the bride's family may now take part as well. In the past the rite was only for the groom's side, who were meeting the new bride. Korean Americans keep it too, sometimes a few days before the ceremony, and a bride may receive money in white envelopes. Researchers describe this return to the custom as reverse acculturation, where people settle into a new country while holding on to what they grew up with. Commercial services exist for families who are unsure how the ceremony goes.

How Pyebaek is kept

The groom's parents sit behind the table; the couple face them. The bride and groom bow deeply, from standing to kneeling with foreheads on their hands. The bride offers a cup to the father, the groom offers one to the mother, usually cheongju, a clear rice wine. The parents may pour cups of cheongju or soju for the couple in return. Then the elders share what they have learned about marriage. Finally the dates and chestnuts are tossed back toward the bride, who tries to catch them in her skirt. Only family is present.

When and where

It is kept a few days after the wedding ceremony, with family only, in the older form of the custom. Many modern weddings in Korea hold pyebaek after the reception instead. Korean Americans sometimes hold it a few days before the ceremony. It follows the couple's own wedding date rather than a fixed day in the calendar.

Pyebaek belongs to Korean wedding practice and is kept by Korean families, most strongly among those in Korea. Korean Americans have carried it into the United States, where it is held around the wedding day. The sources name no particular city or province for it.

What Pyebaek means

Dates and chestnuts stand for children, and tossing them into the bride's skirt is a wish for a large family. Dried persimmons are valued because the tree must be grafted before it will fruit, so they speak of a couple joined together and of living through hard times as one. The number nine suggests completeness and good fortune, yakgwa stands for wealth, sujeonggwa for warmth and harmony, and sikhye for sweetness in the marriage.

On the table

Flavours: Cinnamon

Questions people ask about Pyebaek

See also

Islamic marriageThe sacred contract, agreement and wedding celebration forming an Islamic marriageRite of passageA ceremony that marks leaving one group and entering another, with a new statusRehearsal dinnerA meal the night before a US wedding, when the wedding party gathers to toast and thankBridal showerA gift-giving party for a bride before her wedding, best known in North America

Good reading and sources

• Pyebaek on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-05.