Korean wedding pressure

According to the newspaperThe Asia Business Daily,The average cost for a bride and groom to invite guests to a wedding reception at a wedding hall in Seoul, South Korea, is about 82,000 won. While at a hotel, a meal ranges from 130,000 to 200,000 won.

These rising fees have put pressure on wedding guests amid high inflation and rising living costs. Most invitees say they should be considerate when giving gifts that are at least as much as the bride and groom spent to invite them.

Kim, 30, sent a wedding envelope of 50,000 won to a colleague who had just gotten married. If he had attended, the male employee would have had to give at least 100,000 won.

"I would feel bad if I celebrated less because I heard that holding a wedding party is very expensive. 50,000 won is not even enough for the bride and groom to break even if I attend the party," Kim said.

If he attends his best friend's wedding, the 20-year-old man said he is expected to give at least 150,000 won. This number would be even higher if the wedding was small and had few guests.

Kim also recently helped collect money from a family member’s wedding. He remembers some guests bringing more than one envelope and signing for those who couldn’t attend. Most of the envelopes sent contained 50,000 won, while those who attended gave between 100,000 and 300,000 won.

The cost of weddings in South Korea has been steadily rising since Covid-19. Based on a survey of 1,000 couples getting married in late 2023, matchmaking company Duo Information predicts that the average cost of a wedding in 2024 (including venue rental and wedding packages) will be around 16.43 million won. This is an increase of more than 18% compared to the same period last year and nearly 29% compared to 2022.

The increase in prices is mainly due to the decrease in the number of party rental venues and related service businesses such as wedding dress shops, photography studios, hairdressers, and makeup artists as many places closed due to the pandemic. Many couples are also rushing to organize weddings because they were postponed during the social distancing period, causing demand to exceed supply.

Analysis from Pinda's big data analytics platform shows that the number of wedding halls in Korea also decreased by more than 30%, from more than 1,000 in 2018 to 714 in 2024. However, the revenue of these units skyrocketed compared to pre-pandemic levels, from an average of 201 million won in 2020 to 530 million won in March.

According to a survey by Duo Information, the average price of a wedding service package, including wedding photos, wedding dress, makeup and hair, is increasing from 2.99 million won in 2019 to 3.6 million won in 2024.

The burden of these rising costs also creates a burden for guests. On online communities in Korea, many users advise guests not to attend the party if they cannot give the money in the form of a wedding feast. The reason is that guests usually give 30,000-50,000 won, but now the "unwritten rule" is 50,000 won for absent guests and 100,000 won for those attending the party.

In a survey by Shinhan Bank on 10,000 people aged 20-64 in 2023, nearly 53% of respondents said they would give 50,000 won if they did not attend a party, more than 36% gave 100,000 won, and more than 3% gave 200,000 won.