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All over the world, people conduct weddings. The ceremony itself differs depending on the country and the culture.
South Korea is no different as it has a wedding ritual that involves tying the groom's feet and flogging him. While this might sound painful, the practice itself is actually amusing to the guests at the wedding and some lessons are attached to it.
For this South Korea wedding ritual, which can also be seen as a rite of passage, young men in the village and relatives of the bride play different kinds of tricks on the groom at the bride's family home.
The most prominent one is where the groom is carried by these young men and relatives of the bride, and hung upside down. There is also the time where they would use a white cloth to tie his ankles and start flogging the soles of his feet with items such as a club.
While this happens, the bride pleads with the beaters to stop. They don't listen to her for a while though. During the beating, the groom is asked some questions which he is expected to answer.
While this flogging is going on, the bride's mother is made to prepare food and drinks which is shared to the groom's friends and other guests. The guests while eating and drinking encourage the beaters to go on and beat the groom some more as that is one way for him to learn some manners.
Amid this, relatives and other villagers start giving their blessings to the couple, some also pray for the couple’s happiness and health.
It is believed that this South Korean wedding ritual is a way to congratulate the couple on their wedding. In addition, some say the flogging process helps the groom to become stronger for his wedding night.
However, there are situations where no one voluntarily takes part in this ritual especially if the couple or their families have a bad reputation or are not respected by others. Basically, more people joining in the flogging of the groom, signifies great honor on the families of the newly weds.