Learn about the Korean tradition of newlyweds throwing housewarming parties
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Gyeongeun: 안녕하세요. KoreanClass101.com입니다. |
| Hyunwoo: Hyunwoo here. Korean Culture Class, Lesson Number 25 – Now That You’re Married in Korea, It’s Time to Throw Another Party. 경은씨. |
| Gyeongeun: 네. |
| Hyunwoo: In the last Korean Culture Class lesson at KoreanClass101.com, what did we talk about? |
| Gyeongeun: We talked about a topic that’s very important. |
| Hyunwoo: Very important. |
| Gyeongeun: Yes. |
| Hyunwoo: But at the same time, sometimes depressing for some people, right? |
| Gyeongeun: Yes, right. |
| Hyunwoo: I mean, sometimes, very nerve-wracking, but generally, a very happy topic. |
| Gyeongeun: Yes, we talked about getting married and wedding. |
| Hyunwoo: Are you, I don’t know, do you consider it a happy topic or a depressing topic? |
| Gyeongeun: Well, these days it’s a depressing topic for me. |
| Hyunwoo: Okay, ok. Now, I’m moving on… |
| Gyeongeun: Don’t ask me. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Hyunwoo: Yes. And today we are going to talk about something that follows marriage and wedding. |
| Gyeongeun: So what comes after marriage? |
| Hyunwoo: Well, a lot of things, right? Many, many changes in both people’s lives take place but among all the things that happen after the wedding, we want to talk about? |
| Gyeongeun: House warming. |
| Hyunwoo: Yes. How do you say a housewarming” in Korean? |
| Gyeongeun: We say 집들이. |
| Hyunwoo: One more time? |
| Gyeongeun: 집들이. |
| Hyunwoo: Awesome. So now, let’s talk about how it works. Have you been to many 집들이s so far? |
| Gyeongeun: Not so many, just three of my friends who got married recently, so I went to 집들이 two times. |
| Hyunwoo: I see. Was it recently? |
| Gyeongeun: Yes, it was recently. |
| Hyunwoo: Okay. |
| Gyeongeun: How about you? |
| Hyunwoo: Well, I’ve been to a few and the 집들이s that I’ve been to are not the ones thrown by my 친구들, 동갑 친구들, by which I mean friends who are of the same age as me, but rather those given by people who are a little older than me. |
| Gyeongeun: Oh, really? |
| Hyunwoo: Yes. |
| Gyeongeun: Is that because not everybody around you who’s the same age as you is married yet? |
| Hyunwoo: Exactly. And that’s a good point. And basically, purely looking at the meaning of the word itself, you can do 집들이 anytime, whenever you’re moving to a new place, you want to throw a housewarming party. That’s 집들이, basically, but in Korea it’s usually after you get married, right? |
| Gyeongeun: Yes. So when I hear the word 집들이, I automatically associate it with marriage. |
| Hyunwoo: Yes. So if a friend talks about going to someone’s 집들이, you assume that the people who are throwing the housewarming party 집들이 have gotten married not a long time ago. |
| Gyeongeun: Yes, right. |
| Hyunwoo: Yes. |
| Gyeongeun: Even if you’re moving into a new house, if you didn’t get married recently, you don’t do a 집들이. |
| Hyunwoo: Right. Well, maybe you can, no one is going to say “Hey, 왜 집들이 해?” If you haven’t gotten married recently and you just moved into a new place, it would be more like just casually inviting some friends over to your new house. Not a 집들이, actually. |
| Gyeongeun: Yes. So 집들이 is pretty much associated only with 결혼. |
| Hyunwoo: Right. Then, let’s talk about how a 집들이 actually works. So if you get married, you go on a honeymoon trip, right? |
| Gyeongeun: Yes. Normally. |
| Hyunwoo: Yes, there are some people who can’t go because of work, but most people go, normally. And after they come back, they have to, kind of, get back to work, but after a couple of weeks when things settle down a bit, the couple is expected to invite some people to their house. |
| Gyeongeun: Yes. If you get married and if you know at least some people, they will ask you 집들이는 안 해요? or 집들이는 언제 할 거예요? |
| Hyunwoo: Yes, right. They don’t ask you this because they think you have to do it, but it’s just naturally expected to do it. |
| Gyeongeun: And sometimes, for most people, it is a first and last occasion to visit a couple in their house unless they invite people often. |
| Hyunwoo: Yes. So this is kind of between a pleasant, enjoyable think and an obligation. So if you get married, 경은씨, will you do a 집들이? |
| Gyeongeun: Actually, I don’t want to do a 집들이 because I can’t cook very well, so… |
| Hyunwoo: Okay. |
| Gyeongeun: I don’t know, but… |
| Hyunwoo: But you know you have to. |
| Gyeongeun: Yes. Yes, I have to. |
| Hyunwoo: So you will. |
| Gyeongeun: Yes, I will. |
| Hyunwoo: I knew the answer, but I was just curious if you are actually looking forward to it or not. |
| Gyeongeun: No. |
| Hyunwoo: You’re not? |
| Gyeongeun: Not at all. |
| Hyunwoo: Okay. But if you do, throw a 집들이, a housewarming party, am I invited? |
| Gyeongeun: No. |
| Hyunwoo: No? |
| Gyeongeun: No. |
| Hyunwoo: What if I bring a lot of presents? |
| Gyeongeun: Oh, well, in that case, you’re definitely invited. |
| Hyunwoo: Thank you. Well, speaking of presents, when you go to someone’s 집들이, you’re expected to bring some stuff, right? You can’t just bring yourself. |
| Gyeongeun: No. Of course not. You have to bring some presents for the newly married couple. |
| Hyunwoo: Yes. But what kind of stuff should you bring? |
| Gyeongeun: Well, it depends, but the purpose of bringing some stuff for the couple is to help them get some stuff they need for the new house. |
| Hyunwoo: So things like everyday goods, right? |
| Gyeongeun: Yes, right. |
| Hyunwoo: How about furniture? |
| Gyeongeun: No. |
| Hyunwoo: No? Computer? |
| Gyeongeun: No. |
| Hyunwoo: TV? |
| Gyeongeun: No. If you’re that rich, your friend will appreciate it, but usually, no. People used to bring things like toilet paper, dishes, detergents or flower pots. But sometimes, different people bring the same thing, so these days, more and more people just ask the couple what do you need? |
| Hyunwoo: Yes. So no one wants to end up having 20 boxes of tissues or ten little flower pots, so the trend is just asking them, asking the host. |
| Gyeongeun: Yes. And that way, people who visit the couple from the same group can also maybe, collect some money and buy something more expensive. |
| Hyunwoo: Right. And what about the host couple? What do they usually have to do? Just show people around the house? Show them every corner of the house? |
| Gyeongeun: No, they have to prepare some food and drink. |
| Hyunwoo: Yes, it’s not like you really have to show people every corner of the house, every little thing that you have, what kind of computer you have, what kind of tea you have, right? |
| Gyeongeun: Yes, right. Just show them where you live and ask them to wish you a happy marriage. |
| Hyunwoo: Yes. Just a brief intro of “Hey, this is our house.” and after that it’s like: “Thanks for coming, let’s have dinner.” |
| Gyeongeun: Yes. It’s not so complicated, but it’s not easy either. |
| Hyunwoo: How come? |
| Gyeongeun: Because, you normally have to invite several groups of people, during maybe the first month or so. |
| Hyunwoo: First, you have to invite your family members. |
| Gyeongeun: From both sides. |
| Hyunwoo: Yes, the woman’s side and the husband’s side. |
| Gyeongeun: And then friends. |
| Hyunwoo: Again, of both sides. |
| Gyeongeun: And then, colleagues from both sides. |
| Hyunwoo: This is a lot of groups, right? Can’t you just invite them, just, all together? |
| Gyeongeun: You can, but you normally don’t. |
| Hyunwoo: Yes, this is the same thing with birthday parties, well Gyeongeun might not believe me when I say this, but I’ve been to many birthday parties… |
| Gyeongeun: Oh, really? |
| Hyunwoo: Yes. But not many people invite people from different groups in one place. |
| Gyeongeun: I think that can be another topic for our culture class. |
| Hyunwoo: Definitely. So how big or important do you think that this 집들이 culture is in Korea? |
| Gyeongeun: Well, let’s say it’s not the most important thing in the world, but still, when someone gets married, it’s a natural thing that follows. |
| Hyunwoo: Yes. Might sound weird that you have to invite your colleagues to you house after you get married, but it’s very common in Korean workplaces to hear people saying to someone who just got married something like: “Hey.”… |
| Gyeongeun: 집들이는 언제 할 거예요? |
| Hyunwoo: Which means: “When are you going to invite us to your house? When are you going to invite us for a housewarming party?” And 경은씨, one last thing before we wrap up. |
| Gyeongeun: 네, 뭔데요? |
| Hyunwoo: 집들이에 가면 뭐 하죠? What do people do at a housewarming party? |
| Gyeongeun: Well, just eating, drinking and talking. |
| Hyunwoo: Exactly. And obviously when some guests come to their house, the wife or the husband wants to score some points by being very nice to the guests. |
| Gyeongeun: Yes. If a man invites his colleagues and if his wife cooks the dishes herself and they are good, the husband’s guests will keep talking about it. |
| Hyunwoo: Yes, for a long, long time. |
| Gyeongeun: Yes, right. |
| Hyunwoo: And that gives some people, usually women, some pressure, too. |
| Gyeongeun: Yes, But once a few of these 집들이s are over, you get to know a lot of people and a lot of people get to know your wife or husband. So I think it’s very good. |
| Hyunwoo: Yes, I think So too. So 경은씨 we talked about 집들이 today. Are you going to anybody’s 집들이 sometime soon? |
| Gyeongeun: I don’t know. |
| Hyunwoo: You don’t know? |
| Gyeongeun: Yes. |
| Hyunwoo: haven’t been invited to one, yet? |
| Gyeongeun: Not yet. |
| Hyunwoo: Okay. I’m actually going to someone’s 집들이 soon. |
| Gyeongeun: Oh, really? |
| Hyunwoo: Yes. |
| Gyeongeun: Oh, wow. |
| Hyunwoo: I might just not go. I don’t actually… Personally, I don’t really feel comfortable having to go to someone’s house. I mean… |
| Gyeongeun: That’s the reason why you don’t have so many friends. |
| Hyunwoo: Come on. I have a lot of friends they want to, they love to have me around, but I know how much pressure they get from having to invite people for their 집들이… |
| Gyeongeun: Yes, right. |
| Hyunwoo: And so if I just meet them outside their house, you know, I can give them less burden, so… |
| Gyeongeun: Right. |
| Hyunwoo: I might go, but I might not go. |
| Gyeongeun: Okay. |
| Hyunwoo: I’ll think about it a little more. |
| Gyeongeun: But if you bring a lot of presents, they will be very happy. |
| Hyunwoo: Yes, that’s one reason I am considering not going, because I have to bring them presents. |
| Gyeongeun: All right. |
Outro |
| Hyunwoo: No, not really. Well, anyway, thanks for listening everyone. You can come to KoreanClass101.com and listen to other Korean Culture Class lessons. |
| Gyeongeun: If you have any questions, leave us a comment. |
| Hyunwoo: Or if you have requests, ideas for culture class topics, you can also stop by KoreanClass101.com and tell us. Okay? So thanks for listening. |
| Gyeongeun: 네. KoreanClass101.com에서 봐요. |
| Hyunwoo: See you at the website. |
| Gyeongeun and Hyunwoo: 안녕히 계세요. |
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