Dito sa bansang Korea, ang kasal ay karaniwang ginaganap tuwing tag-sibol (Spring) at tag-lagas (Autumn). Ang lugar ng kasalan ay tinatawag na “Wedding Hall”. Karaniwan na may dalawang parte ang kasal dito. Ang una ay para sa estilong Kanluran kung saan nakasuot ng tradisyonal na puting damit ang babae at Amerikana naman sa lalaki. Ang pangalawang parte ay ayon naman sa tradisyon ng mga Koreano noon. Dito ay nakasuot ng “hanbok” o pambasang kasuotan ang ikinakasal. Isa sa seremonyas na ikinatutuwa ko sa tradisyonal na kasal nila ay ang pagbuhat ng lalaki sa babae sa kanyang likod o “piggy back ride” sa wikang Ingles. Ito raw ay simbolo na susuportahan ng lalaki ang kanyang asawa. Hindi namin ito ginawa noong ako’y ikinasal. Mas mabigat ako sa asawa ako at ayos lang na hindi sumunod sa tradisyon kesa naman mabalian siya ng buto sa araw ng aming kasal (paano naman ang pulot-gata?). Ang larawang ito ay sa kasal ng isang kaibigan.
I wrote in a previous post that when you marry a Korean, your name has to appear on the family register. However, there are two kinds of family registers in Korea. The first one is called 호적등본 (ho-jeok-deung-bon) and the other one is called 주민등본 (ju-min-deung-bon).
Our 주민등본 before having a child and changing citizenship and after
According to my husband, the 호적등본 is the general family registry. It is where all family members’ name is listed. The 주민등본 is the head of the family’s own register and only Korean citizens are listed. When you get married to a Korean, your name should be on the ho-jeok. You are not legally married if your name is not there. It will appear on a box below your husband’s name. As a foreign national, your name will not be listed on the ju-min. It will only appear there when you change your citizenship.
It used to be that only men can legally be the head of the family in Korea. That’s why when a woman has a child out of wedlock, the child is usually registered under the name of a couple in the family. It all changed during the Roh administration when they recognized that women can be heads of the family too.
When a woman in a Korean family gets married, her name is removed (marked as 제적) from her father’s ho-jeok and is transferred to her husband’s.
