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Korean Family Customs - Main
Page
Korea's Main Page
Among Koreans there is a strong bond between relatives and clan members. Adhering to traditional family-centered principles, the extended family in Korea is the first place to which people turn when they find themselves in trouble. In the past, brothers often lived in the same household after marriage and, in some cases, even cousins occupied the same house. Although such large families living under one roof together are rare these days, family members often reside in the same neighborhood and maintain frequent contact. Those who live far away tend to get together on special occasions such as a relative's marriage, the 60th or 70th birthday, the birthday of a child, and on traditional holidays. At such times everyone pitches in to assist with preparations for the ceremony.
Respect for one's ancestors is central to the family clan system. Special memorial services for great-great-grandparents are conducted in the home on the anniversary of their deaths, between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. For the fifth generation or beyond, services are held once a year, on Ch'usok (the Harvest Moon Festival), the 15th day of the Eighth Moon, or on a selected auspicious day. On this day, descendants gather at the ancestral tomb to perform ceremonial rites. This memorial service is such an important event that even distant family members travel long distances to participate.
Clan members often take advantage of these gatherings to hold an annual conference. A clan that has many branches and members may divide into smaller units, each establishing a common coffer and property. The conference is organized to decide and implement policies of common interest such as the maintenance of ancestral tombs and the management of clan properties.
Koreans maintain a great reverence for their family history and meticulously record and update these genealogical records, which in many cases, go back several dozens of generations. They also minutely record official ranks, achievements, royal citations, the localities of tombs and other information.
When meeting for the first time, Koreans of the same family name must first decide whether they are members of the same clan. If so, they must consult the genealogy to find how closely they are related. Should one of them belongs to an older generation, respect must be shown through the use of honorifics as well as certain usages of words that imply that the two persons are members of the same clan.
Information provided by the Korean Embassy