My friend and former co-worker got married today. Her new husband's family is from a small town in the south-western corner of the country called Buan. I'm fairly certain I was the only foreigner to have ventured into Buan in quite some time, judging by the stares and not whispered exclamations of 'Oh! Waegooki!' Waegook means foreigner.
Anyway, seeing as though the wedding was Sunday morning and it takes 4 hours to get to Buan we decided to make a road-trip out of it and go Saturday night. Boarding the bus even the driver was confused as to why we would want to go to Buan. Kimberly had to explain it was for a wedding, then he let us on. The ride there was uneventful. Naps were had, books were read. We had planned on finding a hotel and hanging out in the thriving metropolis of Buan, but then Tak called and said he and Rira were meeting friends in a town 40 minutes away, and if we wanted to go he had another friend coming through who could pick us up. Sure, we thought. It was quite funny when our ride showed up and Tak forgot to mention we were foreigners speaking sketchy Korean. He told us later that when he saw us on the corner he was praying it was other people he was picking up.
In Buan we got a room....in a love motel! Love motels are cheap basic motels located all over the country which function as meeting places for dating couples living at home and men cheating on their wives. Classy.
Then we went for dinner and drinks with Rira, Tak and 7 of his elementary school friends. None of them spoke English so there 
was a lot of awkward silence....until the beer started flowing. We ending up going to Noraebang after and then drinking whisky at the motel. Come 5am it was time for bed, only to get up a few hours later to primp for the wedding. Some of the guys were looking quite rough. One still had pillow lines on his face!
was a lot of awkward silence....until the beer started flowing. We ending up going to Noraebang after and then drinking whisky at the motel. Come 5am it was time for bed, only to get up a few hours later to primp for the wedding. Some of the guys were looking quite rough. One still had pillow lines on his face!The wedding was held in a lime green wedding hall. Rira looked 
beautiful in both her white dress and hanbok. The ceremony was short and sweet, followed by picture taking and then lunch. The buffet was delicious, a lot of people were really curious about what white people eat, so my plate was analyzed by almost everyone who walked by. I hope they were impressed by the pile of kimchi on my plate! Tak and Rira left for the airport wearing their couple clothes. Its Korean tradition that newlyweds dress alike during the honeymoon. It was all over within 2 hours and we were headed home!
beautiful in both her white dress and hanbok. The ceremony was short and sweet, followed by picture taking and then lunch. The buffet was delicious, a lot of people were really curious about what white people eat, so my plate was analyzed by almost everyone who walked by. I hope they were impressed by the pile of kimchi on my plate! Tak and Rira left for the airport wearing their couple clothes. Its Korean tradition that newlyweds dress alike during the honeymoon. It was all over within 2 hours and we were headed home!
...That's when the real fun began. Actually, not fun. It was a long, loud, awkward 4 hours. Rira and Tak had organized a bus for their family coming from Seoul so we joined them coming back. Now, since Korean weddings don't have receptions I guess the party was on the bus. The soju was flowing and the music was pumping. There were microphones so the drunk people could wail to the already loud songs. Perhaps if I had been drinking it would have been fun. Right now I'm just glad to be off that bus and in my quiet apartment. Of course, I'd rather be in Guam on the beach like Rira and Tak!Facebook Album:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=68581&l=b8f2a&id=798630540
