YU holds gwanrye and gyerye event with international students for the 'Coming-of-Age Ceremony'
Experiencing traditional coming-of-age ceremonies and the charms of traditional Korean culture
[May 18, 2018]
<Traditional coming-of-age ceremony with international students - gwanrye>
At Gugye-seowon inside of the YU Gyeongsan Campus Folk Village at 10 a.m. on the 18th, international students wearing Korea’s traditional garment called the hanbok and gat (traditional hat for men) and binyeo (ornamental hair pieces for women) became the focus of attention.
YU (President Sur Gil-soo) held the 'traditional coming-of-age ceremony' event for international students for the 46th coming-of-age day (third Monday of May). A total of eight students including six international students from Uzbekistan, Kenya, Columbia and China wore traditional Korean clothes to take part in the ceremonies called ‘gwanrye’ and ‘gyerye’.
Musrmonkulov Umidjon (24, junior) from Uzbekistan who enrolled at the YU School of Mechanical Engineering in 2016 said, “When a woman gets married in Uzbekistan, we have a ritual similar to the Korean coming-of-age ceremony,” while adding, “I am really interested in Korean traditional culture. I also experienced the traditional wedding ceremony at the Daegaya Museum so the hanbok is not completely new to me. I think this will be a fun memory for my time studying in Korea.”
Gwanrye is a ceremony of placing three gwan, or head pieces, on men who became 20 years old and emphasizes their responsibilities to their family, relatives and country. It is completed by tying the hair up in a knot and wearing three hats, and the bunri-ceremony of changing clothes, and is completed with a drink of alcohol and announcing to the heavens that one has become an adult. It also includes the myeonjarye ritual of giving an 'alias' to be used instead of one's name as a symbol of protecting one's body and name that was given to them by their ancestors. Gyerye is a ceremony of untying a girl's hair and placing a binyeo, which is an ornamental hair piece, in the hair to announce that a girl has become a woman.
<Traditional coming-of-age ceremony with international students - gyerye>
At the coming-of-age ceremony, YU President Sur Gil-soo was invited as the big elder for the first ceremony of 'gwanhonsangje' and recited a speech to congratulate male students who became 20 years old, and placed the three hats of chipogeon, yugeon and finally the gat, and tied the strings to officially announce their adulthood.
President Sur Gil-soo, who watched the traditional coming-of-age ceremony from start to finish, said, "I hope that you will think about the meaning of becoming an adult by participating in the traditional gwanrye and gyerye events," while adding, "I hope that especially for international students, it will be a great memory and an opportunity to gain deeper insight into Korean culture."
'Coming-of-Age Day' falls on the third Monday of May and is a day to naturally remind young adults who became 20 years old of their responsibilities and duties, while congratulating their physical and mental maturation as a young adult.
