# cheek patches



## vientito

During marriage ceremony it is usual to see these patches on the cheeks and on the forehead of the bride.  I once heard that they are symbols for health or something.  I am also quite curious as to how koreans name after them.  Also, are there any popular sayings related to these emblems?


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## 경상남도로 오이소

"연지 곤지"라고 합니다.

They're called 연지 곤지.


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## 조금만

연지 is 臙脂 or "rouge". Sometimes used for cosmetics in general. 곤지 is a native Korean word, hence no Hanja, and according to some sources is strictly speaking the forehead red spot. Oddly, those sources don't give a specific word for the cheek patches as distinct from the forehead one, though I guess there must be such a word.

연지 곤지 찍고 시집가다 is used as a kind of shorthand way of saying "have a full traditional Korean wedding" analogous to the way a "white wedding" is used in English. I just typed that into Naver's blog search form, and the first of several thousand hits reads 저리 연지곤지 찍고 시집가는날이 있다!  = "Today's the day of our traditional Korean wedding!"


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## vientito

just wondering in terms of marriage ceremony, do koreans usually have traditional ceremony come before western style wedding?  Do they hold them on the same day?  Does anyone know if some families just opt for traditional wedding without having another western style ceremony?  I suppose it would be quite expensive to hold both ceremonies for most people.


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## 경상남도로 오이소

I would say around 98% of weddings nowadays are held in "western style" wedding, and it's not popular to do both traditional and modern wedding. 

Language-related trivia: In most weddings, there is a person, someone who's older and experienced, who holds a 주례사 in front of the pair. At the end of 주례사, she would say something like "검은 머리 파뿌리 될때까지 사랑하겠습니까?" (Will you love each other until your hair becomes white?) to each of the pair. This is when the pair says "I do."


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