Coming-of-age ceremonies have long been regarded as solemn rites of passage across cultures and generations. In modern society, Coming of Age Day is often understood as the moment one acquires the rights and freedoms of adulthood. In traditional Korean society, however, adulthood ceremonies carried a different weight. Rather than emphasizing individual freedom, they functioned as rituals through which moral responsibility and communal duty were formally entrusted to the young. Adulthood was understood not simply as reaching a certain age, but as the process of establishing oneself within relationships and completing one’s character as a member of society.
“Saryepyeollam.” Photo by National Museum of Korea.
Artifacts from the Joseon Dynasty recently highlighted by the National Museum of Korea reveal how adulthood ceremonies were structured around Confucian ideals and social order.
At the time, coming-of-age rites for men and women were held separately under the names gwanrye (冠禮) and gyerye (笄禮). “Saryepyeollam” (四禮便覽), a ritual manual systematically organizing the four major rites of passage including coming-of-age, marriage, funerals, and ancestral ceremonies, served as a guidebook that instructed young people in their proper social roles. The text outlined both the moral virtues and behavioral standards expected of adults, offering a glimpse into the ideal model of maturity pursued by Confucian society.
Manggeon case. Photo by National Museum of Korea.
The transition into adulthood was also expressed through visible transformations in hairstyle and dress. Boys abandoned the braided hairstyles associated with childhood, gathered their hair into a sangtu topknot, wrapped it with a manggeon headband, and wore a gat hat as markers of adulthood.
Made from horsehair taken from manes or tails, the manggeon functioned as a headband that kept the topknot securely in place. Because it was removed during sleep and tied again after washing in the morning, unused manggeon were carefully rolled up and stored inside small cylindrical manggeon cases.
Girls, meanwhile, signaled their entrance into adulthood by arranging their hair into a jjok chignon and inserting binyeo hairpins. The material and decorative form of the hairpins reflected the social status and formality of the family to which the wearer belonged.
Phoenix hairpin (Bongjam). Photo by National Museum of Korea.
“Bongjam” (鳳簪), or phoenix hairpins, were royal accessories worn by women of the court with ceremonial attire. The head of the pin featured a phoenix spreading its wings, rendered through intricate metal craftsmanship. Blue enamel work and jeweled decoration embodied the refined aesthetic associated with the royal household.
Scholars who completed gwanrye were also granted a new adult name known as a ja (字), which they would use throughout their lives. The practice established a foundation of mutual respect within social relationships by distinguishing adulthood from childhood identity.
The legacy of traditional coming-of-age rites continues today through the modern national observance of Coming of Age Day. Although the commemorative date briefly fell on April 20 during the 1970s, several changes eventually led to its current designation on the third Monday of May.
Some educational institutions continue to preserve the values embedded in traditional rites. On May 18, Korea National University of Cultural Heritage, which trains specialists in traditional culture, held a traditional coming-of-age ceremony for 113 students. The event reinterpreted the first gateway rite of Confucian life-cycle ceremonies within a contemporary educational setting.
Reported by News Culture M.J._mj94070777@nc.press
* This article was manually prepared as a translated piece and later proofread and reviewed with the assistance of AI.
댓글
0