ĭuring this period patrilocal residence after marriage became the norm through royally dictated changes to laws governing mourning obligations and inheritance rights. From then on elites generally chose their first wives from fellow Y angban families, while choosing secondary wives from the lower classes, increasing the distinction between the Yangban aristocracy and commoners. The purpose of the reform ranking wives was to increase the clarity of distinctions of social status across society. In imitation of the Ming criminal code, primary wives could not be divorced for another, and wives’ rankings could not be re-ordered. Essential criteria for a primary wife was that she entered her husband's family as a virgin, and that she could not be descended from low-class ancestry in the case of marriages to noblemen, who, at the introduction of this rule, were forced to choose which of their already multiple wives to designate as primary. Marriage during the Joseon period (1392–1910) ĭistinctions were introduced at the beginning of the Joseon dynasty, in imitation of feudal imperial China, which distinguished primary and secondary wives, thereby clarifying the line of succession. Offspring of a widower were retained by their mother and her family. There were no prohibitions against widows remarrying apart from having to observe a period of mourning. A woman who remarried too frequently could gain a negative reputation as promiscuous, but Koreans of the Goryeo dynasty were not seen as prudish, at least by Chinese standards of the time. Marriages could easily be broken by husbands or wives. Īlthough plural marriages were practiced, wives and their offspring were not ranked and each had equal claim as heirs. Inheritance was not determined by primogeniture and both sons and daughters received equal shares of inheritance from their parents. The prospect of an inheritance from in-laws may have been a significant motivation for husbands to take up residence with their wives' Kin. Marriage ideally did not lead to the division of the household into smaller units and families preferred to retain their daughters after marriage, with or without their husbands. Thus, unlike during the Joseon period, brides and husbands remained members of both their natal kin group and their affinal family after marriage. Goryeo society was highly stratified and kinship and status were determined bilaterally, including the status and relatives of both mothers and fathers. Marriages were often arranged by matchmakers. There was no exchange of bride wealth or dowry. Weddings included gift exchange and a banquet, which were meant to display the bride's family's wealth. Wedding ceremonies were held at the home of the bride's family and the average age of marriage was late teens with aristocrats marrying earlier than commoners. In contrast with the prevailing custom of patrilocal residence for married couples during the Joseon period and modern era, Koreans of the Goryeo period it was not uncommon for a husband to matrilocally reside with his wife and her parents after marriage. However, such consanguineous marriages were gradually prohibited by banning such individuals' children from attaining positions in the state bureaucracy and later came to labeled as adulterous but often persisted despite these sanctions. Cousin marriage was common in the early Goryeo period, and non-royal aristocrats married daughters to half brothers of different mothers also. : 60 The kings of Goryeo married the imperial princesses of the Yuan dynasty (Mongol Empire), beginning with the marriage of King Chungnyeol to a daughter of Kublai Khan. The practice of marrying royal daughters to half brothers ended under the insistence of the Mongol Empire, and the Mongol and Korean royal families exchanged princesses. However, he married all but two of his daughters to their half brothers, rather than using them to further build and affirm alliances. King T'aejo, the founder of the Goryeo dynasty, had 29 queens with which he built alliances with other aristocratic families. Marriages during the Goryeo period were made primarily on the basis of political and economic considerations, at least among the aristocracy. Marriage during the Goryeo period (918–1392) The Korean saying that when a man gets married, he is "entering jangga" (the house of his father-in-law), stems from the Goguryeo period. The practice of matrilocality in Korea started in the Goguryeo period, continued through the Goryeo period and ended in the early Joseon period. Modern practices are a combination of millennia-old traditions and global influences. Marriage in Korea mirrors many of the practices and expectations of marriages in other societies.
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