The Korea National University of Cultural Heritage (President Kang Kyung-hwan), affiliated with the Korea Heritage Service, held a "Coming-of-Age Day" commemorative event on the 18th at the university's Anguk-dong Royal Annex for 113 students who reach the age of majority this year, the university announced Monday.
The event, held annually on the third Monday of May, aims to carry on the meaning of the traditional coming-of-age ceremony in a modern context and to provide students with an opportunity to understand and practice traditional culture on their own terms. This year, students from the Department of Traditional Arts and Crafts participated in producing the traditional attire, which the coming-of-age students wore as they performed reconstructed traditional rites including samgarye, chorye, and suhunrye.
Samgarye is a rite in which the ceremonial cap (gwan) is changed three times during the coming-of-age ritual; chorye is a rite that recognizes the individual as an adult by offering a cup of liquor and permitting its consumption; and suhunrye is a rite in which the participant receives life teachings to carry throughout their lifetime.
