The average cash gift from Korean wedding guests has climbed past 110,000 won, while other countries settle the bill differently — Japanese guests hand over 30,000 yen and receive a return gift, and Americans choose from a registry list.
The nationwide average contract for wedding services stood at 22.13 million won as of September, according to the Korea Consumer Agency's price comparison portal. Catering accounted for 13.58 million won, or 61.4% of the total. The median per-person meal charge at Seoul wedding halls was 80,000 won, up 3.9% from 77,000 won a year earlier.
Guests are feeling the squeeze as well. A report by NH NongHyup Bank, based on an analysis of 5.33 million cash-gift transfers, found the average gift last year was 117,000 won. That followed 110,000 won in 2023 and 114,000 won in 2024, marking a rise each year. The share of guests sending 50,000 won fell to 42.3% last year from 46.5% in 2023, while the share sending 100,000 won rose to 39.7% from 36.1%.
30,000 Yen Plus a Return Gift in Japan, a Registry in the U.S.
Other countries do the math differently. In Japan, bank reference tables put the customary amount for friends and colleagues at 30,000 yen, rising to between 50,000 and 60,000 yen for siblings and relatives. At recent exchange rates of about 849 won per 100 yen, 30,000 yen comes to roughly 250,000 won.
Guest lists are shorter, however. Japanese wedding companies put the average number of guests at around 65, with attendance typically confirmed through returned invitation cards. Couples give guests a return gift known as hikidemono. There is also a practice called hangaeshi, under which a couple receiving a large sum returns about half its value in gifts. Custom also holds that even-numbered amounts, which can be split in two, should be avoided.
In China, the convention is to place an even-numbered amount in a red envelope, or hongbao. Korean media reports put the common amount at around 800 yuan, or about 160,000 won. White envelopes should be avoided because they are used for condolence money at funerals.
In the United States, couples publish a registry of the gifts they want and guests consult it, a well-established custom. A survey of 1,000 guests by wedding information company The Knot found that guests spent an average of $150, or about 200,000 won, on wedding gifts in 2024. France also places more weight on gifts than on cash, according to reports.
Attitudes differ sharply as well. The Emily Post Institute, a U.S. etiquette guide organization, calls the notion that a gift should cover the cost of a guest's meal a modern myth, and advises guests to decide based on their own means and their relationship with the couple.
In Korea, rising meal charges and the amounts exchanged in the past effectively serve as the benchmark. Some analysts note that hotel weddings charge 120,000 to 180,000 won per person for meals while cash gifts cluster between 50,000 and 100,000 won, leaving couples worse off the more guests they invite.
While cash gifts in Korea rise each year, tied to meal charges and the memory of mutual spending, Japan balances the amounts through return gifts and the United States spreads the burden through registries and the guest's own means.