Baby birthday party

So apparently I went through one of these affairs when I turned 1 too, but since I don't remember that occasion, attending our friend's baby's one year birthday party last night was a peculiar event indeed.

We arrived at the restaurant unprepared for just how big an occasion it was to be. Our friend was beautifully made up in hanbok, completed with curled hair and careful makeup. She was carrying her son - also in traditional dress - with a professional photographer milling around snapping pictures left, right and centre. At the end of the restaurant was a table adorned with cakes and towers of ricecakes, along with a selection of items in a basket each representing a potential career path for the baby.

At the entrance of the restaurant we were presented with a raffle-style ticket, which we were to place in the relevant pot depending on which future we predicted for the child. The options included a ball (assumedly representing a sportsman), crayons (creativity), a stethoscope (doctor - the mother's hope), and a banknote (self explanatory).

The ritual was bizarre. There was a compere with a mic and if we'd not known better we might have thought we'd walked into a small town auction. He began by encouraging the guests to guess what time the baby had been born. Not really understanding what was going on until we were filled in later, we obviously didn't join in the competition. It was a shame since the 'winner' was presented with a gift - though for all we knew it was a wrapped up empty box. Jokes.^^

The baby was then dressed in some kind of white necklaces representing longevity (엄마 or 오빠 care to inform?^^) before the compere instructed the father of the baby to perform a cheesy dance making heart shapes with his arms, chanting "I love you" to the baby. It was very amusing, and I couldn't help feel that our friend was mildly embarassed by this. Then came the ceremonial baby item picking. He went for the money, much to the delight of his elders.

So after we'd eaten our share of the food (having maxed out on sushi a few days earlier we weren't particularly revelling in all the raw fish available), and having had our pictures taken with our friend, we weren't really sure what to do with ourselves. Since we didn't know anybody - nor could we converse with the people who were there - we made an early exit; our cue taken from several of the other guests who'd done the same.

It was a beautiful occasion and an excuse for the parents to get dressed up, but we couldn't help leaving feeling slightly bemused by the experience...^^

Today we visited the National Museum of Korea where we had our fill of ancient Korean relics. It was interesting, but there are only so many Buddhist paintings, Chinese medicine chests and kimchi jars that one can take in one day ^^