How much cash goes in a Korean wedding envelope (and why families keep a ledger)

You’ve been invited to a Korean coworker’s wedding. You start browsing for a nice gift, maybe a set of wine glasses, and a Korean friend gently stops you. “No, no. You just bring money. In an envelope.”

How much money? That’s the question Koreans themselves argue about every wedding season. Here’s how it works, what the numbers say, and why the system makes more sense than it first seems.

Cash, not gifts

At most Korean weddings, guests give 축의금 (chu-gui-geum, “congratulatory money”), usually cash in a white envelope, though bank transfers are increasingly common and close family often arrange things differently. Physical gifts are usually reserved for close friends and family, often given separately before the wedding. For colleagues, classmates, neighbors and acquaintances, the envelope is the gift.

The practice grew out of an old custom of neighbors pooling resources for a family’s big event: a wedding was a village effort, and everyone chipped in. Today it does something similar. Korean weddings, with wedding-hall rental, a meal for hundreds of guests and photos, are expensive, and the envelopes help the couple and their parents cover it.

So how much? What surveys say

There’s no official rule, but there is a strong “market rate”, and it has risen in recent years.

Attending in person: 100,000 won is the most common answer. In Shinhan Bank’s 2024 survey of 10,000 working adults, 67.4% said they give 100,000 won when they attend an acquaintance’s wedding, followed by 50,000 won (16.9%) and 200,000 won (8.6%).
Not attending, just sending: 50,000 won is most common. In the same survey, 52.8% said 50,000 won when they don’t go.
Rising averages. Kakao Pay’s data on wedding-money transfers showed the average gift rising from 73,000 won (2021) to 80,000 won (2022), 83,000 won (2023) and 90,000 won (September 2024). The average also rises with age: about 60,000 won for people in their 20s, 100,000 won in their 30s and 40s, and 120,000 won in their 50s and 60s.
A 2025 check. A survey reported in May 2025 found 61.8% chose 100,000 won as the right amount when attending and eating the meal.

Recent reported norms (2024-2025 surveys), not fixed rules:

Relationship	Common amount
Acquaintance, not attending	50,000 won
Coworker or acquaintance, attending	100,000 won
Good friend	100,000 to 200,000 won
Close friend or relative	200,000 won or more
Hotel wedding, attending	often more than 100,000 won

Why going costs more than not going

The “attend 100,000, send 50,000” rule comes down to the meal. A Korean wedding guest receives a meal ticket (식권, sik-gwon) for a buffet or set meal, and the couple pays per head. Yonhap reported that Seoul wedding-hall meals typically cost 50,000 to 80,000 won per person in 2024, and hotels much more. Attending with 50,000 won can mean the couple loses money on you, which is why many Koreans now say that if you’re not close, sending money and skipping the wedding is actually the kinder option.

Bringing a partner or your children? Many people add more to cover the extra meals.

Why some numbers are avoided

Amounts usually land on 30,000, 50,000, 100,000, 150,000 or 200,000 won. Odd numbers of ten-thousands (3, 5, 7) are traditionally considered more auspicious than even ones, and 4 is avoided because its Korean pronunciation (사, sa) sounds like the Sino-Korean word for death. 100,000 won is the accepted exception, since it’s simply “one round amount”. You’ll rarely see 40,000 won in an envelope.

How the reception desk works

At the entrance of a Korean wedding hall you’ll find two tables, one for the groom’s side (신랑측, sin-rang-cheuk) and one for the bride’s side (신부측, sin-bu-cheuk). Go to the side you’re connected to.

Write your name (and often your company or relationship, e.g. “OO회사 김민수”) on the back of the envelope. Envelopes are provided at the desk if you forgot one.
Hand it to the person at the desk, usually a relative or close friend of the family.
Sign the guestbook (방명록, bang-myeong-nok).
Receive your meal ticket.

Many people now send money by bank transfer or app instead, especially when not attending. Wedding invitations increasingly include account numbers for this reason.

Visiting from abroad without Korean cash? Withdraw won from an ATM before the day (convenience stores and banks have them), or ask the couple or a mutual friend for the account number and transfer it. An envelope of foreign currency is awkward for the family to deal with.

The ledger: why it’s a two-way street

Here’s the part that surprises foreigners. After the wedding, the family typically goes through the envelopes and records who gave how much. The ledger isn’t about judging guests. It’s a memory aid for the future, because wedding money is expected to be reciprocal. When it’s your wedding, or your child’s, or a funeral in your family, the people you gave to are expected to give back roughly the same amount.

In surveys, “how much I received from them” is one of the top factors Koreans use to decide how much to give, especially people in their 40s and older. That’s why the system feels a bit like a lifelong account between families: a network of mutual help, held together by 정 (jeong) and a sense of fairness. Giving much less than you received can quietly damage a relationship. Giving more is generous but can create an obligation the other way.

Say / Mean: 마음만 받을게 (“I’ll just take your heart”) when you offer money means “Thank you, truly, but don’t.” If someone says it to you about a small wedding, they mean it. If they say it after a bigger favor, they may well expect something anyway. Read the situation.

The law that caps it (for some)

Korea’s anti-graft law (the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act, often called the Kim Young-ran Act) limits congratulatory money to 50,000 won when a public official or journalist receives it from someone connected to their work, or 100,000 won including a flower wreath. If your colleague is a teacher or civil servant and you’re connected through work, this matters. Between ordinary friends it doesn’t apply.

The debate

Every year, Korean media runs stories about “wedding money stress”: people in their 20s and 30s attending many weddings with rising costs, asking whether they should give 50,000 or 100,000 to a colleague they barely know, and wondering if they’ll ever be paid back if they don’t marry. Some couples now hold small weddings and ask for no money at all. But for most, the envelope is still the default.

Quick guide

Give cash, in an envelope, with your name on it.
50,000 won if you don’t attend, 100,000 won if you do (more if close or at a hotel).
Avoid amounts with a 4.
Go to the right side’s desk, sign the book, take your meal ticket.
Expect your gift to be remembered, and expect to receive back roughly what you give.

Funerals have their own envelope system, with different rules and colors. We cover it separately.