Korean Baby Rings

  1. So I have a friend, who like, told me that Korean babies when they turn 1 are given a golden ring to keep for the rest of their lives. I think she said the ring is supposed to represent consistency and give them good luck. Also, the grandparents are supposed to give you the ring as like their official gift to the baby. It’s like their grandparently duty I guess you could call it.
  • She knows it because a friend of hers was helping her out with a project she was completing
  • She learned it from the friend in just a regular conversational setting
  • It’s just a Korean tradition that happens with babies. Apparently there are many of those
  • The context of the performance is we were just exchanging folklore that we had both heard of over the last several weeks.
  • I think it’s really interesting that she mentioned this to me because I actually, as a Korean, have heard of this before. My mother has a ring and my sister has a ring, I just can’t remember if I do or not. If I do, it’s been a while since I’ve seen it. But I agree, there are a lot of little traditions that we Koreans have especially centered around infancy that are supposed to promote health and well being for the remainder of the child’s life. And it usually is a family affair, where generations will all try to contribute to the baby.