Wedding cash gifts in South Korea up 6.9% in two years, bank data show

The average wedding cash gift in South Korea reached 117,000 won last year, a 6.9% rise over two years, as rising venue costs push guests toward larger envelopes, according to an analysis of 5.33 million bank transfers by NH NongHyup Bank.

The findings, reported by The Korea Times based on Hankook Ilbo coverage, reflect a broad cultural shift: the informal 50,000-won standard that long defined Korean wedding etiquette is giving way to 100,000-won gifts, with implications for Korean-American families who maintain the tradition of cash envelopes at weddings.

NH NongHyup Bank tracked transfers from 1.15 million customers between January 2023 and December 2025, finding the average gift rose from 110,000 won in 2023 to 114,000 won in 2024 before reaching 117,000 won last year, according to The Korea Times.

The 50,000-won gift remains the single most common amount — but its share of all wedding transfers fell from 46.5% in 2023 to 42.3% in 2025. Meanwhile, 100,000-won gifts climbed from 36.1% to 39.7%, and gifts of 200,000 won or more rose from 6.1% to 7.5% of all transfers, the bank's data show.

Younger guests are giving the most. Adults in their 20s and 30s averaged 138,000 won per gift, the highest of any age group. Those 60 and older averaged 118,000 won, while adults in their 40s and 50s averaged the least at 107,000 won.

Geography shapes gift sizes as well. Seoul residents sent an average of 134,000 won — the highest of any region analyzed. "Considering wedding costs in Seoul are higher than in other regions, the cash gifts seem to have been adjusted upward," NH NongHyup Bank said in a press release cited by The Korea Times.

The data suggest a broader renegotiation of an old custom: as wedding costs rise across South Korea, so does the informal expectation of how much guests should give — with the once-dominant 50,000-won envelope increasingly giving way to a new 100,000-won norm.