First Civilian Wedding at Gyeongbokgung: the Bride Is the “First Foreign Miss Chunhyang”

Gyeongbokgung, the main royal palace of the Joseon dynasty, opens its grounds to civilian weddings for the first time in the 631 years since its founding. The bride at the very first ceremony is the first foreign-born winner in the 95-year history of the Miss Chunhyang pageant.

The National Palace Museum of Korea (Korea Heritage Service) launched its Outdoor Wedding Program this year to ease wedding costs for young couples and to share the value of cultural heritage in everyday life.

When the museum’s Ginkgo Rest Area was opened as a wedding venue, 293 couples from 15 countries, Korea included, applied. The plan had been to support 16 couples over four weeks; the response was so strong that it grew to 28 couples over six weeks.

Selected couples receive the ceremony space and the museum annex as an indoor reception hall free of charge, plus a KRW 1 million furnishing grant. Couples from disadvantaged backgrounds receive up to KRW 6.5 million toward ceremony costs.

The ceremony that opens the program takes place under the ginkgo tree at 4 PM on October 2.

The bride is Mai, a creator from Estonia; the groom is Korean, and the groom’s name is not being released.

The couple is not among the 28 couples chosen through the open call. The ceremony was arranged in collaboration with the National Palace Museum to publicize the program, and the museum’s support is limited to providing the venue.

At the 95th Chunhyang Festival in 2025, Mai was chosen as “Hyeon” in the Global Chunhyang Pageant (popularly known as Miss Chunhyang), becoming the first foreign winner in the pageant’s 95-year history.

Through her YouTube channel “Kimchi Ghost Mai” she has introduced hanbok and Korean culture to the world. She marries in Korea exactly ten years to the day after she first arrived.

After a strong first year, the program expands in 2027 under the name “Gogyeol” (“Get married at the Palace Museum”) to 80 ceremonies across spring and autumn.

According to the 2027 selection results announced on September 8, 672 couples applied, an average of 8.4 per slot, and 79 were chosen by online lottery.

The courtyard under the ginkgo stands on the site of Naesaboksi, the office that once kept the king’s horses and palanquins. A place that has watched over the palace’s history for centuries now becomes one where new couples begin their lives together.

The Bride · Kimchi Ghost Mai

Born in Tallinn, Estonia. She first arrived in Korea on October 2, 2016, fell in love with hanbok, and became a creator who wears it as everyday clothing. Since 2022 her YouTube channel (now "Kimchi Ghost Mai") has covered Korean culture, hanbok and life in Korea, with appearances on Korean television. In 2025 she was chosen as “Hyeon” at the Global Chunhyang Pageant, its first foreign winner in 95 years.

The Global Chunhyang Pageant

The signature event of the Namwon Chunhyang Festival since 1931, honoring the beauty and devotion of Chunhyang, the heroine of Korea's most beloved love story. Popularly known as Miss Chunhyang, it was recently renamed the Global Chunhyang Pageant and opened to international contestants, and Mai became its first foreign winner.

The Outdoor Wedding Program

Launched in 2026 by the National Palace Museum under the Korea Heritage Service, the program returns royal heritage to everyday life and eases wedding costs for young couples, providing the venue and an indoor reception hall free of charge plus a KRW 1 million furnishing grant; two couples from disadvantaged backgrounds have their costs covered up to KRW 6.5 million. In its first year, autumn 2026, 293 couples applied for 16 slots and the program grew to 28. Following that demand it expands in 2027 under the name "Gogyeol" ("Get married at the Palace Museum") to spring (Apr–May) and autumn (Oct–Nov) editions, 80 ceremonies a year. The 2027 call drew 672 couples and 79 were selected (announced Sept 8, 2026).

The Korea Heritage Service and the National Palace Museum

The Korea Heritage Service is the government body responsible for preserving and opening up the nation's heritage; it took its present name on May 17, 2024, having previously been the Cultural Heritage Administration. The National Palace Museum of Korea belongs to it. Opened in 1992 as the Royal Museum and reorganised under its current name in 2005, it holds the objects left by the Joseon court and the Korean Empire. This wedding takes place on its grounds.

The Ginkgo Rest Area, where the king's horses once stood

The ceremony is held under a ginkgo of roughly a hundred years, in the museum's front garden. Today it is simply shade for visitors to Gyeongbokgung and the museum, but the ground beneath it once held Naesaboksi, the Joseon office that cared for the king's horses and palanquins and those of the princesses. It was demolished in 1916 to make room for the Japanese Government-General building and the site stood empty for decades, until the National Palace Museum opened here in 2005. A courtyard once reserved for the royal carriage now hosts an ordinary couple's wedding.