"If You Give 100,000 Won, You’ll Be Criticized"... Wedding Gift Amounts: 130,000 Won for Singles vs. 290,000 Won for Married Couples

Singles: "As Close As We Are," Married: "As Much As We Received"

Survey Results from Matchmaking Company Gayeon

A recent survey found that married individuals consider an appropriate congratulatory cash gift for weddings to be more than twice the amount suggested by single men and women.

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According to a “wedding expenses and congratulatory money perception survey” released on August 27 by the matchmaking agency Gayeon, single respondents said the average cash gift for a friend’s wedding they would attend was 130,000 won. In contrast, married respondents answered that an appropriate amount was 290,000 won, more than double the amount suggested by singles.

The survey, conducted between August 4 and 11, included 506 single men and women and 502 married men and women, all between the ages of 25 and 39. It was designed to examine how perceptions of wedding cash gifts differ depending on marital status, amid a significant increase in wedding costs and growing burdens on guests.

According to the results, singles cited “the level of closeness and length of acquaintance with the person” (76.7%) as the most important factor in determining the cash gift amount. This was followed by ▲“Whether they might attend my own wedding in the future” (9.1%), ▲“Whether a physical wedding invitation was delivered” (7.5%), and ▲“The wedding venue and meal cost” (6.5%).

For married individuals, the top influencing factors were “degree of intimacy or relationship with the person” (70.7%), “the amount received from the other party at my wedding in the past” (60.6%), and “whether attending with a companion” (39.2%).

A Gayeon representative explained, “Wedding and cash gift amounts can differ significantly depending on personal circumstances, so it is difficult to calculate a meaningful average. In particular, married people often attend weddings as a couple, which appears to contribute to the higher cash gift amounts they give.”

Meanwhile, a report released in May by NH NongHyup Bank analyzed data from 5.33 million wedding congratulatory money transfer transactions by 1.15 million customers from January 2023 to December 2025. According to this report, the average annual wedding cash gift rose from 110,000 won in 2023, to 114,000 won in 2024, and 117,000 won in 2025.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.