Written by Arrive in Bloom (이름꽃), a Korean florist. Last reviewed 11 September 2026.
The short version. For a business occasion in Korea — an opening, a new office, a promotion — you do not send a gift basket or a card. You send a standing congratulatory wreath that is placed at the entrance with your company name printed large on the ribbon, where every visitor reads it. For a wedding you send money in an envelope, ₩50,000–₩100,000, and a wreath to the venue if you cannot attend. Flowers arrive on the morning of the day, not before. And one rule overrides everything: never send an all-white arrangement to a celebration — white chrysanthemums mean a funeral here.
Why a wreath, and not a gift
Korean congratulation is public. At an opening, the pavement outside the shop fills with tall flower stands, each carrying a ribbon with the sender's name and title in letters readable from across the street. Customers walking in count them. A business with fifteen wreaths outside is a business with fifteen relationships, and everyone understands that instantly.
This is why a carefully chosen present delivered discreetly — the Western instinct — lands flat in Korea. Nobody sees it. The wreath is not decoration; it is a public record of who showed up.
The same object appears at weddings, at inaugurations, at a hospital's new wing, at a broadcast studio's first day. What changes is the phrase on the ribbon.
A grand opening (개업)
What to send
| What | Price | Sent by |
|---|---|---|
| Congratulatory wreath, 3-tier 축하화환 | ₩59,000 (about $54) | The standard. Clients, suppliers, neighbouring businesses |
| Premium 3-tier | ₩99,000 (about $90) | A closer partner, a larger gesture |
| 4-tier | ₩119,000 (about $109) | A company or department sending in its own name |
| 5-tier | ₩199,000 (about $181) | An executive's name, a major client relationship, a formal ceremony |
| Orchid plant 호접란·동양란 | ₩80,000–₩200,000 | Offices, clinics, law firms — it stays for months rather than days |
| Rice wreath 쌀화환 | ₩89,000 (about $81) | Increasingly common: the rice is donated in the recipient's name |
When it should arrive
On the morning of the opening day, before customers do. Korean shops open with a small ceremony and the flowers are expected to already be standing there. Sending them a day early is not thoughtful; the flowers will look tired by the time they matter. Sending them the day after is worse than not sending.
For a ceremony with a fixed hour, tell us the hour and we work backwards. If you only know the date, we deliver in the morning.
How long they stay
One to three days, then the stand is collected. In dense commercial districts the local office sometimes asks for them to be cleared sooner. This is normal and no reflection on the sender.
The ribbon — what it says, and how your name appears
A congratulatory stand carries two ribbons. The left one carries the occasion phrase; the right one carries you. Getting the right-hand ribbon correct matters more than the flowers, because that is what is read.
| Occasion | Phrase | Read as |
|---|---|---|
| Grand opening | 축 개업 / 祝 開業 | Congratulations on your opening |
| A new location, a move | 축 이전 / 祝 移轉 | Congratulations on your relocation |
| General business growth | 축 발전 / 축 번영 | Wishing you growth and prosperity |
| Taking office | 축 취임 / 祝 就任 | Congratulations on your appointment |
| Promotion | 축 승진 | Congratulations on your promotion |
| A move to a better post | 축 영전 | Congratulations on your new posting |
| Wedding | 축 결혼 / 축 화혼 | Congratulations on your marriage |
| Anniversary of founding | 축 창립 ○주년 | Congratulations on your Nth anniversary |
How a company signs
Korean business ribbons are written in a fixed order: company name → title → personal name. A foreign company is written the same way, and the company name may stay in English.
- ABC KOREA 대표 John Smith — company, title (representative), name.
- ABC Global 아시아총괄 John Smith — when the title matters more than the legal entity.
- ABC Global 임직원 일동 — "from all of us at ABC Global", when it is from the company rather than a person.
Tell us how you want to be read and we write it by hand at no charge. If you give us only an English line, we will show you the Korean rendering before it goes out.
A wedding (결혼)
Weddings are the one occasion where the money matters more than the flowers. Korean weddings run on a tight schedule at a dedicated wedding hall (예식장): a ceremony of about thirty minutes, then a buffet meal, and the next wedding begins in the same hall an hour later.
Congratulatory money — 축의금
| Your relationship | Usual amount |
|---|---|
| A colleague, an acquaintance | ₩50,000 |
| A close colleague or friend, a team member | ₩100,000 |
| A close friend, a relative, a business partner | ₩200,000 and upward |
| Attending with your spouse or family | Add roughly ₩50,000 per additional person — the meal is counted |
- White envelope, the same shape as a condolence envelope but marked 축 결혼 or 祝 結婚. Your name on the back.
- You hand it in at a reception desk outside the hall — one desk for the groom's side, one for the bride's. Ask which side you are on if you do not know; nobody minds the question.
- You receive a meal ticket in return. Use it; the meal is part of what you paid for.
- Avoid ₩40,000, as at a funeral. Odd amounts — 5, 7 — and ₩100,000 are the comfortable numbers.
If you cannot attend
Two things are done, often both. Transfer the money to the person you know with a short message, and send a congratulatory wreath to the wedding hall with 축 결혼 and your name. The wreath stands in the corridor outside the hall where the family greets guests, so your absence is noticed less than your name is.
Plants instead of cut flowers
For an office, a clinic, a studio or a law firm, many senders choose a plant rather than a stand. It is a different statement — the wreath says "today", the plant says "for as long as you are here".
Phalaenopsis orchid 호접란
The standard corporate congratulation. Several arching stems of large blooms in a ceramic pot, flowering for two to three months. Sent for openings, appointments and promotions. ₩100,000–₩200,000.
Oriental orchid 동양란
Quieter and more formal — narrow leaves, small fragrant flowers. Traditional for a senior figure taking office, and for relationships where restraint is the compliment. ₩80,000–₩150,000.
A plant carries the same ribbon as a wreath, so your name is still read.
Sending from outside Korea, as a company
- Decide the name that goes on the ribbonLegal entity, or the entity plus the executive's name. This is the part that is read, so settle it before anything else.
- Give us the occasion and the dateAn opening, a relocation, an appointment, a wedding — the phrase differs. If there is a ceremony hour, tell us.
- Give the address, or just the business nameA shop name and district, or a wedding hall name, is usually enough for us to find the address.
- Add a Korean phone number if you have oneThe recipient's or the venue's. Our courier calls on arrival; it prevents almost every failed delivery.
- Pay in USDAny international card works. No Korean bank account and no PayPal account are required.
- Receive the proofWe photograph the stand where it was delivered, ribbon readable, and send it to you — which is also what you forward internally or to the client. An English receipt is available for expense filing.
The only thing that changes with your country is the clock: Korea closes the same-day queue at 5 PM KST. See that hour in your own time zone →
Mistakes foreign senders make
- All-white flowers for a celebration. It reads as a funeral wreath. This is the one mistake that causes real embarrassment.
- Sending a gift basket or a bottle instead. Not wrong, but invisible — and at an opening, visibility is the message.
- Arriving a day early. Flowers are timed to the morning of the day.
- Leaving the ribbon to the florist. If you do not specify, it will say something generic and your name may be shortened. Write it out.
- Giving a wedding gift object instead of money. Korean weddings run on envelopes; a wrapped present creates a logistics problem for the family on the day.
- Using the number four. Four of anything, or ₩40,000, is avoided.
- Assuming a card will be read aloud. It will not. The ribbon is the message.
Quick reference
| Situation | What to send | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| A partner's shop or restaurant opens | 3-tier congratulatory wreath, 축 개업 | ₩59,000 / $54 |
| A client company opens a new office | 4-tier wreath in the company name, or a phalaenopsis orchid | ₩119,000 / $109 |
| A counterpart is promoted or takes office | Orchid plant, 축 취임 or 축 승진 | ₩100,000–₩200,000 |
| A colleague's wedding, attending | ₩50,000–₩100,000 in a white envelope | — |
| A colleague's wedding, not attending | Transfer the money, plus a wreath to the hall, 축 결혼 | ₩59,000 / $54 |
| A company's founding anniversary | Wreath or orchid, 축 창립 ○주년 | From ₩59,000 |
Frequently asked questions
- What do you send to a grand opening in Korea?
- A standing congratulatory wreath (축하화환) placed at the entrance, with a ribbon carrying the occasion phrase 축 개업 and your company name. A three-tier stand is ₩59,000, about $54 including delivery anywhere in Korea. For an office rather than a shop, a phalaenopsis orchid is the common alternative.
- How much money do you give at a Korean wedding?
- ₩50,000 for a colleague or acquaintance, ₩100,000 for a close friend or a business partner, and ₩200,000 or more for a relative or someone very close. Add about ₩50,000 for each extra person you bring, since the buffet is counted. Avoid ₩40,000.
- Can a foreign company send a congratulatory wreath to a Korean partner?
- Yes, and it is expected in a business relationship. The company name can stay in English on the ribbon, written in the Korean order of company, title, then personal name. Payment is in USD with any international card, and an English receipt is available.
- What should the ribbon on a congratulatory wreath say?
- The occasion on one side — 축 개업 for an opening, 축 이전 for a relocation, 축 취임 for taking office, 축 결혼 for a wedding — and the sender on the other, written as company name, title, then name.
- When should the flowers arrive?
- On the morning of the day itself, before guests arrive. A day early looks tired by the time it matters, and a day late is worse than nothing. Orders placed before 5 PM Korea time are delivered the same day.
- Why should I not send white flowers to a celebration in Korea?
- White chrysanthemums are the flower of Korean funerals, and an all-white arrangement reads as a condolence wreath. Celebrations use colour — pink, red, yellow and orange.
- Is a plant better than a wreath for an office opening?
- Often, yes. A wreath is removed after one to three days; a phalaenopsis orchid flowers for two to three months in the reception area and carries the same ribbon with your name.
- How long do congratulatory wreaths stay at the venue?
- Usually one to three days, after which the stand is collected. Some commercial districts ask for pavements to be cleared sooner, which is routine and no reflection on the sender.
Put your name at their door
Ordered from abroad, made in Korea that morning, standing at the entrance before the first guest — and we send you the photo, ribbon readable.
Send a congratulatory wreath How it works from abroad