I was honored when asked to photograph Jalen’s 1st birthday in Bellevue at Maggiano’s. In Korean culture, the 1st birthday or Dohl is a very important event. Just look at the great job her parents did with everything!
Being half Korean, it was nice for me to experience some of the traditions and some of the food. They brought me back to some things I remember as a kid (food, clothing, language). When I was very young, I lived in Korea for a couple of years, but I don’t really remember much. It was nice to jog the memory a little bit.
One of the events I enjoyed watching at Jalen’s birthday was the Doljabee tradition. This tradition basically involves putting different objects in front of the baby to choose. In Jalen’s case it was a gavel, a stethescope, rice, microphone, pencils, and money. A gavel represents a Lawyer, stethescope (Doctor), rice (Abundant Life), pencils (Scholarly), microphone (Entertainer), and money (Wealthy). She first chose the stethescope and then money. Guests who entered the raffle and picked what object Jalen chose also got a chance to win prizes.
Jalen was pretty good with all the attention and didn’t cry too much. It must be pretty intimidating to have 50+ people vying for your attention!
Thank you Susan for having me as your photographer and also for the yummy rice cakes and red velvet cupcakes! Also congratulations to you and your family.
Charles, you did an amazing job!!!! We are sooooo happy with the photos. Now that we have a baby and she is our 1st child, we really emphasize the importance of GREAT quality photos to capture ANY special moment in the life of our baby and us too! Thank you so much for your patience and understanding as things may feel overwhelming and hectic with scatterbrained parents like me and Elliot 😛
We really wanted you to sit down and eat with us!
Still, I’m glad you took home some dduk (rice cakes) because it signifies long life/abundance/prosperity to the giver and the receiver! 🙂
Thank you again,
Susan, Elliot & and Jalen Kim