My Hwangap Reimagined: A “Second Thirty” Celebration

💡 At a Glance: As my hwangap—the traditional Korean celebration of one’s 60th birthday—approached, a conventional banquet did not feel like my story. I renamed the occasion “Second Thirty,” invited only the people closest to me, and created a private celebration filled with pop-opera performances, poetry, and tango. This is the story of an event designed around a person’s life rather than a prescribed format.

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My Hwangap—Or Rather, My Second Thirty

My 60th birthday was approaching. To be honest, the number did not feel real.

I am still running a business. I write poetry, paint, and attend graduate school. I have many things I want to do and continue to live with enthusiasm. And yet, somehow, I was turning sixty.

💡 Hwangap often brings to mind a familiar scene: a formal meal with the guest of honor seated at the head of the room. No matter whose birthday it is, the occasion can look remarkably similar.

When I pictured that scene, I thought, “This is not my story.” I did not want to mark such an important turning point in my life that way. It might have suited someone else’s hwangap, but it did not feel like mine.

Rethinking the Traditional Hwangap Banquet

Hwangap has long been associated with a traditional format.

People often treat milestone celebrations as ceremonies that simply need to be completed, and hwangap can be especially bound by convention.

There is a familiar sequence and a familiar atmosphere, reinforced by the belief that this is simply how a 60th birthday should be celebrated.

Within that format, however, the guest of honor can disappear. There is little room to show the life that person has lived, what they love, or who they are today.

Once the word “hwangap” is attached, everyone is expected to sit in the same place and appear in the same familiar scene. The individual’s life has nowhere to enter the celebration.

A Once-in-a-Lifetime Moment Should Feel Personal

Whether it is a wedding, a child’s first birthday, or a hwangap, a milestone celebration becomes a lifelong memory. If it is confined to a standard format, however, it can become a memory that could belong to almost anyone.

The purpose of an event should depend on the person being celebrated. The space and program should follow that person’s life, tastes, and values.

The person should come before the format. Only then can the celebration become a memory that truly belongs to them.

This time, I was not designing an event for a client. I was designing one for myself.

I wanted to show that turning sixty did not have to mean sitting through the same formal meal as everyone else. A hwangap could become a distinctive party filled with one person’s life and personality.

Second Thirty: Celebrating the Start of Another Thirty Years

I began by changing the name. Instead of calling it my hwangap, I called it “Second Thirty.” It would not be a banquet commemorating old age, but a party celebrating the beginning of another thirty years.

Once the name changed, everything else changed with it. A banquet became a party, and a commemoration became a beginning.

Not growing older, but beginning my second thirty. That single sentence captured the direction I wanted for the entire celebration.

I invited only the people closest to me. Rather than having dozens or hundreds of people pass through, I created a private party where I could genuinely enjoy time with those who mattered most.

I did not want everyone to follow a formal sequence, exchange greetings, eat, and leave. I wanted us to laugh, talk, and spend meaningful time together.

Every part of the program came from my own life. I invited a pop-opera singer and a soprano whom I have known personally to perform.

Because I write poetry, the program also included a poetry recital. And I practiced the tango that I had enjoyed dancing for years.

None of these elements came from a standard event template. They came from my life. The space and program were designed around who I am.

“I’ve Only Seen Parties Like This in the Movies”

Guests enjoyed the performances and stories while dining comfortably. They listened to music, experienced poetry, watched the tango, and shared one unhurried experience together.

“I’ve only seen parties like this in the movies. This is wonderful.”

— One of our business partners

A business partner who attended was surprised to experience the kind of party usually seen in an international film. It showed that a hwangap could feel stylish, personal, and alive. The combination of live performance, poetry, tango, and dining created a distinctive memory for everyone in the room.

✅ The result: These memories could never have come from simply sitting down for a meal and following a prescribed program. The celebration expressed not “growing old,” but “beginning my second thirty.” It reflected both the life I had already lived and the life I still intended to create.

Do Not Let an Important Milestone Pass Without Making It Your Own

Celebrations mark the chapters of our lives. A child’s first birthday, a wedding, a hwangap, or a 70th birthday may have different names, but each represents a meaningful turning point.

Yet we often fill these moments with convention. A hwangap must look like a hwangap, and a first-birthday celebration must follow its expected sequence. The person is fitted into a predetermined program.

Every hwangap begins to look the same, and every first-birthday album contains similar photographs. The life of the person being celebrated is nowhere to be seen.

I almost did the same. Faced with the number sixty, I pictured myself seated at a formal banquet. But that was not my story.

So I changed the name, drew the program from my own life, and created a celebration where guests could enjoy themselves, laugh together, and even begin imagining what their own hwangap might look like.

An event is an opportunity to experience and honor a meaningful chapter of life. It should therefore be designed around the guest of honor’s life and purpose, not around convention alone.

This is why I describe myself as a director rather than simply a venue owner. An owner operates a space.

A director listens to a person’s story and creates a day that belongs to that particular chapter of their life. That is the work I do.

What Milestone Are You Preparing to Celebrate?

It may be a child’s first birthday, a parent’s 70th birthday, or another important transition in life.

The particular milestone does not matter. I will help determine the format. The first thing I need to hear is who the guest of honor is and what kind of day you hope to create.

Once I understand that story, the space, program, and atmosphere begin to follow. Rather than fitting someone into a predetermined package, we design the event from that person’s life outward.

Over six years, I have personally directed hundreds of events—from an intimate family wedding with eight guests to a celebration for 150 people and my own hwangap party. The scale and format were different every time, but the starting point was always the same: Who is this person, and what does this day mean to them?

You do not necessarily have to hold the event at LAMI. Simply talking through the kind of day you want to create may help you discover the right direction.

We will help you turn a precious milestone into a vivid memory that you can look back on with happiness for years to come.

This is Mi-young On, director of LAMI Convention Wedding.

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Last updated: June 2026