A little more than a year ago, Mr. Kim and Ms. Cho met at birthday party for one of Mr. Kim’s colleagues. (When they were interviewed Sept. 27, they knew they had been together 420 days.)

When it came to the gift exchange, Ms. Cho said, “Some traditional things should be included like rice cakes, grains, a hanbok, a small mirror — each has a specific meaning. The meaning of each item is the most important part. It can seem like it’s all about money but it’s not.”

Ms. Cho and her mother had chosen all the presents, which had been delivered to Mr. Kim’s family the previous weekend. Although, she said, “We also melted my parents’ wedding rings to make Eric’s wedding band, and I created an ingam, a traditional legal seal for Eric. I think those are very special gifts.”

Mr. Kim said he had given Ms. Cho a set of pearl jewelry; a dress and a hanbok, the traditional Korean garment; a handbag; some herbal medicine and traditional Korean carved birds that mean happiness. (Also, some whisky for her father.)

Ms. Cho said: “Nowadays people try to simplify the tradition because many couples think it’s not necessary to spend that much money. Maybe from the perspective of people outside Korea it seems like we only focus on money, but it really is about tradition and meaning.”

As the couple strolled through the Galleria, Mr. Kim talked about watches: “I love luxury watches, I always did. I like brands such as IWC, Breitling, Audemars Piguet.”