Norimitsu Onishi has an interesting article on the unique challenges of getting married in South Korea. Getting married involves much more than two people saying “I do” rather, it includes the prospective in-laws who often become involved in a negotiation of who gets what and how much:
. . . choosing the right wedding gifts for the new in-laws is fraught with pitfalls in South Korea. Shop for a plasma television set that is too small, and the bride’s family risks offending the bridegroom’s family. Other misjudgments can lead to strained relations between the two families or, at its extreme, a premature divorce.
It is interesting to note that there is a tradition of the man proposing on a couple’s 100-day anniversary of their initial meeting.
Perhaps someone should make a movie called “99 Days” . . .
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Whatever. The same can be said about pretty much any couple that shares two nosy mother-in-laws.
So if I date a girl, I have three months? Dang.
Those Vietnamese girls look like a bargain. Plus they don’t speak enough off the language to raise much of a fuss, and their mothers are a few thousand miles away.
Actually, I asked an adjuma today about the 100-day waiting period (its almost a handgun). She scoffed at such a thing, saying that it was not common whatsoever. Perhaps someone was pulling Onishi-san’s leg.
Norimitsu Onishi. Oh boy. He’s rather notorious in the Japan blogosphere for being, well. . . possibly prone to having his leg pulled. Many of his critics would say he rather liked it.
Tokyo has a rather large Korean community and I’ve noticed that quite a few young couples – both all-Korean couples and mixed-nationality couples – have said avoiding the strictures of Korea is a major reason they settled in Japan.
…involved in a negotiation of who gets what and how much…
Basically, in other words, a wedding in Korea is like a divorce in America.
“Basically, in other words, a wedding in Korea is like a divorce in America.”
LOL, good one Netizen Kim.
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