Extravagant Weddings Have to Stop

Parents from low or middle-income households whose children are preparing to get married are under increasing pressure as weddings become ever more extravagant. A wedding at a top-notch hotel in Seoul costs W100 million (US$1=W1,124) including meals for 300 guests. And the floral decorations cost tens of millions more.

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Yet despite such exorbitant costs, reservations for weddings are filled for up to six months even in the traditional off-seasons of summer and winter. The way the rich get married has made it almost obligatory for the less well-off to copy their ostentatious displays.

Weddings and dowries cost W12 trillion for 400,000 couples each year. An average wedding ceremony costs W30 million and parents are emptying their wallets to satisfy the tastes of their kids.

Many parents end up nearly broke after paying for their children's education and weddings. Some even sell their only home to finance the shindig despite having no additional source of income after retirement. Parents struggle to scratch together a few million won to help their children get a jump start on their marriage, even though they will be left with barely enough to get by themselves. It is simply mind-blowing to see young couples blow that money overnight on a lavish wedding.

The Anti-Corruption and Civil Right Commission of Korea has decided to give huge bonus points to staff of government ministries and state-run firms during their performance evaluations if they hold low-cost weddings at churches or civic centers. The move follows a decision that government officials should set an example in terms of frugality. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family is apparently coming up with measures to promote frugal weddings among the public.

In 1969, the Park Chung-hee administration issued a set of recommendations for family ceremonies. But when this failed to curb ostentatious ceremonies such as weddings and first or sixtieth birthdays, the government strengthened them into law in 1974. That law was scrapped by the Kim Dae-jung government in 1999, allowing weddings at top-notch hotels, because many people felt the government was meddling in their private lives. Today, many people long for the law to return.

The time has come to be more sensible. We need to put an end to ostentatious weddings that parents dread and guests abhor.