Experts Predict Korean Marriage Boom

On the first floor of the Winners Marina on-ship-cafe at Tteukseom Resort, “To the Bride,” a marriage anthem slowly rang out. Hundreds of roses decorated the inside of the café, and the dry ice and pink décor created a dream-like atmosphere.

Bridegroom-to-be Kwon Soo-young brought his bride-to-be Lim Eun-ju to read her his love letter.

“Thank you for marrying me, and I hope we will be together even in heaven.”

All Lim could do was cry.

Kwon says, “We’ve set a date for the wedding, but to make memories before the marriage, I prepared this surprise proposal.”

This year is the first time in 200 years that the beginning of spring comes twice in the lunar calendar, and is supposed to a lucky year to get married. Perhaps because of that belief, the number of couples wanting to get married is increasing. Wedding halls are already booked full with couples that have advanced their weddings. Proposals are becoming a natural event for those looking forward to marriage.

The main wedding halls and hotels are already booked through November. The number of weddings at Seoul’s I Hotel has risen to 43 during the first quarter of this year, from just 28 cases during the first quarter of last year. The total for the second quarter of last year was 63 cases, but this year, 61 weddings have already taken place in the second quarter. The number of clients at the marriage consultancy Duo has risen by 40%, and the success rate of marriages has risen by 20%.

Future bridegrooms are thinking up unique ways to propose. This is because their future brides are also looking forward to these proposals. Unlike weddings, where all the family members will get together in a stern atmosphere, these proposals have festive characteristics.

In the past, a proposal meant a man is asking for the hand of a woman, but these days, a proposal is more like an event to confirm their love.

Yoo Dong-hu, representative of a proposal surrogate firm that carries out proposals, says, “From the year 2000, event-like proposals have become popular. The most frequent requests are leasing out a café to parody entertainers’ proposals.”

Other than the “movie parody” types, there are also the “classic proposal,” or the “macho man” type.

These days, proposals have become a festival that everyone enjoys. The couple puts together a show to entertain friends and co-workers in attendance.

Critic Kim Heon-shik (32) says, “Due to the influence from pop culture that has abandoned pursuit for authority and idealism and remnants of the World Cup, a tendency to make everything into a festival has changed proposals and marriages from solemn events into joyous ones.”

But there is apprehension that these proposals put economic stress on the bride and groom, and weaken the true meaning of marriage.

Ewha Womans University professor of sociology Ham In-hee says, “The younger generation seem to have found an attachment to making events as they search for the meaning of marriage,” but also warned, “ If people become too engrossed in the form of marriage, its original meaning could be lost.”

Se-Jin Jung mint4a@donga.com