3,000 Marry In Mass Ceremony In South Korea
KABUL: (MEP) A massive mass wedding ceremony has been held where around 3,000 couples from 62 countries tied the knot in South Korea on Saturday saying “I do” at a so-called “religion unification marriage” at Gapyeong, about 75km north-east of Seoul, on 20 February.
A further 12,000 couples worldwide participated in the ceremony via the Internet, said Ryu Kyeung-seuk, president of the South Korean headquarters of the church.
The Unification Church was set up by the late Reverend Sun Myung Moon in Seoul in 1954. The followers of the church are often called “Moonies” after the founder. Moon’s widow Hak Ja Han Moon presided over Saturday’s ceremony held at the South Korean headquarters of the church.
Moon, who died in 2012 at the age of 92, had presided over mass weddings since the early 1960s.
The traditional ceremony actually allows couples to wed or renew their wedding vow. Through it, the church believes that the couple is removed from the lineage of sinful humanity and so will their future progeny be.
“We’ve been engaged for over one year now, mostly been separated, so of course it’s extremely good to be together again,” Hyo-joo Song, from Britain, who married his Japanese wife during the ceremony, was quoted as saying.
“And yes, we’re happy to be married and also share that experience with many other people,” he added.
