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Isthma
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Sunny
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Korean Wedding
Sunny talks about the traditions of marriage in her home country of Korea.
Isthma: Hey, Sunny, I would like to ask a few questions about marriage in Korea. The first question is, at what age do they usually get married?
Sunny: I think the average age for Koreans to marry is about 27 to 28 for girls, and then 30 to 31 for guys, because, you know, guys in Korea, they have to serve military service, so that's why it makes marriage a little bit later than other countries, I think.
Isthma: Okay. And where are the like marriages usually held?
Sunny: Where?
Isthma: Where.
Sunny: It's usually held at a wedding hall. And for people who believe in Catholic or Christian, they do it in churches or cathedrals.
Isthma: Is it usually like expensive, and they have like big weddings? Or they invite all locals or -
Sunny: Well, it depends on people, but usually, it's about one groom invite about 100 people, and the bride invites about the same. And then, relatives come and then friends come, so I think it's like pretty big, compared to western cultures.
Isthma: It sounds expensive, but who pays for all that, for all the -
Sunny: As long as I know, it's about half and half for groom and bride. And for gifts, like usually guys provide home, and then the girls provide refrigerators and sofas and the gadgets in the home.
Isthma: Mm, okay. Are divorces common in Korea?
Sunny: Well, a few statistics says it's high, but I think people are getting stigmatized when they get divorced, so people usually don't get like divorced.
Isthma: Okay, what do you mean by - stigmatized ?
Sunny: Because people don't think divorce is good, so people want to hide their divorce.
Isthma: And can you tell me another unique thing or unique element in a Korean marriage?
Sunny: Wedding ceremonies in Korea, it is made of two parts. The first part is like western style. We are wearing - brides wear this wedding dress, like white wedding dress and something like that. And then, the guys wear suits. And then in second part, we wear traditional Korean clothes. I think that's kind of unique in Korean wedding.
Isthma: Okay, thank you so much.
Sunny: No problem.
average age
The average age is about twenty-seven for girls.
In informal usage, the word average is similar meaning to 'usual'. Notice the following:
- The average age of retirement is 62.
- The usual age of retirement is 62.
about the same
The bride invites about the same.
The phrase 'about the same' is used to describe similar but not equal amounts of something. Notice the following:
- I spend about the same amount of time exercising as I do studying.
- We spent about the same amount of money in Tokyo as we did in Hong Kong.
gadgets
The relatives usually give gadgets.
A gadget is a small machine or battery powered device that is used for a specific purpose. Notice the following:
- The TV remote is the best gadget ever invented!
- Hey, that's a cool little gadget.
stigmatized
People get stigmatized.
When people are stigmatized, others look down on them; often unfairly. Notice the following:
- Single mothers are stigmatized by some.
- As poor immigrants, my parents were often stigmatized.
suit
The groom wears a suit.
A suit is a matching jacket and pants for men or jacket and skirt for women. Notice the following:
- Wow, that's a nice suit!
- He wore a dark gray suit to the job interview.
Vocabulary Quiz
stigmatized • suit
