College head organizes wedding for NK defectors

Dong-Pusan College President Yoo Kyung-hwa, right, officiates at the wedding of five North Korean defector couples on the school’s campus in Busan, Tuesday. / Courtesy of Dong-Pusan College

By Kim Rahn

Dong-Pusan College President Yoo Kyung-hwa officiated at a group wedding for five North Korean defector couples on the school’s campus in Busan Tuesday.

It was the eighth year that Yoo has organized such a wedding event for defectors from the North.

“I took part in an event to introduce North Korean foods together with some defectors nine years ago. As part of the event, Busan City organized a group wedding for 30 couples, but only one couple was made up of defectors while others were multiracial couples,” Yoo said.

“The other defectors at the event said they wanted to have weddings, too, so I told them that I would help them. I kept the promise and have continued organizing weddings for defectors ever since.”

She said professors and students of the school also support the weddings: students majoring in beauty art offer makeup for brides; those majoring in the wedding industry make dresses; students majoring in floral decoration make bouquets; and those majoring in magic entertainment offer performances.

Yoo herself also gave wedding photo albums to the couples as presents and financed their honeymoons to Jeju Island.