Filipina-Korean couples hold a Filipino style wedding ceremony

Two Filipina-Korean couples release doves after their wedding ceremony, Sunday, at Hyehwa Catholic Church in Jongno, central Seoul. / Courtesy of Multiculture Museum

By You Soo-sun

Two Filipina-Korean couples swore their oaths, Sunday, in a wedding ceremony at a Catholic church in Jongno, central Seoul. The brides, both from the Philippines, have been legally married to their Korean spouses, but had waited over a decade for a wedding ceremony, deemed a must in their home country.

For the past six years, the Multiculture Museum of Korea has annually arranged weddings for such couples to commemorate interracial marriage.

The hall was packed with both Korean and Filipino guests, some who flew from the Philippines. Even the back of the hall teemed with people who stood throughout the ceremony to watch the two couples take their vows. The crowd sang along to the hymns, with lyrics shown in Tagalog on a screen at the front of the church.

“Many of our programs are designed to help foreigners adjust to Korean culture,” said Kim Yun-tae, director at the Multiculture Museum. “We realized, however, that an understanding of the minority should come first.”

“Through the ceremony, the Korean spouse and family may learn to appreciate and embrace the culture of the bride.”

The foreign population in Korea has grown rapidly over the last decade. From 2006 to 2015, the percentage of foreigners tripled, from 1.1 percent to 3.4 percent of the total population, according to the Ministry of the Interior. In 2015, a quarter of the 1.7 million foreigners residing in Korea reportedly came for marriage. But despite the population spike, it is still typical for the foreign spouse to assimilate to the Korean way of life.

Multiculture Museum director Kim Yun-tae (top, center), former lawmaker Jasmine Lee (to Kim’s left) and Philippine Ambassador Raul Hernandez (to Kim’s right) / Courtesy of Multiculture Museum

“Most of these wedding ceremonies are held in Korean. So even when family members come to visit from a different country, they are not able to understand,” said former lawmaker Jasmine Lee who attended the wedding. “I think this wedding shows Korea is on its way to better embracing other cultures.” Lee was the first non-ethnic Korean to serve as a member of the National Assembly in Korea.

Philippine Ambassador Raul Hernandez also welcomed the event. “I’m very happy the event was organized to highlight our traditional Catholic wedding ceremony,” Hernandez said at the wedding. “Even though the two couples have been legally married, the ceremony is important in our culture as a way of solidifying the marriage.”