Monster Island (actually a peninsula)*

Pearls of witticism from 'Bo the Blogger: Kushibo's Korea blog... Kushibo-e Kibun... Now with Less kimchi, more nunchi. Random thoughts and commentary (and indiscernibly opaque humor) about selected social, political, economic, and health-related issues of the day affecting "foreans," Koreans, Korea and East Asia, along with the US, especially Hawaii, Orange County and the rest of California, plus anything else that is deemed worthy of discussion. Forza Corea!

Monday, June 7, 2010

In (faint) praise of the "wedding hole"

Roboseyo takes a fair and honest look at Korea's yeshikchang and whether one should get married there.

I myself would never choose to get married in a wedding hall, the likes of which are usually the unholy spawn of Sleeping Beauty's castle mates meets the north Las Vegas Strip. I prefer the option of a Catholic church that is available in Korea (if one or both of you is Catholic), but if my wife-to-be insisted on a getting married in a "wedding hole," I'd do it just to make her happy.

And isn't that was weddings are all about: giving in to your future wife irrespective of your own wants and desires?

9 comments:

AnonymousMonday, June 07, 2010 3:48:00 PM
dding hole is not so bad... I got married in one. It's convenient (everything's done for you and it includes wedding photos and video, buffet dinner, and dress/tux hire) and cheaper than other options (I heard Catholic churches were VERY expensive).

We're also planning on having a second wedding in a little chapel in the countryside back home too - best of both worlds.
ReplyDelete
Replies
kushiboMonday, June 07, 2010 3:50:00 PM
Were I to get married in Korea — whether to a KoKo or even a kyopo or non-kyopo American or whatever — I'd probably have a nice, quiet "second wedding" "back home" in California.
ReplyDelete
Replies
AnonymousMonday, June 07, 2010 3:50:00 PM
Gah! Looks like the start of my message got cut off...

Should start:

The we...
ReplyDelete
Replies
kushiboMonday, June 07, 2010 3:51:00 PM
I figured as much. Though at first I thought "dding hole" was code for what the kids are calling it these days.
ReplyDelete
Replies
AnonymousMonday, June 07, 2010 3:56:00 PM
Well, it could be, but I'm too old to know... :D

The typing mistake is down to the fact that every time I go to comments pages on blogger, they load twice.
ReplyDelete
Replies
MikeTuesday, June 08, 2010 3:09:00 AM
I went to a wedding recently in the Technomart above Sindorim station and was amazed at how the planners (and bride) brought a non-wedding hall feeling to the whole affair...

Except for two things: First, the seating was arranged in tables so the post-wedding buffet was amazingly efficient. And, of course, we were on the 14th floor of a shopping mall.

I'd still prefer a Catholic wedding myself and if you're Protestant, most churches are rather un-sacred feeling anyway...
ReplyDelete
Replies
AnonymousTuesday, June 08, 2010 6:35:00 AM
Wedding halls are truly atrocious. More tackier than a vegas wedding.
ReplyDelete
Replies
BrianTuesday, June 08, 2010 11:30:00 AM
Here's a look at the flip-side, from Jason of Kimchi-Icecream, the post that prompted Rob's take:
http://kimchiicecream.wordpress.com/2010/05/24/korean-wedding-hallcastle-culture-jason-when-are-you-and-julianne-getting-married-you-should-get-married/

word verification: megatoo. We were thinking about getting married in a hall in Gwangju but all the decorations were megatoo much.
ReplyDelete
Replies
MockingbirdFriday, June 11, 2010 9:46:00 PM
Kushibo you wrote

I prefer the option of a Catholic church that is available in Korea (if one or both of you is Catholic).

Why do you specify Catholic churches? Do Korean Anglicans not get married in church? Or does the RCC have some special arrangement with the ROK government about paperwork?
ReplyDelete
Replies

Add comment

Share your thoughts, but please be kind and respectful. My mom reads this blog.

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Ask Kushibo.

My Google/Blogspot data shows that a lot of the 2 million people who have landed on my site (yes, that's the real number) are looking for cultural information on Korea (e.g., “When did Syngman Rhee die?” “What did the Indians bring to the first Chusŏk?’ etc., etc.), as well as practical or historical stuff.

That got me thinking that, hey, I have a master’s degree in Korean studies and a minor in Japanese studies, I’ve lived in Seoul far longer than most foreans my age (whether they're kyopo or non-kyopo), I teach introductory courses on Korea and its cultural trappings and history, so why not offer a free service where I attempt to answer people’s questions, point them in the direction of where they can get them answered, and/or offer my regulars (that’s you!) a chance to take a stab at some of this stuff, too.

So if there’s something you’d like to know from a “contrarian scourge,” click on ASK KUSHIBO and just ask a succinct question in the comments section below.

Oh, and play nice. Please don’t make me regret this.

九十五大怪獣란? 쿠시보의 몬스터 아일랜드란?

Pearls of witticism from 'Bo the Blogger: Kushibo's Korea blog... Kushibo-e Kibun...
Now with Less kimchi, more nunchi. Random thoughts and commentary (and indiscernibly opaque humor) about selected social, political, economic, and health-related issues of the day affecting "foreans" ("foreigners" in Korea be they kyopo or non-kyopo), Koreans, Korea and East Asia, along with the US, especially Hawaii, Orange County, and the rest of California, plus anything else that is deemed worthy of discussion. Forza Corea!

* Monster Island (actually a peninsula)

The name of this blog comes from a line in "Lisa on Ice," a beloved episode of The Simpsons, perhaps my all-time favorite television show (even though for several seasons there, it really did suck). Lisa is imagining being sworn in as president, but at the last minute, it is discovered that she failed P.E. (physical education) and she is thus "sentenced to a lifetime of horror" on Monster Island. "Don't worry," the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court confides in her, "It's just a name."

Fast forward to Lisa and other prisoners running in panic through a tropical jungle, chased by Godzilla-like creatures, including a monster turtle and a monster firefly.

"He said it was just a name!" Lisa screams to the man next to her. While he, too, runs for his life, the unidentified man calmly says, "What he meant is that Monster Island is actually a peninsula."

Anyway, I thought in some ways that punchline summed up modern-day Korea in a nutshell. For many people—foreigners and Koreans—the ups and downs and everyday travails of the Republic of Korea make it as precarious as a Monster Island would be (and with the DMZ being the only land border, it really is like an island). But it actually is a peninsula. Okay, it made sense in my head.

So as you can see, despite the hits I get from people looking for Japanese tentacle porn, it has nothing to do with anything salacious as that.