Despite some complaints from nonreligious coworkers about how long the minister droned on*, the wedding I just got back from was very nicely done. You can't expect Koreans to sit quietly during such ceremonies; there was plenty of gabbing and cell phoning going on all around me, an ambient noise punctuated by the flashes of digicams and the sound-sampled clicks of cell phone cams. I took some pictures as well; will post them later today.
The church itself, Ch'ang Ch'eon Methodist church near Yonsei University, feels like your typical mainstream Protestant church on the inside. I was reminded of how long it's been since I actually stepped inside a church. I didn't expect to burst into flames or anything, but it was a bit jarring to enter a house of God. Over the past year, I'd have to say I've spent far more time in Buddhist temples than at church. But once the ceremony started, it followed a familiar liturgical structure, and I immediately got into the swing of things. Funny how the old ritual patterns, long dormant, prove easy to reawaken.
My coworker looked gorgeous in her wedding gown. As expected, all ass-fantasies turned to dust and ash as the ring was placed on her finger. But I'm happy for her. Her new hubby seems like a nice guy-- very polite, all smiles. I wish the newlyweds well.
*Anyone familiar with Protestant ministers knows that they're a gabby bunch at the pulpit. For the record, I found the sermon rather short, especially judging by Korean Protestant standards. But short sermons are de rigueur for weddings, because Korean churches can be expected to perform several weddings in a day. This ceremony clocked in at barely 45 minutes. I hung around with Smoo coworkers to have our picture taken with the bride, then decided to skip out on the wedding meal. My experience with Korean weddings is that the meals aren't that great, and while I generally like my coworkers, I wasn't feeling gabby enough to sit with them.
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