South Korea will celebrate a "double spring" this year: the couples flood the wedding halls
A Korean couple is preparing for their wedding, yesterday in Seoul. This year there was an increase in the income of the wedding industry
Photo: Reuters
Seoul, (Reuters). Fortune tellers in South Korea say that the last time it was so good to get married was when Napoleon's troops were marching across Europe and Ludwig van Beethoven was busy writing his fifth symphony.
Although South Korean couples do not usually read history books when planning their weddings, they do take fortune tellers seriously. According to them, 2006 is the best year for marriage in 200 years.
What is special about this lunar year is the fact that the first day of spring in Korea falls, unusually, twice: the first time was at the beginning of January 2006, and the second time will be at the beginning of February 2007. Some fortune tellers claim that the best plan is to get married in the current lunar year, and have a child in next moon
"Two springs a year create an energy of prosperity, which means it's a good time to get married," said Kang Pan-seor, vice president of the Korean Fortune Tellers Association. According to him, the double spring phenomenon occurred only 12 times since 221 BC.
Many South Koreans ask fortune tellers for advice concerning matters of the heart, and word of the spring double lunar year reached the ears of many who were preparing to marry. "Couples who marry during this period will live together for long and happy years," Kang said.
The South Korean couples flood the halls of joy, buy expensive gifts and are a shot of encouragement to the wedding industry that has been in the doldrums for years. Most Koreans get married in halls, whose owners take care of organizing the event from start to finish. Bride-to-be Kim Hee-young, for example, planned her wedding for March or April 2007, the days of the beginning of the blooming and blossoming. She recently brought the event forward to December 2006 - the height of the Korean winter. "We didn't want to get married in the cold season, but we complied with our parents, who requested that the wedding take place in the double spring year," said Kim.
According to government statistics, between January and April 2006 the revenues of the pleasure halls increased for the first time in four years, and the beauty salons reported higher profits than they had in early 2005.
Yoo Shio-sik of Hana Tours, one of the largest travel agencies in South Korea, said that bookings for honeymoon trips also increased because of the lunar year. He said that the company sold more than 12 thousand honeymoon trips this year - an increase of 81% compared to last year.
https://www.hayadan.org.il/BuildaGate4/general2/data_card.php?Cat=~~~516557832~~~105&SiteName=hayadan
