The cost of an average wedding is four times the country’s average annual income.

　　一般婚禮的花費是該國平均年收入的四倍。

     Love in South Korea is an expensive business. Reports suggest that the average wedding in the country costs around US$200,000. Between 1999 and 2011, the average wedding increased in price by around 270%. By contrast, inflation went up by about 45.5% in that period. Families can struggle to pay for the ceremonies, as average household incomes are about US$42,000.

　　南韓的愛情是一門昂貴的生意。報導顯示該國一般婚禮的花費大約是二十萬美元。1999年到2011年之間，婚禮平均花費大約上升了270%。相較之下，通貨率在這段期間大約上升了45.5%。家庭可能很難支付典禮的費用，因為一般家庭收入大約是四萬兩千美元。

     There are two main reasons why weddings cost so much. The first is that the two families involved have to exchange expensive gifts – traditionally, this was silk, but designer clothing and handbags are now more common. The groom is also expected to be able to buy a home for him and his wife to live in. The cost of buying a house generally takes up around 70% of the entire wedding budget.

　　婚禮如此昂貴有兩個主要的原因。第一，參與的兩個家庭必須交換昂貴的禮物—傳統上是絲綢，但是現在名牌服裝和包包更常見。新郎也預計要能夠買一棟房子給自己和妻子住。買房子的花費佔了婚禮總預算大約70%。

     Talking about the reasons why people are prepared to spend so much, Harris H. Kim, a sociology assistant professor at Ewha Womans University, noted that “Korean society is very tightly knit, and people here are very concerned about how others view them… The wedding works as a status symbol, like a marker of where you stand in the society.”

　　梨花女子大學社會學系的助理教授哈瑞斯金，提到人們為什麼願意花那麼多錢，他說，「南韓社會非常緊密結合，這裡的人都非常關心別人如何看待他們…婚禮是一種身份的象徵，就像你在社會上的地位標誌。」