'Pandemic reshapes Korean wedding scenes'

Pandemic reshapes Korean wedding scenes With the wedding aisle adorned with(장식된) a load of white and pink flowers and fancy dining tables decorated for the occasion, 38-year-old Choi Yu-mi's wedding looked like a typically lavish(호화로운) Korean marriage ceremony, except that the wedding hall held only dozens of(몇십명의) guests, not hundreds. Including Choi, her groom, their families, friends and the officiant, only 49 people were present for the wedding ceremony held in a hotel ballroom, which can sit up to 400 people. The guest list has, however, taken deep cuts(대폭 삭감되다) as South Korea has ratcheted up social distancing rules to curb COVID-19 outbreaks, and gatherings of only up to 49 people were allowed for indoor weddings when the couple's marriage took place(일어났다) earlier this month. As the pandemic has continued nearly for a year, it is deeply affecting how people work, shop, interact with each other as well as the way rites of passage are celebrated. The stringent(엄중한) social distancing requirements, which were put in place under the second-strongest Level 2.5 stage of the five-tier system for the capital area as of December, dealt an especially heavy blow(심한 타격) to Korea's wedding culture, in which having a big gathering of guests and sharing food take center stage. "One of the saddest parts was we couldn't properly treat our guests to dining, which means a great deal(큰 의미가 있는) in Korean culture," Choi said. Due to the ongoing social distancing requirements, she was forced to skip many of the formalities accompanying a wedding, such as hosting meetings with friends to distribute invitation cards or handing out rice cakes as post-wedding presents to colleagues, she noted. Many friends and colleagues of the couple who arrived after the limited seats at the wedding hall were ushered into(~안으로 안내되다) separate rooms to watch the ceremony through a livestream. They were not served any food or drink in the separate rooms. "Personally, I don't enjoy being in the spotlight while many people are watching. But if I were someone who wanted a festive wedding, I would have been a lot sadder," she added.