韓國人結婚需備20萬美金 房子彩禮是大頭

The Beatles may have sung "all you need is love," but in South Korea a couple wanting to get married also needs cash, a lot of it - nearly $200,000, or more than four times the average annual income.

The sky-high costs stem from a combination of cultural traditions that mandate expensive pre-wedding gifts between families, such as mink coats and diamond rings, along with a decades-old custom that the groom must fork over money to provide a home.

The average cost for a wedding in 2011 rose about 270 percent from 1999, while the inflation during the same period rose 45.5 percent. Total costs far outstripped the average annual household income at around 48.3 million Korean won ($42,400), according to government data.

Thus, young couples seeking to unite in wedded bliss are forced to borrow from parents or take out loans. With candid discussions of money a cultural taboo in Korea, many are reluctant to speak about the high cost of exchanging vows.

"Korean society is very tightly knit, and people here are very concerned about how others view them," said Harris H. Kim, a sociology assistant professor at Ewha Womans University.

"The wedding works as a status symbol, like a marker of where you stand in the society," he added.

A 30-year old kindergarten teacher who would only give her surname, Kim, said her husband, whose income is 40 million won, took out a loan for 45 million won in addition to financial aid from their parents for a wedding with 600 guests. The couple didn't know half the people, who were their parents' friends.

Gift-giving also takes a hefty chunk of the cash. Traditionally, the bride and groom's families have exchanged gifts - good silk for new clothes and simple jewelry - as a way of thanking the other family. But these days the silk has turned into fur or luxury handbags, while the jewelry has morphed into a full set of gems.

But the biggest part of the wedding budget comes from soaring housing prices, according to data from , a matchmaking company. The money spent by happy couples for housing last year was 2.5 times higher than in 2000, making up nearly 70 percent of the total cost of a wedding.

"I've had many customers in the last five years who directly asked for a spouse who can at least afford to rent a house," said Sungmi Lee, a manager at .甲殼蟲樂隊雖然高唱 “你需要的只是愛”，但在韓國，想結婚的情侶們還需要錢，而且是很多錢——近20萬美元，也就是平均年收入的四倍多。

高昂的結婚花費一方面是由於按韓國文化傳統，家庭之間要贈送像貂皮大衣和鑽石戒指這樣貴重的婚前禮物，另一方面是因爲延續數十年的習俗要求新郎出錢買房。

2011年韓國結婚的平均花費相比1999年上漲了270%，而通貨膨脹率同比增長45.5%。據政府數據顯示，結婚總花費遠遠超過了韓國年均家庭收入——約4830萬韓元（合42400美元）。

因此，想結婚的年輕人不得不向父母借錢或借貸。由於直接談錢在韓國文化中是禁忌，所以許多韓國人都不願談論結婚的高昂花費。

韓國梨花女子大學的社會學助理教授哈里斯•H•金說：“韓國社會是一個人與人之間聯繫十分緊密的社會，因此韓國人很注重別人對自己的看法。”

他說：“婚禮是一個身份的象徵，標誌着你在社會中的地位。”

不願透露名字的30歲的幼兒園老師金女士說，她的丈夫年收入是4000萬韓元，爲了辦600人蔘加的婚宴，除了父母給予的經濟援助外，他還借貸4500萬韓元。這些客人有一半夫妻倆不認識，是雙方父母的朋友。

送彩禮也佔了結婚資金的一大塊。傳統上，新娘和新郎的家庭間要交換禮物——製作新衣服的優質絲綢和簡單的首飾——作爲感謝對方家庭的方式。但時至今日絲綢已經被皮草或奢侈手提包所代替，而首飾則演變成了全套寶石。

根據婚介公司的數據，結婚預算中比重最大的開支就是價格飛漲的房子。去年喜結連理的韓國夫婦的購房花費比2000年高出2.5倍，佔結婚總花費的近70%。

的一名經理李成美說：“過去五年間我有許多客戶直接要求介紹的對象至少能租得起房。”