Bank of Korea to host weddings

Dealing with monetary policy and interest rates is the Bank of Korea's main role, but in May it will start hosting weddings - in an auditorium hung with the portraits of former central bank governors.

Employees from the Bank of Korea will be allowed to get married inside the grey, fortress-like building at weekends, according to an internal memo released earlier this month.

"The large auditorium was available for personal employee use before, but that was discouraged due to security reasons," said a manager in the human relations and management department.

"We've decided to open it back up again now that we have enforced security."

The central bank hosted weddings in the 1990s, according to another human relations official, who was himself married at the auditorium which holds around 200 people.

You Hyoun-joo was consulted by central bank personnel on how to prepare the venue for weddings as they had "little clue what to do."

"I had to spend hours explaining why the bride's waiting room had to look nice," said You, who has had more than a decade's worth of experience in the business.

The Bank of Korea joins a group of other South Korean public institutions that have made their facilities available to either their employees or the public to encourage nuptial ceremonies that are less costly and more low-key.

South Korea's presidential Blue House has opened one of the buildings on its grounds for weddings and will select the lucky couples by lottery by the end of the month.


/Reuters.Com/