Thousands of couples — some in masks — yesterday tied the knot in a mass Unification Church wedding, despite concerns in South Korea over the spread of the coronavirus outbreak.
The church founded by Sun Myung Moon — revered as a messiah by his followers — distributed face coverings to the 30,000 crowd, but only some donned them.
“I am overwhelmed that I am getting married today,” said Choi Ji-young, who met her husband — matched by the church — only two months ago.
Photo: Reuters
“It would be a lie if I said I was not concerned at all about the infection,” the 21-year-old university student said. “But I feel like I will be protected from the virus today.”
South Korea has recorded 24 cases of the novel coronavirus outbreak that emerged in neighboring China, where more than 30,000 cases have been confirmed, and Seoul has barred entry to foreigners who have recently been in Wuhan, the epidemic’s center.
Festivals, graduation ceremonies and K-pop concerts have been canceled over fears large events could facilitate virus transmission, and authorities have asked religious groups to cooperate in preventing it spreading.
The church went ahead with the event because it had been “four years in the making” as part of the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of Moon’s birth, official Jang Young-chul said.
However, followers from China were asked not to come, he added.
Nearly 6,000 identically dressed couples from 64 countries — many of whom met for the first time in recent weeks — married in Gapyeong, a festive mood filling the venue as newlyweds took group photos and were congratulated by friends and relatives.
Mass weddings, often held in giant sports stadiums with tens of thousands of couples, have long been a signature feature of the church, whose followers have been dubbed “Moonies” after its founder, who died in 2012.
They began in the early 1960s, involving just a few dozen couples at first, but with numbers mushrooming over the years. In 1997, 30,000 couples took part in a joint wedding in Washington, and two years later around 21,000 filled the Olympic Stadium in Seoul.
Those who choose to be matched by the church must confirm under oath that they are virgins, and after their wedding the couple must refrain from sexual relations for a minimum of 40 days.
Kim Chang-seong, 27, who was marrying a woman whom he met 20 days ago, said he was not concerned about infection because the mass wedding had “special meaning” for him.
“By marrying a fellow church believer, I am taking a path paved by our church leaders,” he said.
The teachings of the Unification Church are based on the Bible but with new interpretations, and Moon saw his role as completing the unfulfilled mission of Jesus to restore humanity to a state of “sinless” purity.
While it claims a worldwide following of 3 million, experts suggest the core membership is far smaller.
Evelyne Chimfwembe, who flew in from Botswana to attend the ceremony with her husband of 28 years, said she was not worried about the virus, as she believed the event would be “under God’s control.”
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
IN PURSUIT: Israel’s defense minister said the revenge attacks by Israeli settlers would make it difficult for security forces to find those responsible for the 14-year-old’s death Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday condemned the “heinous murder” of an Israeli teenager in the occupied West Bank as attacks on Palestinian villages intensified following news of his death. After Benjamin Achimeir, 14, was reported missing near Ramallah on Friday, hundreds of Jewish settlers backed by Israeli forces raided nearby Palestinian villages, torching vehicles and homes, leaving at least one villager dead and dozens wounded. The attacks escalated in several villages on Saturday after Achimeir’s body was found near the Malachi Hashalom outpost. Agence France-Presse correspondents saw smoke rising from burned houses and fields. Mayor Amin Abu Alyah, of the