In Pictures: South Korean mass wedding defies coronavirus fears

Thousands of couples tie the knot despite concerns over the spread of coronavirus

GAPYEONG, SOUTH KOREA: Thousands of couples tied the knot at a mass wedding ceremony organised by South Korea's Unification Church in Gapyeong on Friday.

The mass wedding marked the eighth anniversary of the death of church founder and self-proclaimed messiah Sun Myung Moon.

 

Thousands of couples tied the knot despite concerns in South Korea over the spread of coronavirus (Photo: Reuters)

The church founded by Sun Myung Moon - revered as a messiah by his followers - distributed face coverings to the 30,000 crowd (Photo: Reuters)

"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)

Festivals, graduation ceremonies, and K-pop concerts have been cancelled over fears large events could facilitate virus transmission, and authorities have asked religious groups to co-operate in preventing it from spreading (Photo: Reuters)

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, said official Jang Young-Chul (Photo: AFP)

Nearly 6,000 identical-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 (Photo: AFP)

The mass weddings 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 (Photo: AFP)

While the church claims a worldwide following of three million, experts suggest the core membership is far smaller (Photo: AFP)

Couples cheer during the mass wedding ceremony organised by the Unification Church at Cheongshim Peace World Center in Gapyeong (Photo: AFP)

A couple wearing masks for protection from the new coronavirus attends a mass wedding ceremony of the Unification Church at Cheongshim Peace World Centre in Gapyeong, South Korea (Photo: Reuters)

Couples from around the world celebrate in a mass wedding ceremony at the Cheong Shim Peace World Center in Gapyeong, South Korea (Photo: AFP)