marriage

By Jack Whitmore

Editors’ Note: 3wm is hearing stories about mental health issues of Koreans and foreigners who are mostly living in Seoul. We re-post this story  and earnestly ask anyone who has experienced or is experiencing  a difficult relationship–which might be effected by Mental Illness–to contact 3wm about telling your story. Confidentiality guaranteed. 3wmseoul@gmail.com

A Vietnamese bride is about to marry a Korean man 20 years older than her. They met through her older sister who also married a Korean. Photo by P. DeMarco

When couples say their wedding vows, “till death do us part” is not supposed to mean you stay married until one partner kills the other. Unfortunately, this past summer a schizophrenic Korean man murdered his Vietnamese wife [not the girl in the photo above].

Yes, it had to happen eventually! A big round of applause to Nextour (넥스투어) for producing the very first Korean commercial to feature a Korean woman literally dreaming of having a romantic and/or sexual relationship with a Western man, and with no suggestion that there will be anything but happiness once she succeeds.

( Korea is 4th from right; source )

Apparently, Korea is pretty unique in its huge difference in smoking rates between the sexes: up to 10 times more Korean men smoke than women. Or do they?