Korean men going to Vietnam for brides
The NYTimes has a fascinating article on Korean men who use brokers to find brides in Vietnam. The interesting thing about the article is that it covers the experience of a practice most of us see as sad, degrading, and even comical, in a matter-of-fact manner with a seemingly objective voice. It definitely provides more details than I’ve ever heard before on this subject. Below are some excerpts:
Ahn Jae-won, a Korean broker who has long been based in Hanoi and is married to a Vietnamese woman, began: “The women have come out looking their best for you. But don’t expect them to look as pretty as Korean women.”
Ouch, I don’t think Vietnamese women would appreciate that. It’s interesting to note the author of the article is a Korean woman by the name of Su-hyun Lee.
“The parents know that their daughters will marry a Korean man. The authorities know this is happening, but there’ll be trouble if we do it in front of them. So I seek your understanding. Once we land in Hanoi, even though it’ll be very late, we’ll go meet the women right away. It’s safer to do this at night.”
You’d think it’d be safer to do these things during the day, but what do I know?
But Ms. Thuy’s father, Bui Van Vui, 52, was displeased that his daughter was marrying a man just one year younger than he was.
Now that just elicits a collective, “ewwww.”