"A Romance Even the Joseon Royal Court Would Envy" ... First Couple to Wed at Gyeongbokgung Palace Is YouTuber Kimchi Ghost Mai

[Financial News]  "Marry at the National Palace Museum," a program created to ease the burden of wedding costs on young people and promote the value and beauty of national heritage in everyday life, began on Oct. 2. Of the 28 prospective couples selected after 293 couples applied and competed at odds of 10 to 1 this year, the first couple to hold a wedding was Estonian YouTuber Kimchi Ghost Mai.

At 4 p.m. on Oct. 2, the wedding ceremony of bride Mai, 27, and groom A. was held at the outdoor Ginkgo Tree Rest Area of the National Palace Museum of Korea in Jongno District, Seoul.
Mai, who came from Tallinn, Estonia, has lived in Korea for three years and has introduced hanbok and Korean traditional culture. With about 220,000 subscribers, she introduces Korean culture to people around the world through her YouTube account, Kimchi Ghost Mai. Last year, she also made headlines by becoming the first foreigner to be selected as Miss Chunhyang.
Mai and A. became husband and wife through a roughly 45-minute ceremony that included the processional entrance, marriage vows, congratulatory remarks, a wedding song and a recessional. The ginkgo tree and about 100 people celebrated their marriage. The couple plans to hold another wedding ceremony in Estonia next summer.
"Gogeol," short for "Marry at the National Palace Museum," is a project launched by the Korea Heritage Service for the first time this year. It offers the outdoor Ginkgo Tree Rest Area at the National Palace Museum of Korea as a free wedding venue and provides partial support for wedding expenses. Through Nov. 8, a total of 28 couples are scheduled to tie the knot in front of the ginkgo trees through the program. Eight of them are international couples from Estonia, Vietnam, France, Kazakhstan, the United Kingdom, Bangladesh and Spain, among other countries.
Kim Hye-kyung, who attended the "Gogeol" ceremony that day, said, "I am very pleased to celebrate the couple's new beginning with them in this beautiful cultural heritage setting." She added, "As the program expands from 28 couples this year to 80 couples next year, I hope more young people will share special moments here with the people they love."

[email protected] Kim Hee-seon Reporter