“The meal cost 110,000 won, but you gave 100,000?” ... Friend challenges guest over a “wedding-gift shortfall” after a two-hour round trip to a wedding [What do you think?]

[Financial News] “If the meal cost was such a concern, why didn’t you put a kiosk at the wedding venue and sell meal tickets?”
A recent post on Blind, an anonymous online community for office workers, described how someone paid 100,000 won as a wedding gift at a college classmate’s wedding and was confronted because it was less than the meal cost.

The author, identified as A, recently traveled more than two hours round trip to attend a college classmate’s wedding. The venue was in Gangnam, Seoul, and was a dedicated hall known for its good food.
After hearing that the going rate for wedding gifts these days was usually 100,000 won, A paid 100,000 won that day and had a meal. A also joined in the commemorative photos and congratulated the friend on the marriage.
But A was dumbfounded to hear from the friend after the honeymoon. While sorting through the wedding-gift ledger, the friend said something seemed odd: “When I gave you the invitation, didn’t I tell you in advance that the meal was expensive and the food was good?” The friend expressed hurt, adding, “The meal here costs 110,000 won per person, but you paid 100,000 won, so it’s as if I added another 10,000 won and treated you to a meal.”
The friend went on: “At weddings in Gangnam or at hotels, 100,000 won doesn’t even cover the meal, so basic etiquette is to give at least 150,000 to 200,000 won. A real wedding gift should cover the meal and leave something over. How can you call yourself a friend if you contribute to the deficit and leave?”

A responded, “A wedding gift is a gesture of congratulations, so why should guests be charged for the cost of a venue you chose because you wanted to treat them to a meal in a nice place?” A added, “If the meal cost was such a concern, why didn’t you put a kiosk at the wedding venue and sell meal tickets?”
In the end, A transferred the 10,000-won difference, left the message, “Don’t show up at any of my future celebrations or condolence occasions,” and blocked the friend.
A expressed frustration, asking whether it was right to treat guests who made time on a weekend to attend a wedding simply as “people who left a 10,000-won deficit,” and saying, “Is a wedding some kind of fundraiser to make money off the guests?”
People who read the story responded with comments such as, “It’s not as if they showed up to the celebration empty-handed. Whether it’s a loss or a profit, the host should handle that themselves. How tacky”; “Shouldn’t they be grateful people came to congratulate them?”; “Is it right to say something like that to a friend over just 10,000 won?”; and “They’re not running a business with their wedding. It’s sad.”

According to Chamgagyeok, the Korea Consumer Agency’s price information portal, as of August the median meal price per person at wedding venues nationwide was 60,000 won, unchanged from the previous year. However, the median per-person meal price at wedding venues in Seoul was 80,000 won, up 3.9% from 77,000 won a year earlier, while in Gyeonggi and Incheon it rose 3.3%, from 60,000 to 62,000 won.
As meal prices at wedding venues rise, particularly in Seoul and the surrounding metropolitan area, debate is expected to continue over whether guests should give cash gifts in line with the meal cost.
[email protected] An Gaeul Reporter