1. marriage
2. house
3. future

I got a call at night from my friend who is college friend. He will get married soon. I shared my blind date fail on my friend's group chat in Kakao talk. As you konw, Vietnamese girl XD. = I got a call late last night from a friend from college. He is getting married soon. Recently, I shared the story of my failed blind date to our friend group chat on KakaoTalk, one of the members was the one who had a Vietnamese girlfriend.

Anyway, he cheered me up and told me that there are so many details to coordinate. He changed to someone who advises against marriage. = Anyway, he called to cheer me up, but he also told me about all the stressful details he has to coordinate for his own wedding. He has completely changed into someone who advises against marriage now!

Futuure wife side family required him to have to live in good apartment with her. He is not rich, has no on his own apartment. Korean apartment is so expensive. Finally, he decided to get rental. Not monthly rental. 2-4 years rental. Korean calls it "전세". It is free to gives big deposit to a landlord for 2-4 years. After 2-4 years, he can get back the big deposit. It doesn't need a monthly rental pay. So special rules. = His future wife's family is requiring them to live in a nice apartment. He isn't rich and doesn't own his own place yet, and Korean apartments are incredibly expensive. In the end, he decided to rent. Not a monthly rental, but a 2-to-4-year lease. Koreans call this 'Jeonse' (전세). It is a unique system where you give a massive deposit to the landlord for 2 to 4 years. After the lease ends, you get the entire deposit back, so you don't have to pay any monthly rent. It's such a unique rule.

I felt that something uncomfortable happened to him. I cheered him up that he has a semiconductor doctor degree, studied by himself and have good career. Most of all, you have a girlfriend, will get married soon. I was so upset for this unequal marriage. Her age is 34 years old in Korean age.....she is not 20s. Her family don't care her age and his mind. Just money.... = I could tell that he was feeling really uncomfortable and stressed about the situation. I tried to cheer him up by reminding him that he has a PhD in semiconductors, taught himself so much, and has a great career. Most of all, I told him, 'You have a girlfriend and you're getting married soon!' Still, I felt so upset by how unequal this marriage feels. She is 34 years old in Korean age and she's not in her 20s anymore. Yet, her family doesn't seem to care about her age or his feelings. They only care about money...

I think Korean men have to get marrid the oldest, the most expensive bride in the world. And then they just consider their husbands as a ATM not human. = It makes me think that Korean men have to marry the oldest, most expensive brides in the world, only to be treated like an ATM instead of a human being.

NOTE: This is an incredibly heavy and honest story. It sounds like your conversation with your friend left you feeling deeply frustrated and protective of him. I wish the two of you the best of luck in life, Youngmin.