Standing by a French chateau?s window, the young bride-to-be glows in the afternoon sun as she gazes into her fianc??s eyes. This Chinese couple?s fairy tale moment, however, isn?t unfolding at a Bordeaux estate.
The 20-something Beijing lawyers and fans of South Korean pop idol Rain are part of a small but growing number of affluent Chinese for whom the craze for all things South Korean means flying to Seoul for the weekend to have wedding pictures taken.
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?The style in South Korea is more sophisticated and cuter than what we have in China. We came here because South Korea is the leader in fashion and makeup,? said the bride-to-be, Yang Candi, as two stylists fussed over her hair with a curling iron and giant hair clips during a recent photo shoot.
Her fianc? agreed, saying he was influenced by pop culture. ?I always wanted to come here, especially after watching South Korean TV shows,? said groom-to-be, Chen Jingjing, his face gleaming with liquid foundation, his eyebrows carefully contoured.
China is the source of one quarter of all tourists to South Korea, and a handful of companies in South Korea?s $15-billion (U.S.) wedding industry are wooing an image-conscious slice of the Chinese jet set happy to drop several thousand dollars on a wedding album with a South Korean touch.
The draw for many of the well-heeled Chinese isn?t Seoul?s ancient palaces or the fiery cuisine. It?s an elegant urban style exemplified by Gangnam, the tony Seoul district made globally famous by South Korean rapper Psy?s Gangnam Style. Helping shape that image is the popularity of South Korean cosmetics and fashion and the many South Korean stars whose looks are widely copied in China.
South Korea is synonymous with the good life that middle-class Chinese aspire to, according to Song Sung-uk, professor of South Korean pop culture studies at the Catholic University of Korea in Seoul.
?Chinese look up to South Korea for its sophisticated urban culture, style and beauty,? Prof. Song said. ?Rather than visiting traditional palaces or shopping for antiques, they would rather go to Gangnam to experience state-of-the-art shopping malls.?
South Korea?s tourism ministry estimates that more than 2.5 million Chinese visitors spent an average of $2,150 per person in 2012, more than any other nationality. That?s helping companies such as iWedding, which is the largest of the South Korean wedding planners hosting Chinese tourists, to flourish.
Every month for more than a year, iWedding has done business with 50 to 60 Chinese couples, the company said, including the Beijing attorneys whose love of South Korean TV shows and music brought them to Seoul.
A South Korean competitor, Design Wedding, recently partnered with a Chinese company in Shanghai and has photographed more than 50 Chinese couples since May. Chuka Club, another South Korean wedding planner, said it gets Chinese clients even though it doesn?t advertise on Chinese websites like rivals iWedding and Design Wedding.
Ms. Yang and Mr. Chen said they had high expectations for their trip and were excited about the prospect of glamorous photos mimicking the pampered lifestyles of their favourite South Korean celebrities. The trip, they said, would also give them bragging rights at home with their friends and family.
After nearly three hours of hair, makeup and frequent amorous glances, the couple (Ms. Yang was dressed in wedding white) are chauffeured to a nearby photo studio where they spend the next eight hours striking poses before facades resembling cobblestoned streets or Loire Valley estates. The continental European backdrop is a favourite of Chinese visitors and South Koreans. That likely stems from the popularity of Western-style bridal gowns and tuxedos; many wedding planners began thinking that those European outfits looked better when photographed in front of a European set.
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