The marriage officiant's address at actors Shin Mina and Kim Woo-bin's wedding was made public.
Actors Shin Mina and Kim Woo-bin held their wedding at 7 p.m. on the 20th at the Shilla Hotel Dynasty Hall in Jung-gu, Seoul. The warm and profound deokdam given by Venerable Beopryun, who officiated the ceremony that day, filled the venue with warmth. On the 23rd, Beopryun's officiant address was posted on the Jungto Society website.
The Jungto Society said, "A while ago actor Kim Woo-bin came to see the monk and asked him to officiate the wedding. During his battle with nasopharyngeal cancer in 2017, Kim Woo-bin received great mental help through counseling with the monk, and actor Shin Mina also found the monk's consolation to be a great support while caring for him. Before their marriage, the two donated 300 million won to several organizations, including the Peace, Human Rights and Refugee Support Center 'Good Friends' founded by the monk, practicing sharing. Because of this connection, the monk gladly agreed to attend the wedding," explaining the background for Beopryun serving as the officiant.
Looking at the two standing side by side, the monk calmly told them what mindset they should have to live a happy married life.
Venerable Beopryun said, "I have known the two for a long time. Mina has a warm and kind heart and has been steadily supporting efforts to help poor children for more than 10 years. She especially provided much support to ease the hardships of defectors who crossed from North Korea to South Korea. Children who came with defectors often cannot adapt to Korean society and are frequently bullied at school, and she has always supported programs that care for those children after school. Woo-bin once suffered from poor health and had difficulties, but Mina carried offerings of rice on her head and went to pray together beyond religious boundaries in front of the statue of Avalokitesvara on Namsan in Gyeongju. After that, Woo-bin regained his health, and the fact that today the two stand here holding hands and promised to spend their lives together is truly the result of a deep bond," he said, leaving an emotional impression.
He added, "However, living together is not easy. How wonderful it would be if you always had the same feelings as today. As you live, differences in views arise, and conflicts occur because of them. Most people think that when they marry, because they like each other they should be the same. As a result, although marriage has its good sides, it often restricts individual freedom. That creates a desire to leave. To overcome this, married couples should not pursue only the warmth of relying on each other but must highly respect individual freedom."
The monk also said, "A marriage in which half and half come together to make a whole still has a crack in the middle even when it becomes a full moon. But when a whole and a whole meet to become a full moon, there is no crack in the middle. That allows for a complete union. Then, even if for some reason separation comes, I hope the two become people who can stand as whole on their own without suffering the pain of losing half. I hope marriage becomes something that makes each other freer rather than a bondage," conveying the true meaning of marriage.
He continued, "Most people think love is liking, but liking is often more of a desire than love. When liking cools, it can turn into dislike or hatred. As Woo-bin just said in his vow, you must acknowledge each other's differences. Even married couples can think differently, feel differently, believe differently, and have different views. Recognizing differences is called 'respect.' In other words, you must know how to respect the other," he emphasized.
He went on, "Next, on the foundation of acknowledging differences, it's necessary for the wife to say, 'I can see that from the wife's position,' and for the husband to say, 'I can see that from the husband's position,' and to understand each other. Love without understanding can sometimes turn into violence. Parents may say they love their children, but that can often be an enormous pain for the children. Therefore, love should always be based on understanding the other's position."
Venerable Beopryun said, "Please keep in mind the two things: respect that acknowledges differences and understanding of the other. If I can add one more thing, remember that love carries responsibility. Not only the responsibilities as a wife and as a husband, but the two of you are widely known figures who receive the public's affection in our society. So if conflict arises between you, it does not end as a personal matter but affects our entire society. Therefore, you must always keep in mind the social responsibilities that come with the fame you have. In addition to the husband's responsibility to his beloved wife and the wife's responsibility to her respected husband, the two of you must also carry the social responsibility to live in a way that does not go against the love many people have for you," he said, noting that by taking social responsibility, today's good will continue to become better.
The Shin Mina and Kim Woo-bin couple engraved the monk's officiant address on their hearts.
[Photo] AM Entertainment, Jungto Society provided
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