Cross-cultural marriage

Although I married the most beautiful woman in the world in 2004, I think that everybody must marry a person who you really love. If someone loves a foreigner, he/she has to marry her/him despite their being a foreigner. Of course, to marry a person who has a different language and distinct traditions makes it difficult to live with her/him and to communicate with her/him; however, it is not essential to love each other and to maintain the marital life. In fact, the most important factor to maintain daily life after the marrage is not communication and habit but love and belief. If they love each other, they will try to learn the language of the spouse and to understand better. However, if a married couple does not love each other, they will not be able to understand anything their spouses do, or try to accept their spouses. For example, Jae-Hyung Ahn, a famous Korean table tennis player, married Jaojimeen, a famous Chinese ping pong player. They have lived happily in Korea now. They met in a world table tennis game at first and loved each other: they were mutual friends. And they met again at the Asian games that opened in Seoul in 1986. And then they promised to marry each other; however, they had a big problem to marry. It was a diplomatic problem between Korea and China. In fact, then, Korea had a diplomatic relationship with only Taiwan (free China). But they married after all, even if they didn’t know their spouses’ language and traditions.

And I think that the one who marries can not estimate the advantages and disadvantages. It is not happy marriage if you think about advantages. However, if your wife/husband is from other country, you have some advantages. First, you have many unusal experiences because of your spouse. You will eat foods which you don’t ordinarily eat and wear new clothing which is your spouse’s customary dress. Second, you and your spouse can easily learn a new language. As a matter of fact, the language can be taught and learned in your life. Accordingly, to marry a person from another country is the best way not only to learn another language but to teach your language as well. Finally, if you married this person, you have several chances to travel to your spouse’s nation. Actually, we have the difficulty to decide to travel abroad and it is very expensive; however, if your spouse’s hometown is out of your country, you can not help going to the country more or less. Nevertheless, please, don’t marry a foreigner just to travel abroad, because you have more time with your spouse at your home.