◀ Anchor ▶
In China, the groom’s side pays the bride’s dowry when they get married.
In other words, there is a custom of giving money.
In the meantime, excessive dowry has been a problem many times.
This time, the fact that the parents tried to force their minor daughter into marriage with a dowry of 50 million won became known, causing controversy again.
Correspondent Lee Hae-in covered in Beijing.
◀ Report ▶
A girl hiding in a restroom at a highway rest stop comes out with an emergency dispatcher.
[중국 공안]
″No one is there, rest assured. It’s our people out there.”
The 16-year-old girl from Sichuan Province fled to the city when her parents tried to force her to marry her with a dowry of 50 million won.
When the man who handed over the money came to the workplace and tried to take the girl by force in his car, he called the police at the rest area.
[샤오쿠/16살]
″My parents sold me to them.″
In China, it is customary for the groom to give a dowry to the bride at the time of marriage.
Controversy continues as dowry soars, especially in rural areas where it is difficult to find women.
On the 18th, in Jilin Province, a bride who arrived at the wedding hall, saying that the dowry was smaller than promised, did not get out of the car, and the guests waited for several hours without food.
[결혼식 참석 하객]
″The bride will not get out of the car to die just because the dowry is 3.8 million won short.″
The Communist Party of China and the State Council have included the dowry issue in rural areas in “Document No. 1,” which means this year’s top priority.
A rural household in China earns at most 10 million won (50,000 yuan) a year, but in Zhejiang Province, the average dowry is over 40 million won.
In the face of a declining population, excessive dowry made marriage difficult, so the Chinese authorities stepped in directly.
In 2021, the number of first-time married couples in China fell below 12 million for the first time in 36 years.
[류환신/중국 농업농촌부 국장]
″We must try to crack down on bad customs and establish good customs.″
In response, the Chinese authorities launched a campaign to eradicate dowries and cracked down on large dowries.
This is Lee Hae-in from Beijing for MBC News.
Video coverage/editing: Farewell (Beijing)
