35 Years

May 3, 2020

Thirty-five years ago, my wife and I married in Seoul, South Korea! Thirty-five years, with me--wow! As I was living in South Korea with my oldest son, she immediately became a mother. Shortly after our marriage, he returned to the United States and my second son joined us.

The actual marriage ceremony was not the romantic thing that people envision. We took a taxi to three (3) Different Korean government offices, In each we answered questions, and officials placed official stamps on our documents. After the third, we were married, but, not yet done. We than had to register our marriage with the U.S. Embassy, and obtain a new Passport for her.

In one of the government offices we had a little hitch. That Korean official wanted to review a copy of my decree of divorce from my previous wife, which I had not expected. After some discussion he decided that issue was a U.S. matter and he did not have to protect any Koreans from a man with another wife, so he stamped our documents. NOTE: The woman I was marrying was a U.S. born citizen.

As part of the pre-marriage preparation, Sharon had been required to receive a full medical evaluation by military physicians. She passed and I was given military permission to marry her.

NOTE: South Korea does not allow for religious marriages. So, our marriage was a civil one. Yes, at a later time we had a religious ceremony. But, that had no legal standing.