First public gay wedding held in S. Korea

Two South Korean male filmmakers tied the knot in central Seoul Saturday, marking the first public wedding in the country for a gay couple.

Film director and producer Kimjo Gwang-soo, 48, and 29-year-old Kim Seung-hwan, the head of gay film distributor Rainbow Factory, got married on a temporary stage built near Cheonggye Stream with about 1,000 guests and citizens in attendance.

South Korea does not legally recognize gay marriages.

"I found out I was gay when I was 15 and I prayed to God everyday that he would fix it and couldn't express my feelings even when I liked someone," the director said. "But I hoped that one day I would be able to love confidently and nine years ago, I met that person."

He thanked the audience for attending the wedding, saying he and his partner are now a married couple regardless of the law.

The wedding was briefly interrupted when a 54-year-old man claiming to be a church elder went up on the stage and sprayed filth from a food container.

"Homosexuality is a sin," he shouted. "Homosexuality destroys families and society."

The man was later taken into police custody. (Yonhap)