The photo of a South Korean couple's wedding in Seoul on Saturday became an unexpected symbol of the current MERS outbreak in the country.
Meant as a joke wedding photo, the couple, as well as the wedding organizer, didn't expect the image to go viral.
Pictured in the photo is the couple with their guests and families wearing formal clothing and posing formally with white masks. The masks were distributed during the wedding as a message for a healthy life for the couple.
According to NDTV, the event planner Hwang Myung-Hwan, who is a manager at eco-friendly Sewing for the Soil, handed out 200 masks during the ceremony.
"They had already taken normal group photos without masks when they decided to do something fun," he said.
Hwan said that the picture was not meant to be taken seriously, and that the couple was even surprised about the response the photo received.
"The photo was never meant to fan fears about MERS or scare anyone," Hwan added.
Despite the MERS scare in South Korea, the wedding was held "normally" in Seoul, reported AFP.
Meanwhile, the newlyweds, who are currently on their honeymoon, refused to be identified and did not give a comment about the photo.
The MERS outbreak in South Korea already reported 7 deaths and 2,500 people quarantined. It is considered the largest MERS epidemic outside Saudi Arabia where the disease originated.
