Jakarta Marriage Officiant Goes Viral for Conducting Wedding in Three Languages

The wedding of Indonesian citizen Lisa Putri Erdiyanti and South Korean national Lim Sang Beom in South Jakarta went viral on social media after the officiant used three languages during the marriage solemnisation. The officiant, Muhammad Zidni Ilmi, who serves at the Setiabudi District Religious Affairs Office (KUA) in South Jakarta, led the ceremony on 4 July 2026. In a video circulated on social media, Zidni greeted attendees in Korean, saying, ‘Annyeonghaseyo yeroebun. Jeon Achimimnida Indonesa-E osin geoseul. Jinsimeuro hwanyeonghamnida.’ He introduced himself as the officiant from KUA Setiabudi in Korean and explained that the marriage was conducted in accordance with Islamic law. Zidni also used Indonesian and English during the ceremony, inviting guests to pray together. He stated that the Korean greeting and welcome message for the groom’s family was his own initiative, as the couple had only requested the use of Indonesian and a little English. ‘The couple’s request was only Indonesian and a little English because the foreign national is bilingual. The Korean was purely my initiative to welcome and honour the groom’s family who had come directly from Korea, and also to promote how a marriage ceremony is conducted according to religious law and state regulations,’ Zidni said. He added that he has previously used Arabic, German, French, and Swahili from Tanzania when officiating marriages between Indonesians and foreign nationals. He also incorporates regional languages and poetic pantun verses from Betawi, Javanese, Batak, Malay, and Acehnese cultures. Zidni noted that he began using foreign languages after being posted to Setiabudi, where there is a high number of marriages between Indonesian citizens and foreign nationals.