A mass wedding has taken place in South Korea, with many couples wearing face masks amid the coronavirus outbreak.

The event saw around 30,000 people gather at Cheong Shim Peace World Centre in Gapyeong, with 6,000 couples getting married and others watching or renewing their vows.

South Korea Mass Wedding
Couples wait their turn to walk down the aisle (Ahn Young-joon/AP)

Church staff offered antibacterial hand gel, handed out surgical masks and checked couples’ temperatures.

South Korea has recorded 24 cases of coronavirus, however more than 31,000 have been recorded in nearby China where the outbreak first emerged.

The wedding was arranged by Hak Ja Han Moon, wife of the late Reverend Sun Myung Moon, founder of the Unification Church.

South Korea Mass Wedding
A number of the couples were renewing their wedding vows (Ahn Young-joon/AP)

Mass weddings are a well-known feature of the South Korea-based church, which was founded in 1954.

The event held special significance as it marked the 100th anniversary of founder Rev Moon’s birth. He died in 2012.