Intercultural Life

Category: Culture (Page 9 of 24)

Traditional and modern Korean culture.

Siblings

Siblings

We were talking about respectful terms for in-laws and what my siblings should call him if they were Korean. I told him he could ask them to call him that, but he thinks they are “too naughty” and wouldn’t.

Understanding cultural differences is so important! What he deems “naughty” is pretty normal behaviour in Australia because ours values differ. Something seen as good, such as an easy and casual way of speaking regardless of someone’s age, can be offensive in Korea. He knows it’s just cultural difference, but he still likes to say they are naughty… especially when he sees my youngest brother pat my father on the head. Shock, horror!

Commenting on Comments – Chuseok

Yesterday was a really big day but we still tried to film our Commenting on Comments and edit it. We managed to do that but then exporting took too long and it was already 2am, so we had to sleep and wait until today. So sorry this video is a bit late!

We show you a little bit of Chuseok, talk about Korean towels and ahjummas in the mountains, open a package and Hugh’s cousins bust in with some fireworks.

Chuseok Food

Chuseok food

It is Chuseok today. You can read about Chuseok here.

It’s a big holiday in Korea and there is a lot of preparation. A lot of food needs to be prepared and there is a lot of fried food. Before we eat it, some is used for ancestor rituals where we pay respects to deceased family members. While I was helping set this up, Mr Gwon was stuffing his face… and then hiding and stuffing his face!

Our tiny village is quite busy today as everyone comes back to their parents or grandparents’ houses. If you are a foreigner in Korea, never try to travel at this time of year! The roads and clogged and the public transport is booked out.

Korean Towels

Korean Towels

Something I’ve talked about before. It’s normal in Korea to just use tiny towels. Besides from the towels I brought from Australia, there are no large towels in the house. Doesn’t make it easy to walk around the house in a towel…

 

I’m getting a bit of elbow pain so I will probably take tomorrow off. So just letting you know there won’t be a comic tomorrow. Sorry guys!

Foreign Girls

Foreign girls

He was supposed to say, “No, you are not annoying!”

One of the interesting things about meeting his old friends is seeing what their perception of him was, and also their perceptions of themselves. They always thought there was no way that Mr Gwon would be the one to live in another country, marry a foreign woman, speak English well, and travel that much. But he was the one to do it. This friend in particular hadn’t seen him for 14 years and was so shocked to hear him speaking English naturally with me. This friend didn’t do any of that and settled down in Korea with a Korean woman (though I’m sure he is happy too).

On the topic of marrying foreign women, we have another friend who wants to marry someone who is foreign. Now there are lots of reasons why a Korean man wants to marry a foreign woman and before I’ve talked about foreign brides for older men, or men who can’t find wives. Those are arranged marriages that are supposed to benefit both the man and the woman who is usually from a developing country. This is nothing like that.

I think many people can jump to the conclusion that a Korean man interested in foreign women is motivated by some fantasy of foreign women, especially western women, that is influenced by the media. That is not always the case. A lot of it just comes down to culture. For example, this friend finds it difficult to find the traits he wants in a partner in Korean women because of Korean culture and Korea being an Asian, community orientated society. He wants a wife that shares his passions and interests (as he is an outgoing adventurous, wanting to be different, type of guy) and personally he has found it harder to meet someone who also wants to break away from what society expects in Korea. It makes sense that he may find what he is looking for if he looks for a woman who is from an individualistic culture (Individualistic cultures include the U.S., Australia, Great Britain, Canada) rather than a culture with more of a group mentality. Usually it’s not about looks at all. It’s about people finding the best match for them. Hopefully he will be able to meet the right person for him.

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