We have a chat about positive things in South Korea when you are a parent. Every country has pros and cons, but we really love some of the pros in Korea and wanted to talk about them. When you live in another country you do end up being part of some expat communities whether in real life or online. Unfortunately some expat communities can be negative about EVERYTHING. That can be a slippery slope when people ONLY talk about negative things, especially when everyone views things through their own cultural lens. So we wanted to make sure we talk about and appreciate the things we do like in Korea.
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Chronic illness and motherhood
Let’s get real! In this video I talk about what it’s like having chronic illnesses (CFS and Endometriosis) while being a working mother. Luckily I mostly work from home so I can balance my health and work better. But it does mean that many projects are now on hold. Even if I didn’t have any illnesses I think projects would still be on hold because of the time spent with my son.
In the video I also talk about the guilt that comes with having a chronic illness. Guilt from feeling like you aren’t doing enough, guilt that others have it even worse than you which makes you feel like you shouldn’t complain. There are so many people struggling with a chronic illness in the world but so few people understand what it’s actually like.
Others share experience over on the video on YouTube here.
There are also some other videos like livestreams and vlogs on our YouTube channel aren’t posted here so you can check them out and subscribe to see more.
Crashing my brother’s performance
My brother (The Drummer Gordo) visited us again recently and did a performance at a cafe in Seoul. This was the first time Yul had really seen him playing the bucket drums like this.
Yul was asleep on my lap when my brother started his performance but soon woke up. He was immediately fascinated and during the break Hugh let him try the bucket drums. But when my brother went to perform again, Yul decided he was going to be part of the performance too! Luckily the audience loved it and thought it was adorable. Also note that his toy dinosaur had to be with him too!
Take a trip to Seoul City Hall
My parents are visiting at the moment. Since they have visited many times before, they have already done most touristy things. We decided to check out Seoul City Hall as they hadn’t seen it before. Visiting a city hall doesn’t sound that exciting at first, but it’s a very interesting building.
The vertical garden in particular was really interesting, and apparently the biggest in the world. Yul is obsessed with drawing at the moment, so he drew something for the wall where you can leave notes.
Hugh also left a message about multiculturalism in the booth where ordinary citizens can leave a video message. We didn’t know if anyone actually watches them, but a representative called Hugh later to talk to him about it! Hugh explained about wanting better representation of multiculturalism in Korea and how to educate the general population about it. So that was interesting that they are actually listening to what people are suggesting.
Seoul City Hall is an area where there are many other things to see as well. We headed to a museum after our visit, so it’s something to stop by and see if you are in that area of Seoul.
Yul’s First Ever Haircut
It took us a few weeks to decide whether to have Yul’s haircut or not. There was a temptation to see how long it could get, but it’s summer and it was getting in his eyes, as well as it starting to look like a mullet. I am Australian, but it doesn’t mean that my kids should have mullets…
Letting it grow was more part of my Australian culture where it’s not unusual for a toddler’s hair to get quite long before their first haircut. Hair before a first haircut is likely to still have “baby curls” as well and once cut they don’t come back if a child’s hair is not naturally curly.
In Korea, mothers often shave their baby’s head while their baby is still very young. This is because of a belief that it will make the baby have thicker hair. Although it’s not exactly true, it does mean the hair grows more uniform after being shaved, which can improve appearance if a baby has very patchy hair. This cultural difference can sometimes cause arguments when a Korean mother in law insists on the baby head shaving, while the foreign daughter in law is horrified. My own mother in law had no problem either way so we had no pressure to shave Yul’s head.
Since we had not done the Korean head shaving thing, Yul had never a proper haircut before. To be honest, it did make me sad to think about the hair he has as a baby being cut off. Once I had reassured myself about the decision, Hugh started to have second thoughts! He then got sad about it as it seems like a big moment and he worried because Yul wouldn’t be able to do a little bun like him anymore.
My other worry was Yul ending up with a very bad haircut. I see a lot of bad kids haircuts all the time! Usually because the mother had tried to do it. I was also hesitant to take Yul to a hairdresser who may have not cut hair like Yul’s. Being a biracial kid, his hair is a bit different from the majority of kids here.
Luckily, our friend Han (a friend who has been on our channel before) has recently trained as a hairdresser! With two biracial children of his own, I knew he’d have the experience to deal with Yul’s hair. And he did an amazing job. I thought Yul had been particularly difficult but apparently he did well! It probably took almost an hour, but well worth it. Han was very patient but also managed a style that really suits Yul.
While we wanted to record this moment for ourselves and our own memories, I also wanted to show the time and effort that goes into a child’s haircut: if you want it to look good. Sometimes the skills of hairdressers are not appreciated, which is why so many kids end up with bad haircuts from parent attempts haha. Let’s value the skill and effort it takes to do a toddler’s hair. We were so happy with the result.
What a difference a haircut makes! Although I loved Yul’s long hair, he is now so handsome with his shorter hair and at first he seemed like a much older boy. Everyone in the neighborhood commented about how great he looks as well. I don’t think he realised how much he has changed, but at least he isn’t getting as hot and sweaty in the summer heat now.
What it’s really like to have a viral video
In this video we talk about our experience of Hugh’s body transformation video going viral. All up, across YouTube, Instagram and Facebook, it got over 100 million views, either the original video or a re-edited version.
We did not expect it to viral like that so we were not prepared for the response, or in any way to make lots of money off it. As we explain in the video, you don’t make millions off a viral video. You’d have to have viral videos every single week to make that much, and there are so many variables.
Many smaller YouTubers dream about having a viral video, thinking they will have “made” it on YouTube if that happens. But, there are downsides as well. Luckily we already had so much experience on YouTube that we knew how to handle any negative comments, but it can be stressful for many people. And the whole experience was quite stressful for us, even with our experience.
We also discovered that having a viral video about something different from your usual content can negatively affect your channel as well. We are still trying to recover from that as well.
But overall, it’s been very interesting and the biggest positive was that Hugh changed to a healthier lifestyle and motivated many people to be healthy as well.
When your kid loves dinosaurs so much….
Honestly, I don’t know how Yul ended up this obsessed with dinosaurs. The obsession started before we even introduced him to dinosaurs and before we bought him any. You can watch the video about buying him his first dinosaurs here. But we have no problem with it and are happy to indulge him. I think studies have shown a link between intelligence and dinosaur obsession in kids, and no wonder, as they memorize dinosaur names and scientific facts. It gets their little brains working. Yul is not even 2 years old yet and is already trying to say Triceratops. It comes out something like “too too ta” though haha.
We had already planned to take him to the Goseong Dinosaur Museum, which we have visited before we had Yul. My sister in law suggested the Goseong Dinosaur Expo instead and it ended up being a great idea as there are so many things for kids to do. Although the expo was in 2016, all the big exhibits are still there and it’s open to the public. Even on the weekend there are minimal visitors so it made for a nice day out. There are limited food options with some areas and kiosks not functioning so it’s best to bring a packed lunch. Some of the halls no longer have exhibits but there is still plenty to see and do. Also, it’s on the coast and there are nice areas to walk and see more dinosaur footprints.
We weren’t sure how Yul would handle this big day out, but he loved it so much. When some dinosaurs roared he was a little scared, but only scared enough to stand behind me and hold my hand. For everything else, he was OBSESSED. So much so that he was heart broken when we had to leave. But we will visit again and we still need to take him to the Goseong Dinosur Museum.
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