I will write a post about the traditional Korean wedding and show a few photos sometime this week. It was one of the most terrifying experiences of my life. Curious? Check back in a few days!
Tomorrow we head to Busan.
Category: In Korea (Page 25 of 25)
So we are in Seoul and doing lots of tourist things because my parents are with us. I keep seeing this image everywhere.
I thought it was a banana head at first and still kinda do even though my husband said it’s a bell? He didn’t explain why it is everywhere very well. So please tell me if you know.
The reason why I think it looks like a decapitated banana head is probably from the children TV show in Australia ‘Bananas in Pyjamas’.
As a couple we have lots of time to work through cultural differences and the motivation to do it. What can be harder to deal with is our own families. We are the in-between, the buffer, between the different culture and our families. We have to try and explain things quickly and try to make them understand in a much shorter time than we actually had for learning new things.
So, of course our families have a much shallower understanding of the other culture. My husband does his best to fit into Australian culture while with my family and does an outstanding job of that. However, through us my family is exposed to more Korean culture which mostly ends up being positive experiences but there can be a few tensions or issues. It is difficult being the person stuck in the middle trying to explain things.
For example, it is hard to explain to people from a christian ‘excessive drinking and getting drunk is morally bad’ background that alcohol is actually an important part of Korean culture. That it is rude to refuse drinks etc. Or how do you explain a culture with a hierarchy system to those who have grown up with the ideal of everyone being equal to each other?
While in Korea my husband has to explain why I need privacy sometimes. In western society we understand the concept of just needing to get away from other people for a little bit for some alone time in order to relax and ‘recharge’ but this is not really part of Korean culture. Korean society is a more collectivist, group-oriented society where as I come from an individualist society. Even when trying my best to fit in, the lack of privacy when staying with family in rural Korea after one month can start to cause some stress within me. This was not major but in these situations it’s my husband who is the one stuck between two cultures and the one who has to do the explaining. I know how difficult that can be because other times it’s me who has to do it.
We are lucky though, both our families have been very supportive of our relationship. But my advice to those starting relationships with someone from another culture, just be aware that no matter how easy it may be to work out differences within your own relationship, actually dealing with families may pose challenges you didn’t expect.
I rarely get to ride a bicycle as an adult, though I loved riding when I was a kid. There isn’t a good casual bike riding culture in Australia and the laws are more restrictive so I don’t own a bike anymore.
Two of my favourite more recent memories involve riding bicycles. One memory is of riding bicycles through the streets of Tokyo with my brother (who lives there), and the other was last year riding around my husband’s hometown.
His hometown is actually more of a village… full of old people. His family lives in a very rural part of Korea. But actually it was nice being there. I loved riding along the paths that crisscrossed through the rice fields with the mountains and the river in the background.
We only had two bikes and because my legs are longer than his I took the larger bike while he was stuck with the smaller pink bike.. haha (he is actually taller than me, it’s just that my legs are long). He didn’t complain… much.
Recent Comments