When the South Korean soccer/football team lost to Brazil in The Olympics I felt a bit sad, but oh well… Brazil is a strong team. But then I realised what team they have to play for the bronze medal…. Japan. My heart sank when I realised this because I knew how important this match would be. South Korea has a very complicated relationship with Japan. History is not just history to Koreans, it’s an ongoing thing and there are still political issues that drive a wedge between the two countries. This can be difficult to understand unless you understand both the history and the Korean mentality. I’ve read at length to try and understand the Korean way of thinking and I do mostly understand. I understand my husband’s way of thinking anyway.
HOWEVER, my blog is mostly lighthearted and I don’t want to delve into serious political issues. So this post is about my husband’s emotional reaction to this game. Koreans can love Japan, have many Japanese friends, but there will still be things that upset them. If you have a Korean partner it is likely you understand the way Koreans react to things like this. But others may not.
For example, Australia has a rivalry with Great Britain and often New Zealand, but they are always friendly rivalries. It is different for South Korea when they play against Japan. It’s… complicated. So hopefully you can understand why I was so apprehensive about this game. I didn’t want my husband to be really upset. I tried to prepare him in case Korea did lose.
Because of the time difference the soccer game was on early in the morning in Australia.
Luckily he was sighing with happiness. Also Korea won that taekwondo match too so he was extra happy. So of course I was happy.
Question: Do you call it soccer or football in your country? We say soccer in Australia.
So my advice is to be nice and make food but make rude hand gestures as well? Sorry that isn’t a good answer 🙁
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