Korean culture has changed immensely over the last century. There are many norms and traditions that are very different than in the United States. Family is the most important thing in Korean culture. One thing that I found very interesting was that the eldest son has an obligation to his parents, then his brothers from oldest to youngest, his sons, then his wife, and last his daughters. In the past a family of three to four generations typically would live in the same household. Currently, with times changing, many couples will move out of their parent’s house, which is seen as acceptable in society. One of the traditions of Korean culture is that they will hang a string of dried red peppers across the entrance of their home to signify a birth of a boy within a week. At birth, a child is considered one year old. The period of pregnancy is seen as the baby’s first year of life.
Respect for one’s elders is very important in Korea. One of the norms is that if you were drinking with an older person you would turn your head away to take a drink. Another norm would be if you were smoking and came upon an older person, you would put out, or hide your cigarette. Korean women who smoke are looked upon as having loose morals. These specific norms would be seen as folkways. There isn’t a legal or harsh punishment, but the negative sanction might be a dirty look or disrespectful comments.
There are also different norms than we have in the United States when it comes to dining. When you are eating the eldest person always eats first. You should not pour your own drink, but pour for one another. It is seen as bad etiquette if you pour your own. Koreans sit at a low table on cushions in their homes, and in a restaurant. While eating you would rest your chopsticks and spoon on your dish (Koreans eat their rice with a spoon). When you are finished eating you would place your chopsticks and spoon on the table. They would never put their chopsticks or spoon in their bowl; this is only done during an ancestral memorial service, and would be seen as very disrespectful. Do not cough or blow you nose at the table. If you needed to cough it would be polite to turn away. Another thing that I found interesting was that Koreans do not leave tips. It is just not part of their culture.
Lastly, marriages in Korea are often still pre-arranged through a matchmaker. A family will do this in order to make sure the extended families will get along. Ultimately it is up to the couple if they would like to get married, but the families have a strong opinion. It was considered a taboo for a couple to get married if that had the same last name from the same ancestor. It eventually was decided that a man and woman could get married with the same ancestral clan. In Korea a man over 18 and a woman over the age of 16 can get married with their parent’s consent. A person over 20 can marry freely.
The culture in Korea is very different than in the United States. Many of their traditions have carried on from ancestors from many years ago. The idea of family is a very important part of Korean culture. I hope this information has given you more insight on Korean culture and their lifestyles.
Korean culture is definitely different from that of the USA. Yet it has many similarities to other cultures. Such as the custom of never pouring your own drink. I know that Japanese culture has the same custom never to pour your own drink (when dining with others).
ReplyDeleteIndia and Africa also practice the custom of arranged marriages. I think it's very interesting to view all the differences from the USA's culture but Korea has so many similarities to other countries it makes one wonder whether the US is the one that is the different culture.
Wow the culture in Korea is very different than ours in the United States. The norms that they have are very interesting. I find it really interesting that when a child is born they are considered one year old because of the time they spend in the womb. I have thought about this before, and wondered what made us decide that after we come out of the womb it is considered our first day of life. When we are in fact alive the entire time we are in the womb. How do these types of things get decided upon?
ReplyDeleteIt is fascinating how Koreans still hold onto past cultural preferences. Even though culture is still an individual thing the world seems to progress. Other countries also had rules pertaining to pre-arranged marriages but lately this seems to be less and less the case. This is why this custom is interesting to me.
ReplyDeleteThe differences in culture around the world really amazes me. Korean culture is also very interesting and very different from the culture in the United States. I too thought it was interesting that when a baby is born they are 1 year old at that time. To be honest I never thought determining age was something that was diverse throughout different cultures. After reading this it makes me wonder why in the U.S we do not count the time that the baby is in the womb as part of the years of life.
ReplyDeleteI also found it interesting that the eldest sons daughters are his last obligation. I wonder why this is?