week 8
I wanted to explore Korean stereotypes and social expectations from other cultures.
It is a general assumption that Asian cultures are much more conservative and disciplined than western cultures. For Koreans there’s a certain custom both males and females “should” follow throughout their life, obviously for either eastern or western cultures it is expected for parents to care and provide for their children however, most Australian families have very natural upbringings where children are allowed to decide their career path or make their own decisions by the time they’re teenagers. There is no such option for Koreans as students are expected to learn as much as they can from the beginning and by the knowledge they gain, they are expected to earn a great living from it in the future.
If we were to compare the education system between the two, you could definitely conclude the two couldn’t be more different. In Australia the very option to discontinue high school in Year 10 and go on to a profession or apprenticeship is something not to be expected in Korea. Korean parents have always implemented a disciplined study and work ethic on their children; this is applied since primary school. Schools in Korea encourage competition amongst students by providing ranks to every student in every class which are displayed publicly. By gaining a strong conscience on competition, Korean parents believe this to be beneficial as it ‘pushes’ children to apply their best at all times, which is how most Koreans or even all Asians in general have gained the stereotype as “nerds”.
some korean kids just don't know when to stop studying
In a nuclear family household, the husband or eldest male remains as the dominant member of the family and as that is expected in most cultures, Koreans express this more “apparently”, The wife is expected to set the breakfast and dinner table before her husband awakes, always make sure theres a variety of side dishes for him to enjoy and to ensure he’s prepared for work. However even when the husband is the one bringing home bacon, its the wife who tends to the his earnings.
I conducted several interviews with both Koreans and Australians in order to gain more objective opinions on Koreans in general;
- “Koreans are quite shallow and vain”
- “They’re very old fashioned and almost too conservative, they need to evolve to the 21st Century”
- “Their social relationships are very hierarchical, having to always respect someone who’s older than you even if they’re a month older”
- “They’re very verbally aggressive”
- “They’re hardworkers and very good at math”
Most Korean families still uphold the same customs and traditions older generations have had for decades, which makes them that much more conservative, moderate, traditional or even “backward”.
references:
http://angieparkupdates.blogspot.com/2011/01/your-two-cents-stereotypes-about.html
http://asianfanatics.net/forum/topic/646004-81-stereotypes-for-korean/
julieseong 