Cultural Differences: a Glimpse of South Korea

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I am a Korean American lady who was adopted by Caucasian-American parents when I was an infant – too young to remember being exposed to any Korean cultural influence. Being curious, I had always wanted to be able to experience it one day. Other Korean Americans often spoke about how they believed I “should” learn more about “my” culture and that I “should” learn to speak the language as well; highly intrusive and presumptuous statements, but statements that became a running theme in my life. Though I felt a continual resentment regarding their inconsiderate statements – after all, I WAS speaking my language (I was an American) the idea of visiting and learning more about my ethnic culture still intrigued me.

Luckily, I was fortunate enough to take a month-long trip to South Korea with a close Korean American girl friend. Because she had family in the country we were able to experience South Korea in a more intimate manner; able to get a taste of what it might be like to actually live there.

Having grown up in Southern California, a place where there were only two other Asians at my entire school I was in for a big time shock. All the built up Asian-stereotypes were challenged and many were eradicated as my eyes took in the population I was born among. I saw overweight, poor, uneducated Asians. Though I searched for the Asians that fit the stereotypes I grew up believing in, they were found few and far between. And it made me realize how very much alike the American population was to the Korean population, the only difference was the superficial features and different choices of food, apparel, etc; but beneath all that, I saw the same personalities garbed in Asian features.

Some parts of South Korea were more modernized as we can find here in the United States. Seoul, Korea – the capital, was a booming large metropolitan city. Buildings shot upward into the sky and cabs screeched back and forth in the streets barely missing pedestrians, almost seeming to aim for others at times. Other cities, however, were still entirely rural, like Pusan. For example, a bathroom in this city was a mere hole in the ground that one was expected to literally squat over. Showers were simple spout-heads that were often perched above the “toilets” – a complete all-in-one bathroom set.