IndexAs I am packing, I am wondering what is appropriate to pack. Black, which is so popular here, may not be appropriate, for it means mourning. Or is it white that represents mourning? Red is out for someone my age. It is too vibrant. Is yellow OK? It may be considered too young. What about green... Oh, I don't know. I have always dressed very conservatively, yet I am wondering if I will offend anyone of the older generation.
I will be immersed with my mother's generation as well as their grown children and younger generation. I have not learned the social behavior of the Korean culture. As a middle-aged woman, I am to behave reverently to the elder generation and to act appropriately to the younger generation, and yet another way with children.
When I was in middle school, I remember I sent my grandfather a picture of me smiling, bright and happy. He was offended. A person must be serious and weighty. It must show in photos. Such a happy face indicated a lack of dignity and integrity. I wonder why my parents did not filter this.
There are seven different ways of speaking (which I just learned recently) as you encounter people of different age groups and different familiarity. I wonder, as a person who is somewhat ignorant of this, how I shall fare on this visit. Some time ago, in my local church in Chicago, I remember meeting several college students who were native Koreans. I spoke to them in Korean. They all smiled meekly. I knew there was something going on that I was not aware of. My Korean friend, who was very close to me and was teaching me Korean, told me, “You were talking to them as if they were your senior. You are much older, so you should speak another way. But, you will never offend anyone by talking as if they are older than you.” No wonder whenever I met any native Koreans, one of the first things they wanted to know was when I was born.
This will be a trip that will bring back a lot of childhood memories.
I will be immersed with my mother's generation as well as their grown children and younger generation. I have not learned the social behavior of the Korean culture. As a middle-aged woman, I am to behave reverently to the elder generation and to act appropriately to the younger generation, and yet another way with children.
When I was in middle school, I remember I sent my grandfather a picture of me smiling, bright and happy. He was offended. A person must be serious and weighty. It must show in photos. Such a happy face indicated a lack of dignity and integrity. I wonder why my parents did not filter this.
There are seven different ways of speaking (which I just learned recently) as you encounter people of different age groups and different familiarity. I wonder, as a person who is somewhat ignorant of this, how I shall fare on this visit. Some time ago, in my local church in Chicago, I remember meeting several college students who were native Koreans. I spoke to them in Korean. They all smiled meekly. I knew there was something going on that I was not aware of. My Korean friend, who was very close to me and was teaching me Korean, told me, “You were talking to them as if they were your senior. You are much older, so you should speak another way. But, you will never offend anyone by talking as if they are older than you.” No wonder whenever I met any native Koreans, one of the first things they wanted to know was when I was born.
This will be a trip that will bring back a lot of childhood memories.
No comments:
Post a Comment