South Korean Family Research Paper

In this interview I have found out about an individual’s point of view about family, ethnic experiences and education in South Korea. Seung Joo Lee, 17 years old, a very close friend of mine. She is from South Korea and have been living in the United States since April, 2010. She has two siblings, one older sister who is in college and one younger brother who is in middle school. Seung Joo and her family are like the traditional Koreans you basically know. They are the ones who bow their head whenever they enter the house or whenever they see an elder. In addition, although they might have lived long enough in the US to blend in easily with the crowd, she still has this Korean delicacy that has never faded away. I knew for a fact that it is …show more content…
Seung Joo said that they stay longer in the school rather than going out with friends or just resting. Some student would rather go to tutoring after class instead of doing clubs and sports. They value education after family because it is one of the most significant factors considered in order to progress in one’s lifespan and to be capable to take more mature responsibilities. Seung Joo definitely stated that studying in Korea is expected to be extremely hard because of their values that education will lift up your social status and that education will bring fortune to you and to your family. They value education because many Koreans believe that education is that one thing you keep and will never get taken away from you. She also said that other people will pay you more respect when they consider you successful. The reason why she study a lot and does not go on a day without reading a …show more content…
I have learned that family matters to them more than anything, unlike here in the US where some people do not care about their family members and disrespect their parents as they grow up. Through her, I found out that different culture has a different perspective with certain ways of being. Others might focus on marriage, some might focus on religion and some might focus on education. But I have learned from Seung Joo that family is the center of it all, family is the reason why she does her best and family is the key that helps her to become who she is and who she will be come in the future. Seung Joo might have changed a bit due to mixed culture, however the traits that she was used to will never change. Moreover, she taught me that you can never judge an individual base on what you see because you have no idea of who they are, until you try to put yourself on their shoes. By learning another culture once a time it will surely make a huge difference on how we can view their perspective on values, morals and etc. Me as a bilingual person will learn more and will help you think broader. Nevertheless, this project help me to learn to appreciate another culture beside the culture I grew up into and it became easier for me to acknowledge their flaws and see the good in them. As a matter of fact, this helps me to get more connection towards other cultures;