Paper 4

For this week’s culture in diversity assignment, I chose to interview my best friend,

Linda, who is Korean. She was born in Korea and moved to the USA when she was a young a

girl. Her dad was in the military and as a US citizen, and her mom is Korean. She came to

America for the first time when she was five because her dad was stationed back in Ohio. Sadly,

after moving back to Korea a year later, her father passed away. It wasn’t long before her mom

made the decision to raise her daughter in America.

I thought it was best to first ask her what her definition of family and culture is. Her

response for culture was, “engagement between family and friends where traditions are shared

and passed down through generations”. She sees family as, “[mainly] blood related also anyone

within their inner circle that helps raise or care for you”. After brief research, I confirmed that,

“the US is an individualistic nation, whereas South Korea is a collective nation” (R., Celia,

UNM, 2017). This makes sense- especially after she commented that her all family gathered

together every weekend. Linda also confirmed this when I asked what her least favorite thing

about America is. Her response was that our nation is leans heavily towards the individualistic

side.

This piqued my interest of gender roles within the Korean culture. Thus, I asked her

about woman’s roles. Her response wasn’t too surprising, but I did find encouragement as well.

She let me know that a woman’s role was mostly within the family. Women are expected to take

care of the household, cook, and take care of the children. On the bright side for women in

Korea, with modernization more women are working and having less kids. Sadly, in an article I

found, “Companies still prefer to hire less-qualified males than invest in a woman”
(korea4expats.com, 2020). This seems to be a common-ground throughout the world though, as I

feel this is something all women struggle with at some point.

After learning a little about family dynamics and gender roles within her culture, I was

interested in hearing about how important education is in Korean Culture. Before she even

responded, I was expecting her to say that education is HUGE and taken incredibly seriously

within all households of Korea. She did not disappoint! She said, “education is SUPER

important! School is six days a week (Monday through Saturday) with tutors for each subject.

All students have tutors, attend after-school tutoring, and spend much of their time studying in

the library”. In America, it seems the importance of studying and education is higher for children

who attend private school. Upon researching more about the academics of South Korea, I

confirmed the importance of education to them. In fact, “South Korea education system is

considered to be the best in the world” (south-korea.edu, 2020). Linda is an incredibly intelligent

and focused lady, and I can tell her educational habits from Korea have attributed to her success

in America.

One thing that I found quite interesting about what Linda had to say about Korean

culture involved health insurance. When I asked about the health care in Korea, she informed

that the cost to see doctors or even have surgery was only a few hundred dollars compared to the

THOUSANDS it costs in America. Granted, American doctors probably have more and better

access to tools and medications for patients. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that, “South

Korean National Health Insurance is one of the leading social security system models in the

world; contributing to the country’s title with the most accessible and satisfying healthcare

system” (Waldeck, 2020). Although pricing for healthcare is continuously increasing, it is still
one of the most affordable in the world. Additionally, the life expectancy is quite comparable to

that of America’s.

The last thing I talked about with my friend Linda was regarding food. I started by asking

her what the most important meal of the day is in Korea. Her was response was that breakfast

was most important for children and for adults it is lunch. I found this interesting because in

America the most important meal of the day for anyone is considered to be breakfast. I then

asked about eating habits or rituals when eating. I wasn’t too surprised when she said it’s

“chopsticks over forks”. She also let me know that in Korea water is drank before starting any

meal and that there are many side dishes that usually accompany the entrée.

With this information, I felt obligated to ask what some of her favorite foods are from

Korea and if she still makes them today. Linda’s number one food from her home country is

spicy tofu stew. She mentioned how this meal is a staple for every household in Korea and is

something she makes at home regularly today. Linda also mentioned that spicy rice cakes and

sushi are additional food staples that everyone grew up eating. I found online that, “Koreans eat

far less meat than people in the Western world” (foodbycountry.com, 2020). This was interesting

to me because, Linda, is a vegetarian but made no mention of her home country eating little

meat. I know they enjoy cooking at home and making homemade meals but didn’t think to ask

her if she was raised to eat less meat. It reminds me that not all countries and cultures around the

world eat as much meat as Americans do.

Overall, I enjoyed learning more about Korean norms and culture. They are people who

hold family close to their heart, value education, and eat well. I also wonder if her life would be

much different had her dad not passed away. Her dad was Caucasian and did not know many
Korean customs. I look forward to learning more about her Korean culture as our friendship

grows. The food is something that is top on my list of things to experience!

References

Gender Roles - South-Korea - korea4expats. (1970, September 22). Retrieved September 22,
2020, from https://korea4expats.com/article-gender-roles.html

Korea. (2020). Retrieved September 26, 2020, from http://www.foodbycountry.com/Kazakhstan-

to-South-Africa/Korea.html

R., C. (2017, May 02). Societal Differences between South Korea and the United States.
Retrieved September 22, 2020, from https://thepack.unm.edu/celrobin/societal-differences-
south-korea-united-states/

This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given
being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, S. (2020, August 28). Topic:
Health care in South Korea. Retrieved September 22, 2020, from
https://www.statista.com/topics/5598/health-care-in-south-korea/