StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...

Korean culture - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
The person interviewed was a Korean who is a middle school student. His adopted western name is " Dennis" but his Korean name is Cho. From the interview with him, it was easy to find out that Korean culture is rather unique. There are many elements in Korean culture that makes it interesting : food, rituals, institutions, artifacts ,symbols and attitudes…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER93.3% of users find it useful
Korean culture
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Korean culture"

Download file to see previous pages

Kimchi is very important for Koreans since it is time-honored practice to pickle vegetables such as cabbage, cucumber and eggplants in preparation for the winter season. Korea is known for its severe winters that obliterates agricultural produce. The traditional cabbage kimchi was served to us which had a pungent smell to non-Koreans. The smell was comparable to vinegar and garlic being fermented for a long time. It was a bold move on my part to taste the kimchi. To ease my anxiety, Dennis explained that kimchi is considered as one of the world's healthiest foods since the pickled vegetables and ingredients such as chili and garlic has anti-cancer properties.

He also mentioned that preparing kimchi is challenging since each family has their own secret recipe passed by mothers to their children; therefore, homemade kimchi may taste different from one that is prepared by a neighbor. The flavor depends on the spiciness of the herbs or the length of fermentation period. In comparison to my culture, preparing salad was just an ordinary task during mealtime. Moreover, it was amazing to know that Korea has even museums that feature kimchi. Never has pickled food been regarded highly by other societies.

Aside from kimchi and traditional Korean food, Dennis also loves to eat western food such as hamburgers and pizza. As a result, his liking for pizza as snack made him gain a few pounds. In addition to this, he particularly likes pizza that has lot of cheese and pepperoni in it. He also mentioned that pizza is one type of food that he can eat without necessarily being spicy. Indeed, young people from different parts of the world agree on a universal food: pizza. It is also surprising that he likes popcorn smothered with butter like any ordinary American teen-ager.

The second topic we discussed was about being a Korean in an American school. Dennis was frank in letting out his true feelings. He immediately felt sad when he related that he is somehow confused by his status. It seems that his being " Americanized" makes him lose respect for his traditions since he views them ( traditions) as rather tacky. On the other hand, he cannot be considered as very American since he is still a Korean after all. For one, he does not much American friends since they view Korean students as noisy and strange thereby avoiding his company.

Obviously, even in this age of multiculturalism, being American is still the dominant culture. There are many immigrants from different cultures yet young immigrants like Dennis try hard to be assimilated into the dominant culture. Koreans who come here to study feel sometimes out of place since their practice such as filial devotion and deep religiosity are not easily acceptable Because of this, Dennis studies very hard so that he can be accepted. He has a belief that he would earn the respect of his peers when he becomes successful in academics.

For one, his classmates sneer at the thought that he is very obedient to his parents. Also, his peers do not respect his beliefs in Confucianism. As for Dennis, he finds his American friends to be more liberated and can do whatever they want. They need not adhere to rules set by their parents strictly and can decide for their own choice. On the contrary, Arab cultures also impose obedience to young people like Korean culture. Family is an important unit of society and parents are respected and honored. In

...Download file to see next pages Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Korean culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words”, n.d.)
Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/sociology/1509222-korean-culture
(Korean Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words)
https://studentshare.org/sociology/1509222-korean-culture.
“Korean Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/sociology/1509222-korean-culture.
  • Cited: 1 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Korean culture

History of Korean Arts

This clearly indicates that the objective is to expose Korean culture through its art forms and handicrafts to the people across the globe.... Be that the text or even the smallest of graphical elements, all has worked together towards the purpose of ideally reflecting Korean culture.... The home page promises the reader to be taken through a breathtaking journey into the history of Korean culture.... In the simplest language, the purpose of the website is to highlight Korean culture through the traditional and historical aspects pertaining to its arts and handicrafts....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Korean Culture and Nations

The essay "Korean culture and Nations" centers around the formation and importance of community and the establishments of nations.... Korean culture is used as a primary example of how the desire to form nations is deeply rooted in this world's past, stemming from ancient mythology and beliefs....
1 Pages (250 words) Essay

Analysis of Korean Culture

This essay "Analysis of Korean culture" focuses on the importance of Korean history.... Analysis of korean CultureIntroductionThis is a fairy tale on the beginning of the leadership in Korea.... In this story, the korean leader is believed to have descended from heaven.... he story is important to korean history because it gives a clear understanding of their leadership origin....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

Understanding Cross-Cultural Issues in the Contemporary World

The study purposes to investigate the integration of Korean culture in the UK culture.... Yet, every community or society has its own unique culture.... culture is a strong element that influences the behaviors, perceptions, and attitudes of a community.... Based on this understanding, it is important to establish how these cultural influences play out when people from one culture interact with those from a different culture....
9 Pages (2250 words) Essay

Response Paper

The writer, therefore, analyses the integration of Korean culture in Japan through the perspectives of Japanese women who are fans of Winter Sonata (Chua & Iwabuchi, 2008).... In the article, the writer creates a social conflict by explaining the differing opinion in the perception of Korean culture.... Her mother on the other had had limited information on Korean culture, as well as limited interaction with Koreans (Chua & Iwabuchi, 2008).... The author questions as to whether the show can be used to transform the negative perception of Korean culture by the Japanese society....
2 Pages (500 words) Assignment

Concerns Focusing on the Korean Culture

Nonetheless, away from the political platform Korea has also a rich and intriguing In relation to music, Korean pop (K-Pop) is arguably the closest and greatest integration of the Korean culture.... The younger generation was heavily influenced by the Western culture leading to a transformation of K-Pop following incorporation of guitars and the American hippie fashion style.... In general, Korea is a composition of two states namely North Korea and South Korea and is located at the korean Peninsula where it boarders China and Russia in the northwest and northeast respectively....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Contemporary Korean Art

Between the nineteenth and the twentieth century, Korean culture has undergone a vital transformation in the social, cultural and the political scene.... ?? Many artists have contributed to the evolution of culture in Korea.... korean arts primarily include paintings, calligraphy, music and pottery, often characterized by the use of natural forms, bold colors or sounds and surface decoration.... The contemporary korean Art has evolved overtime through the influence of its historical roots, various forms… For example, from the beginning of 1880s onwards, the korean art was significantly impacted on by the Japanese invasion. Many of the works of art of the time were destroyed or looted and the korean styles The post war korean has been presented by the tansaekhwa artists in a beautiful manner....
7 Pages (1750 words) Research Paper

The Role of women in Korean Culture

The paper "The Role of women in Korean culture" analyze that the Role of women in any society is considered as an important one as women have the capacity to make or break the world.... In Korean culture, all things are done only with permission from the family.... Korean's are tradition-oriented; they have trends of Chinese and Japanese culture.... hile considering the culture, Koreans, as mentioned before, give more importance to family relationships....
6 Pages (1500 words) Case Study
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us