 My intention is to try and understand how the Korean mind works, and to appreciate the special qualities of the Korean people that have enabled them to retain their unique qualities in spite of being sandwiched between two super - powers. Can I be mischievous? Perhaps the Americans have succeeded where the Japanese and Chinese failed? Perhaps it is American attitudes and life-style that is the greatest threat to Korean culture? Now, in spite of my inbred British politeness, it is time to tell you that Americans and American culture aren't particularly admired in Britain. In addition, just like you Koreans, we're very sensitive about our culture and our language - a language, which, in spite of the small size of our country - we've given to the world.
My Good Friends - brother and sister Yo-han and Sia Ju have recently been to stay at our home on a visit from Korea. They are charming, friendly and highly intelligent people.
The British - and I am British not English, just like the Koreans, are very individualistic - we're renowned in Europe for this trait. The Germans for example are like the Japanese - they revel in conformity, and being part of the crowd, or part of some zombie-like industrial corporation. The British are individualistic to the point of being idiosyncratic, and can sometimes be amusing in their attempts to be different from all the others!
The Japanese are thought of by the British as robots with no ability for lateral thinking. We see the Japanese as non-creative people - but as brilliant innovators and very hard workers. We admire their achievements - but not their methodology. They're like bees - and Japan is like a massive beehive. The Chinese are much more attractive to the British - we like the Chinese. The Koreans are completely unknown to the British, and most Europeans think that you're a mixture of Japanese and Chinese - and that your language is of the same family
I have always been interested in Korea since my late teens when the Korean War was never out of the newspaper headlines, and later when I was seventeen, I even chose to join the Gloucestershire Regiment because they had fought so bravely in the Battle of the Imjim River. Later, at University, studying linguistics, I studied Swedish, Italian, Russian, Czech, and later Turkish. It was always my dream to learn Korean and try to trace Turkic influences in modern Korean. I'm studying the Han-gul script right now. Attempts have been made to demonstrate wider genetic connections of the Altaic languages, but none has been entirely successful. There are structural similarities and some commonalities of vocabulary between the Altaic and the Uralic, as well as between Altaic, Korean, and Japanese. On the basis of proposed sound correspondences, the hypothesis of a genetic relationship between Altaic and Korean is regarded by some scholars as proved, but, while most scholars view the relationship as worthy of further investigation, it hasn't as yet won universal acceptance. The hypothesis that Japanese is genetically related to Altaic has its adherents but is generally considered to be highly speculative.
However, maybe I have left it too late in life to realise my dream. I have never been to Korea or met a Korean face to face! The problem is that in this life there are so many interesting things to do all clamouring for attention!
I'm beginning to think that perhaps Korean older people give up on life and condition themselves to being old - and finished with development in their lives. In the west it is different - usually older people with more time on their hands to do the things that they want to do, start to travel, study, socialise, and do lots of things they did not have time to do when they were working or looking after a growing family. I have heard too that in Korean society it is male dominated. Someone told me that after marriage the woman's parents are often totally ignored and hardly ever visited - while the husband's mother and father are visited and seen very often - is this true? I have also heard that men do very little work in the house to help their wife? Perhaps then your will be surprised to hear about my home life?
I make most of the meals, make the beds, and clean the house and kitchen. I water the plants, and brush the outside paths. I go shopping with Clare my wife, and share with the feeding of Cameron. This is not unusual for a British man. Of course, if a man is out working all day very hard, and his wife is at home all day, it is a different matter. However, if a wife is out working all day just as the man is - then he's expected to do his share of the work. Other men don't look down on men who do help their wives in this way, and women consider this modern attitude in a man to be important when they're choosing a man to marry. |
Experientialism Evans Experientialism