Trying To Understand Korean Culture

I've been reading this book (“The Koreans: Who They Are, What They Want, Where Their Future Lies” by Michael Breen, 2004) in order to understand Korean culture. This is directly related to dating Sinae (the woman in the picture below). I was surprised at how quickly this book helped me understand her as well as Korean culture. I’m more than halfway through the book and I have enjoyed reading it.

The easiest part of the book so far is the first section. In this part the writer deals with some of the easier, day to day concepts of Korean culture. I felt like this section was a Means of Grace to me because it greeted my lack of understanding as if I was talking with a friend about all the things I didn’t understand. While it could be perceived to have a slightly negative tone, I think this perspective is valuable for the foreigner experiencing frustration as a result of a lack of understanding. While greeting this frustration with open arms on the one hand Michael Breen also offers explanation that at least deferred my frustration. I found his discussion of “gibun” especially helpful in understanding why it is important for my girlfriend to be alone when we are not together and why some Koreans are hesitant to say something confrontational. Of course there is much more to this concept than I can do justice to in this short blog.

The second section is about the history of Korea and a bit more difficult to understand, or perhaps that was just my experience as I tried to read it as I rode the subway to Seoul with a lot of distractions. Nonetheless, I was able to understand more about the people I live near and work with. It certainly gave me a greater degree of compassion for Koreans which needs to go much deeper. Now I’m learning about some of the events that have led up to Korea’s nearly current circumstances. It is unbelievable to me that I knew so little about Korea’s economic crisis in 1997, when I was barely beginning my Bible school career. I’m looking forward to the upcoming chapters on politics and the economy, things I hope to write more about as I progress through the book.