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Compromise, Acceptance & Happiness In A Multicultural Marriage
Five years! We are celebrating our five year anniversary this year.. well actually at the beginning of next year. Okay, that’s confusing. Five years ago in October of 2011, we wed in traditional Korean fashion down in Busan, Korea. While the ceremony was colorful, interesting and fun, we also wed stateside in Ohio in January of 2012. We actually celebrate our wedding anniversary in January using our American ceremony date, BUT that doesn’t stop me from reminiscing over our Korean ceremony each year come the autumn foliage and cool breezes in October. Just look at us all done up in those gorgeous Korean traditional duds! Getting into them required a…
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Learning Korean In Korea: Noisy Salesmen Are Great Teachers
When I first got to Korea, I did not speak Korean. Not a lick and that was cause for quite a few humorous assumptions. Assumptions aren’t always bad. It depends what you do after making assumptions that can be bad. Luckily for me, after awhile, I fell into a group of Koreans that were quick to show me the err in my ways or just to educate the silly foreigner. The education has proven immeasurable and also has given me many funny stories along the way. Today, I’m going to share a couple of those funny tales. Wonder why learning Korean when living in Korea is useful? I’ve got some…
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Funny Stories From Dating A Korean Man
When you watch Korean dramas or get into K-pop, you might start to think that Korean men are really romantic. The stories in dramas have made women the world over swoon and it seems now women are literally traveling to Korea to find love. It’s easy to start to believe that Koreans in general are super romantic. Did you know, for example, that there are 15 couple related unofficial holidays in Korea? With pictures that flood the internet of couple dressed in couple’s clothing and the Hallyu Wave that has swept the world, Korean men are now romanticized but should you fall for this storyline? They say Korean men are…
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What’s A Mother To Do? No Changing Tables In Korea
It's fairly easy to take her out without causing much of a scene, but one thing I've noticed again and again is that wherever we go, if she were to need a changing, there wouldn't be anywhere to do it. Bathrooms just aren't equipped with the necessary changing table and though in the past five years bathrooms around Seoul have generally seen a big upgrade in cleanliness, they are far from clean enough to change a baby if there isn't a changing table available. What's a mother to do?
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The Ugly Truth About Being Married To A Korean Musician
From basically having a soundtrack playing to my life every day to fan girls not understanding boundaries, here are the good, the bad and the ugly points about being married to a Korean indie musician.
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Raising Kids In Korea: Blunt Comments From Ajjummas
It's often said that Koreans are blunt. I don't recall hearing any Koreans say that but plenty of foreigners that come to the Land of the Morning Calm do. I imagine if you grow up here, what we consider blunt is considered normal and what we consider polite and non-confrontational could be considered passive and aloof. Going out into public with the new baby is something I look forward to while at the same time brings a nervous jittery feeling I never had before when faced with stepping out my front door.
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What to Expect After Giving Birth in Korea
We’d made it. We had our bundle of joy, gave birth in Korea, and were no longer the expectant couple. We were now a trio ready to face the world… well sort of. Giving birth in Korea can be daunting and there is so much going on from finding doctors, going to hospitals or birthing centers, to setting up the home to be baby friendly. It’s easy enough to think that once the baby comes, everything is done. But it isn’t! One of the first things to do is to get the birth certificate and yes, you should get both the Korean birth certificate and the English birth certificate. There…
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Dating In Korea: How I Snagged a Korean Musician
Dating in Korea might be a bit different than whatever you’re used to. I’m not sure what you’re used to, but I can say none of it is as romantic as it is in Korean dramas. I think that should be obvious already, but for some reason, a lot of foreign women in Korea don’t seem to get that. Just like American dramas, dating in the US isn’t the same as a drama or as hilarious as in the sitcoms. You can find your partner in Korea, but you might not. Dating in Korea can be different. Here are some things to expect: (This post contains affiliate links, which means…
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Secrets of the Korean Post-Natal Hotel: Postpartum Recovery In Korea
One of the decisions to be made by Korean women after they have their baby is whether or not they will stay in a post-natal hotel (referred to as a ‘PNH’ in the rest of this article). Post natal hotels are the best postpartum recovery option in Korea. Commonly women will attend such a place for two to three weeks after the baby comes in order to recuperate and learn how to care for the new addition to their family. If they will not attend one of these places it is generally assumed that they will be staying with their mother or mother-in-law or the elder woman will come to…
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Pregnant In Korea: The Superstitions, The Benefits, & So Much More!
When I found out I was pregnant, the feelings of excitement, joy and of course some nerves washed over me. Being pregnant in Korea can have so many benefits and great things, but being a foreigner who is pregnant abroad can bring with it a whole new set of questions aside from the standards. What are the benefits of giving birth in Korea? What are the Korean pregnancy superstitions I should know? Where can I buy maternity clothing that fits me? When I was pregnant there weren’t any guides for being pregnant in Korea online to check out or much info in English at all about doctors and centers. My…
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Korean Eating: Where To Try Daegutang in Busan
Not all stews in Korea are spicy, though depending on where they are served, some may be spicier than others. Daegutang (대구탕), or cod fish stew, is one dish that is very different if you pop into a shop to eat some in the north versus the south. In the north, the soup comes out with a deep red broth. It’s spicy and is more akin to maeuntang (매운탕), or spicy fish stew. In the south however, the cod is boiled and served in a broth that hasn’t had spices other than salt, pepper and garlic added. The result is a deliciously simple yet flavorful and filling dish that allows…
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The Military Invasion of Jeju Island
Most people that head to Jeju Island, known as the peace island, go with the intention of seeing the beautiful scenery from waterfalls and green tea fields to black lava sand beaches and palm tree lined lanes. Honeymooners go for romance and tourists go for scenery. With the tallest mountain in the country being the biggest draw by far for everyone from the avid hiker to the average Joe just out to get a jaunt and see some views, it’s a wonder that there hasn’t been more done to protect the island from military invasion. Though protesters in the small town of Gangjeong, meaning “Village of Water”, on the southern…
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The Top 5 Myths of the Korean Husband
What is it like being married to a Korean guy? Are Korean guys good husbands? I never realized how many stereotypes about Korean husbands there were until I married a Korean guy and people somehow bring it in to conversation so easily. Admittedly, the stereotype conversation usually comes from Korean men and women who seem to be sure that the stereotypes are true and ask me how I feel about cleaning and cooking everything. Then there are the westerners who have really weird Asian stereotypes. It’s especially odd when Korean women who are married with Korean men bring up this topic as I wouldn’t assume that their husbands are any…
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How To Get The National Happiness Card For Pregnant Women In Korea
With becoming pregnant in Korea comes a whole new set of rules, information, Korean vocabulary lists, shops to find, doctors to meet and well, just a lot of stuff to learn about. One of those things is the Pretty Mom card (고운맘카드) or National Happiness Card (국민행복카드) which all pregnant women, foreign and Korean alike, as long as they’re paying into the National Health Insurance system can get. This card is a pregnancy benefit that pregnant women can apply for in Korea and if you’re wondering how, this is the guide for you. If you’re pregnant in Korea, one of the first things you have to do is get the…
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Why Korean Mother-in-laws Are The Best
Korean mother-in-laws are by far the best mother-in-laws to have. Okay, my title is misleading and the first sentence may or may not be entirely true and that picture is NOT of my mother-in-law. I only have experience with one mother-in-law, from here on out MIL, in particular and she just happens to be Korean because I just happened to fall in love with a man who is Korean, but she is pretty great. Korean mother-in-law’s get a pretty bad wrap in Korean dramas so I wanted to share some positive attributes that my own has shown me. The tales of evil or mean MILs seem to abound, but where…
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Bitter, Sweet, Seoul
If you have an hour to spare and I hope you do, this is what you should watch today. Culling together clips from over 11,000 videos submitted, directors Park Chan Wook and Park Chan Kyong, known together as PARKing CHANce, made this movie using 141 clips from Korean and international submissions to represent Seoul and I think they did an amazing job. It’s not just the pretty view of the city or even the pretty people of the city, it’s real life and real moments with black and white clips of historical moments in Korea from archives to today. There are the kind people we meet on the streets and…
