Remember in Math class when the teacher put those two or three intersecting circles in the board and your eyes rolled back/lit up? Well, they are alive and well in Korea.
Korean society is made up of many relationships. Where one went to school (all of them: elementary, middle, high, college, university), one's home town (or parents' home town(s)), where one wors/worked and other clubs (golf, social, dance) one might be in. The reason is simple: it's better to be in the circle looking out that outside looking in.
In times of trouble Koreans rely on (i) their family, (ii) their friends/associates from various groups they may be in, and (iii) everyone else (which is to say: they don't really rely on others outside of i and ii). If someone dies or gets married or has a baby (or the baby hits 100 days old) they can rely on their friends to be there and/or send money.
This is how Koreans get through tough times...they don't have a very extensive government welfare system (actually, it' pretty much non-existant) so it is important to have as many friends as possible. Thus, a Korean with few friends is worse off then someone in a Western country...friends (and family) are the heart of social, economic and emotional well-being for Koreans--and this is true in daily life as well as in true times of need.
So, don't forget Koreans you meet. Even after 5 or 10 years (some would say especially after a few years) they will likely remember you and restart the relationship. The longer the relationship, the deeper the friendship.
Leave a Comment
on May 18, 2004
