Even in Korea, TV programs like Gossip Girl or 90210, are popular among teenagers. While American teenagers are attracted by the portray of the elite way of life in the Upper east side of New York or Beverly Hills, or maybe the fashionable main characters, teenagers in Korea marvel at something else; American lifestyle itself.
Korean teenagers, high school and middle school students, especially, envy the free and independent lifestyle of American teenagers portrayed on these shows. True independence from parents in Korea usually takes place only when the children become adults and get married. Until then, the parents are legally, and socially acceptable to take care of their children’s life in almost all aspects. Korean teenagers are aware of this and it is also the reason for many conflicts between children and parents; the children’s request for privacy and a little trust from the parents and the parents’ desire to be involved with their children’s life in every aspect. So when they see Dixon from 90210 deciding to take up a part-time job without a specific permission from his parents (this would be impossible in Korea), many Korean teenagers think “Why isn’t our life that simple?”
The truth is, though Korea has been greatly westernized over the past few decades, there are still ways of thinking that are so deeply rooted in Korea’s society, the lifestyle itself will most likely never be the same as in Western countries. Maybe despite what many Korean teenagers think, this is not because Korea is less developed than other countries, it is simply because Asians and Westerners think differently. While Westerners put more value on individualism, Asians value groups like families.
This is what this book focuses on; “How Asians and Westerners think differently…and Why.” It talks about different values in these two big societies, and the fundamental roots in which these differences started taking place. I myself as a Korean who have lived in the states for a couple of years could really relate to this book because many of the issues brought up in this book are similar to the experiences I had had when trying to adopt two very different lifestyles.
For example, the book mentions different ways babies are brought up in Eastern and Western countries. In Asian countries, babies sleep in the same room as their parents, perhaps in its mother’s arms. However in Western countries, the baby has its own crib in another room to sleep in. The ‘nursery’, while a mandatory room for newly wed couples in Western countries, is not a popular feature in Asia because it is rendered unnecessary. I remember when I was living in America and visiting my aunt in Korea during a vacation, I was extremely annoyed at being kept awake by my aunt’s newborn baby. I was used to babies being left in an individual crib in a separate room and was at first fascinated at how my baby cousin slept right next to my aunt. However, this fascination turned quickly into irritation when he woke me up by his constant crying and whimpering. I had wondered how my aunt could live like that, but this is the norm in most Asian countries. In contrast, western countries, as this book points out, independence is often encouraged from early on, which is why children are brought up differently in Eastern and Western societies.
Though this would be a fascinating book for anyone, I think it would be especially helpful to immigrants like me who have difficulties balancing the newly adopted way of thinking with the lifestyle their parents are more accustomed with. Or perhaps Korean teenagers who are experiencing different ways of life and think that their parents are “too old-fashioned”. At any rate, it will be a good book to read when you want something a little more heavy-weight than a novel, but something not too tedious.
