With 50 years of American influence in Korea and bases full of Americans all over the country, you would think that most Koreans, especially those living in the cities that have bases would know a little about Thanksgiving. It's true, they are selling more and more turkeys, cranberry sauce etc in all the groceries now (although at incredible price hikes) but still... they don't really get it. Perhaps they just want to fushion the cultures together a little more, or make it more Korean, I don't know. But there is kimchi at the Thanksgiving feasts, talk about exchanging gifts and and general blank stares. I did have two awesome Thanksgiving dinners over the course of the weekend, so I am NOT complaining... just noting an observation. Here is my favorite observation: one of the parents at the school buckled under cultural pressure (Korean) and gave all the teachers and staff a Thanksgiving present... nice, isn't it? Wanna know what it was? How does an 11 pound box of Korean sweet potatoes strike you? That's right... 11 pounds per apartment. Um... what am I, a single person, going to do with that much sweet potato??? Oh well.... I've been getting pretty creative (so has the rest of the staff... you should have seen our Turkey Bowl football tailgate party potluck dishes). Anyway, just thought I'd share.
Ciao
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3 comments:
LOL, Eliana loves sweet potatoes, you could mush some up for her;) LOL
How ignorant can you be? You're living outside the US, incase you havent noticed. Korea is not privileged to have you, and cities with US military bases do not revolve around the minor American population. But way to prove yourself an American by expecting the rest of the world to readjust their completely separate cultures to the ways of your own life. Regardless of what country you're in, try to open your mind a bit.
And FYI - despite your lack of appreciation, the parent giving you a a gift was out of respect and consideration for the foreigner living outside of her norm. Besides, Koreans know sweet potatoes have many health benefits. Next time, tell them you'd prefer 11lbs of Big Macs.
To Proud to not be American... thanks for the bitterness and anger. Wow... so much hatred for someone you don't know. For your information, I am not an American... I am Canadian and have a great deal of respect for other cultures. I lived in Korea for 8 years and loved every minute. My statement in this VERY old post was meant to be a humourous view on how the west seems to press too much of our cultural ideals on other cultures... Koreans have their own thanksgiving, it's called Chuseok and it's a wonderful holiday... so their need to try and be Americanized in adopting another holiday seemed odd to me.
I am not ignorant, but it seems that you are... sad.
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