Exploring Korean-American Heritage & Interculturalism
Why Asians Take Their Shoes Off Indoors and Why You Should Too!Taking your shoes off before entering a home, and many other dwellings, is customary in many Asian countries.
It’s a practice I grew up with but hated. So it’s ironic that I try to enforce it in my home! But here are the reasons why it’s a common practice and why it’s a good idea for everyone to do! [Read more…]
A Story From a Korean-American Childhood – Lunch on the trainI think I was 14 when one of my aunts and her husband came to visit for a family trip up the east coast. She was my mom’s older sister, so this made her my Eemo (이모).
The plan was to get on a train in DC up to New York City where the official tour began. Being someone who enjoys travel, I was excited about riding the train almost as much as touring NYC!
At least I was until something happened about 20 minutes into the train ride.
My family had settled in to our seats. Being a normal restless teenager, I decided to explore the snack car I had spotted on the way to boarding. I bought a soda and made a mental note to return for the plastic wrapped sandwich later when I got bored and hungry. Then I headed back to our car.
I was a couple of rows away from my family when it hit me…a waft of kimchi! And there were mutterings of “What’s that smell?” [Read more…]
It’s getting cold outside!I remember there were times when my parents would create a tent over one of the heating vents. After closing off all heat vents but one, they took a chair and placed it over the remaining vent. Then draped a large enough blanket that covered the chair and onto the floor. This little heat tent was quite good at trapping the heat. We would then put our feet in the tent to stay warm. [Read more…]
Korean Age vs. American AgeI remember when I was a kid, my cousins and Korean friends would ask how old I was. But when I answered ‘I’m seven’ or whatever age I was at the time, they’d say “What year?” They did this to figure out ranks, if you will.
In Korean culture, for those of you who might not know, age is a big deal. And I don’t mean in a “younger is better” kind of way. [Read more…]
Why Do East Asians Make A V-Sign In Pictures?It’s well known that East Asians like to throw up the v-sign in pictures. But why?
It appears that no one knows anymore!
Some suspect that it came from Winston Churchill’s “v” for victory (1940’s) or Janet Lynn’s “v” for peace (1970’s). [Read more…]
