Overall Korean Family Culture:
Korea is a very community centered nation, and that reflects in their family culture. When it comes to the family unit, members of the family are not really considered individuals. Family members are more concerned with cohesive happiness instead of having their own autonomy separate from the group. Koreans believe that when family members are independent, they are being set to to live a very lonely life. Overall, close family ties and a sense of dependency are extremely valued.
Another big concept of Korean family culture is that children are seen as being in debt to their parents for giving birth to them and for taking care of them. This debt is said to be repaid in a few ways: treating parents respectfully at all times, taking care of parents in their old age, mourning them well at their proper funerals, and performing ceremonies for them after their deaths. Although these are all extremely important, full payment is not considered received until the son has a child and continues the family line. The concept of a family line or legacy is extremely important in Korean culture. Koreans believe that birth and death are not necessary the start and beginning of life. They believe that every lives through their predecessors as well as the generations that come after death. The majority of these traditional family values come from traditional Confucian principles of family organization.
Traditional Korean Family:
"Harmony and smooth flow of affection were seen as the result of proper patriarchal regulation of women and children. The family should be run as a 'benevolent monarchy,' the eldest male as household head. Sons remained home after they married, while daughters went to live with their husbands' families." Young children in Korea are indulged and usually aren't disciplined until they are about 6 or 7. One of the first things they are taught is how to speak politely to elders. They are also taught how to read and write Hangul. On the other hand, girls weren't taught how to read or write, and they usually didn't learn the alphabet either. Girls were also taught that they are inferior to elders and their brothers.
Under this old system, parents usually arranged the marriages for both males and females. Usually the children would have absolutely no say in who their spouse would be. Furthermore, since men stayed home after marriage and women went to live with a new family, marriage was usually traumatizing for women. New wives had a duty to please their new husbands, but especially the mother-in-law. Mother-in-laws usually boss the wives around and instruct them to do the housework and any tasks that need to be done. It is also considered extremely disrespectful to speak out against the mother-in-law. The position of a new wife is not secured until the married couple have a son.
Changes to the Family Structure Since the 1960's:
Since most Koreans live in cities and work in factories at this time, larger extended families couldn't fit into a small city apartment, so families began to be a little bit more spread out. There was a new emphasis on having stronger husband-wife relationships. Furthermore, under the New Civil Code of 1958, numerous cultural reforms were made. For example, now eldest sons are able to leave the house, husbands and wives share the power to educate and punish their children, young adults can decide on their own marriages, younger sons can leave to form their own families, all children have equal claim to their parents' property, and love matches are no longer frowned upon. Although love matches are becoming more accepted, arranged marriages are still very popular. Casual dating is also more acceptable and prevalent, however, most of the interactions between males and females are in groups. Moreover, the family still retains a male house head, sons still inherit more than daughters, and children are still legally responsible for taking care of their elder parents. Although many Confucian principles are still at the core of Korean family values, the dynamic of the Korean family and the many elements that pertain to it, change a lot through the course of time and other societal changes.
https://asiasociety.org/education/value-and-meaning-korean-family ;
Comments
This post was very informative and interesting to read! What particularly intrigued me was the “Traditional Korean Family” section, mainly because for my cultural presentation, I focused on Korean wedding-related traditions and the various aspects of traditional weddings, but I did not really investigate family dynamics after the wedding. Nevertheless, what you talked about in this post really contextualizes the relationship between the wife and the new family after the having had their traditional Korean wedding. Moreover, it is interesting to see how the institution of marriage changes over the years, yet, it still manages to retain some aspects of traditional principles. Changes in the institution of marriage are evident even within the past century in the United States and although this institution has changed greatly during that time period, it still continues to retain various principles similarly to the way Confucianism continues to play a large role in Korean family values, as you mentioned above.
Wow! This was very interesting to read. A lot of the Korean family culture correlates with the Bangladeshi family culture. I thought it was very interesting how you pointed out that the Korean children are in debt to their parents for giving them birth, also how everyone is seen through a family unit instead of individual people. Growing up in an Asian household, I can definitely see how my parents have taken great control over my life. They have shown me countless times how much they care and that is why they have a lot of control, but I think it is important to be able to build up one's individual self and become independent.
I thought it was interesting how arranged marriages were a thing in the Korean culture because that is very similar to the Bangladeshi culture as well. In fact, arranged marriages are still a big thing in the country, but the children often have a bit of autonomy by agreeing or disagreeing to the possible partner. It is amazing how similar different Asian countries are to one another.