Intercultural Life
We are heading to the airport soon and will be in Korea tomorrow morning. We have a stopover, so not directly to Korea 🙁
We will fly into Busan and then catch a bus to Jinju. From there Mr Gwon’s aunt will drive us to his tiny home town. So next time you see our faces we will be in very rural Korea!
One of the cultural differences we deal with seems pretty superficial but it does come up a lot. We had very different childhoods and we didn’t watch the same TV show or see the same movies, we didn’t have the same fads or sing the same songs. What this means is that my husband, the love of my life, my best friend, doesn’t always get references I make. Things that an Australian my age (or probably anyone my age from a Western country) would understand instantly, is something that he has very little idea about or interest in.
Now, Lord of the Rings isn’t something that everyone will get, but most Western people would know what Sesame Street is right? Blank face from him when I mention Sesame Street. My husband is discovering things now and is a fan of many things, like Doctor Who for example but we don’t have that shared history. He has no memories of ever seeing an original Doctor Who black and white episode on TV as a child. It is so strange to him when I flick over the channel to ABC Kids and sing along to the Bananas in Pyjamas.
I think it’s different now because of the internet and the way the world is changing. A lot of Koreans have favourite American or British TV shows and there are plenty of Western people watching Korean TV shows and dramas. My husband and I however, were born in the early 1980’s so there wasn’t much overlap in our cultures.
It makes me a little bit sad sometimes, not having that shared history. Knowing that my siblings or friends or even strangers may understand an offhand comment, but he won’t. But it’s okay, it’s such a minor thing in the whole scheme of things.
Do you remember a previous comic about him not understanding why I liked Happy Days? I always liked Happy Days and it is on TV here late at night but he usually pays no attention. He actually properly watched a scene the other day where The Fonz did something cool. He was surprised at how funny it was and said, “Wow! He is really cool!” That made me happy.
In conclusion: “Frodoooooooooooooo!!!!”
(He is singing a Korean song from his childhood now that I don’t know).
We have a weird schedule because he goes to work at 7pm and comes home at 4am. He usually tries to have a nap before going to work but seems to think as long as he is in bed that it counts as a nap. If you are on the phone…. it doesn’t!
He has such long phone conversations too. Always on the phone. That’s one of the ways I’m exposed to the Korean language, because he is always talking to someone. But for me, I actually hate talking on the phone. Is anyone else like that? I don’t really enjoy long phone conversations. I’m also a lot less social than my husband though. He is a social butterfly but I have a more select group of friends. I can be really social in the right situations but he is better at adapting in any situation.
There are a bunch of areas in Sydney with Korean populations.We just wanted to show you guys one of these areas. Some people have commented about their own countries and how it is difficult to get Korean things there, so we wanted show why Sydney is such a good place for us to live as a couple that aims to be bi-cultural.
Usually we frequent the Korea Town in the Sydney CBD, which we also call ‘The City’. Strathfield is just a short train ride away but there is a different feel compared to the city. Koreans in the city are usually on working holiday or student visas and between the age of 20 and 30 but Strathfield is a more established Korean community with Korean people of all ages. You can see in the video there are clothes stores catering to older Korean women which you don’t see in our area.
I did notice a slight difference to how people looked at us. In the city there are many interracial couples so we don’t get much of a second glance usually, but in Strathfield I felt people looked at us a bit more, that we were a bit more unusual.
We went My Sweet Memory Cafe and Doo Ri Korean Restuarant.
Also, the reason why we have another video up so soon is because we had this video and the Secret Garden video ready and edited but we were just waiting for the music. Don’t expect a new video every second day! hehe. We will probably settle into a schedule of one going out and doing something video and one inside question and answer video a week when we get back from Korea. We are planning on doing some short vlogs while in Korea though.
We started out with just some simple trips for the first few videos while we get used to being on camera and editing but we’ll gradually do more exciting things. You can give us suggestions too! What would you like to see?
Mr Gwon isn’t a really moody guy BUT he does have some strange moods sometimes. Sometimes I think he likes to pretend he is the lead male in a Korean drama. You know how they are usually jerks at first?
It’s really not romantic, trust me, it’s just annoying. I should be nice to him because he gave me one chewy mint?! I didn’t draw it in the comic because it would have been too long but he actually made me eat the half first before he gave me a full one. I know he is laughing on the inside but he does it with a really straight face.
This garden originally was just a piece of land owned by New South Wales Rail Corp. It was not being used for anything except a dumping ground for rubbish. Wendy Whitely was the wife of Australian artist of Brett Whitely (who died in 1992). She is an artist in her own right and has created a really beautiful garden. It is open to the public every day but can be hard to find if you have never been there.
There are a few entrances to the garden. We found Lavender street first and found it that way, but we exited out the entrance that was the path that goes past Luna Park.
It is a really nice place, especially if it’s a hot day as it is very enclosed and shady.There are lots of really nice gardens in Sydney but this one is a little bit different. Because it’s cared for by Wendy Whitely and not a council it is a little wilder and with a much more natural design. It has a subtropical rainforest feel to it and if you are really into plants, I’m sure there are many really interesting ones here.
We are really lucky to have a friend do the editing for us and a friend to make the music (JackManFriday). We did edit a few things out that I can share here but maybe not on YouTube. There was more discussion about what switching bodies like in the drama Secret Garden would involve (certain body parts in particular) and those moths and bugs getting a bit frisky? My husband asked, “Are they having love?” I’m not sure what they were doing! Were they “having love”?
Hope you guys enjoyed seeing a little bit of Sydney.
Psy is a bad influence on him! Luckily my husband didn’t actually do that disgusting thing, he just faked it, but it’s still annoying!
What do you think of the ‘Gentleman’ music video? This seems to really divide people. I don’t mind the song. I think it is catchy and something that will be played a lot, especially in clubs. Unlike Gangnam Style though, it’s not a video I will watch over and over. There is a lot of humour I don’t like in it, but I also think there is a lot of Korean type of humour in it. My husband laughed really hard at some bits of it but for me it was too awkward to watch. Also because Psy is a really nice guy and I don’t like seeing him being so mean! I’m not sure if he being a jerk in it to just be the opposite of a gentleman or if he is making fun of sleazy old guys like that.
It is interesting that Psy decided on the Abracadabra dance instead of making a new one. I did hear that he wanted to show more Kpop to the world by using that dance. It must have been so stressful to make a song to follow Gangnam Style and I think he’d get criticism no matter what song he wrote but the Gentleman is already a viral hit and has got soo many views!
I’m only allowing my husband to play it a few times a day, otherwise I think he’d have it on repeat. And he has to at least have underwear on when he does the dance.
Anyway, I really like the Eat Your Kimchi parody. Will YouTube be flooded with Gentleman parodies soon?
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