Westernization

I recently helped one of my students practice a speech about how Korean children and teenagers are adopting the westernized culture and customs, much to the dislike of their traditional Korean parents.  Funny though, hearing this speech from a girl who’s parents are sending her to a school to learn English from American teachers.

I haven’t explored the Korean countryside yet but I’m sure that life there is much more traditional than in the cities.  While there are obvious differences, there are also many similarities between cities here and cities in the States.  Western culture is a part of the cities here and is apparent in things such as restaurants, stores, products, clothing, and advertisements that feature American families.  I have a feeling that this westernization blog post may turn into a small series on the subject!

It’s fascinating to me to see the differences between the generations in Korea right now, even in something as simple as weight.  As I’ve mentioned before, I see very few overweight Korean adults here.  However, I am starting to see more and more overweight children.  Their parents are not overweight so the blame must fall on their diet.  I’ve asked my students what their favorite foods are – the answer from most of them was pizza, hamburgers, and french fries.  Wait… isn’t that the typical American child’s answer?  Their answers aren’t surprising when you take a look at some of the restaurants around town: