Author: Erin Million

Korean culture and Chung’s family:

In most instances, like my brother for example, since he is the only boy his wife would have to move in with my parents and take care of my parents.  They offered but my father and my mother refused.  There are still some families that do that but not as much; it’s an old tradition.  I think in comparison to other family’s my father and my mother was very modern, up to date, not so many old traditions.  But for example when my brother got married and my sisters got married they had two ceremonies one for the traditional type of clothing with a traditional ceremony and one with a western wedding dress.  They held on to old traditions to some degree but they also embraced Western ways.  Let’s put it this way my father always said, “Time is changing, you honor your traditions but still go forth with your time era.  You need to learn about new things but keep the past in mind.”  In Korean society they honor their ancestors so at the anniversary of the death of my father there is always a ceremony for that.  What happens is you make special types of food; basically it’s like a feast.  You do it at least once a year especially around New Years.  It use to only be done off of old Chinese calendar.  My father honored his father every New Years, we all get dress and they have this little ceremony space and we all vowed to honor our ancestors.  Now my brother does it to our ancestors and to my father.  Usually, boys do it because lineage continues through men.

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