Interviewer: Quyen Tran
Interviewee: Hanju Chae
Preparations
The person whom I interview name Hanju Chae. He is one of my
accounting classmates who sit right next to me. I have been talking with him
few times and when the interview assignment came, I thought it would be a good
opportunity to interview him about South Korea, the country I chose and also
where he’s from. Actually, I was going to interview one of my English classmates.
She is the only Korean in the class and I knew that a lot of people in the
class choosing the same country which is Korea to do interview of, so she might
be the interviewee of lots of people in the class. Therefore, I thought of Han.
I asked him to be my interviewee after an accounting class and he said yes. We
made an appointment in the library the day after and decided to reserve a
studying room which was an appropriate place to do an interview because a
studying room in the library is a separate space, so that we would not bother
or be affected by anybody. After getting into the room, I set up my recorder
and did some trials to make sure the volume and value of the sound is good
enough to be listened to. I gave Han a page which has pretty much all the
questions that I was going to ask, so that it would be easier for him to
follow. After that, the interview was conducted as it’s recorded.
Country Report
South Korea is a beautiful country located in Eastern Asia with its capital Seoul and a population
of 48,598,175 (1). This is a top developed country over the others in
Asia. Its capital, Seoul, “is the world's second largest metropolitan area with
more than 25 million inhabitants.” (2) There are many famous companies in here
such as Kia, Samsung, or Daewoo, which have been affect the world and make
Korea GDP improve considerable. About the culture, family could be the most
significant part of Korean life; it’s priority. Elder people are specially respected
here. The Korean ancestors “are based on the male family line” (3) and people
worship their ancestors.
“Education in South Korea is regarded as crucial to
financial and social success, and competition is consequently fierce, with many
participating in intense outside tutoring to supplement classes.” (4) “South
Korea's education system is technologically advanced and it is the world's
first country to bring high-speed fibre-optic broadband internet access to
every primary and secondary school nation-wide.” (5)
Coming to Korea, there will be many
exciting places to visit. Seoul is the number one place. It’s an “an amazing
mix of Ancient and Ultra-Modern” and is “One of the most dynamic cities in the World” according to
Squidoo. Seoul is a convenience city with variety kinds of services such as
shopping centers and restaurants serve 24/7. Another exciting place to visit is
Jeju Island which is considered Hawaii of Korea. It has the most beautiful views
and beaches in Korea.
In the
free time, Koreans would go sauna for relaxing and baseball is the most popular
sport here. People also play pool and bowling for fun and young people go to
karaoke for entertaining.
Generally,
Korea is a convenience and developed country with a strong and unique history
of heritage.
Bibliography:
(1), (3): "Kwintessential." South Korea - Language,
Culture, Customs and Etiquette. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Oct 2012. http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/south-korea-country-profile.html.(4), (5) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Korea#Education
"Top 10 Places to Visit in South Korea." Squidoo.
N.p.. Web. 22 Oct 2012. http://www.squidoo.com/top-10-places-to-visit-in-south-korea
Interview Transcript
Me: Hi Han, can you tell me a little bit about the value of
family in your country?
Han: Yea, simply, the value of the family means to me is
priority. I just realized that nothing is really matter. It really is about the
ones you love, so I have to kind of appreciate this fact more and more as a
son, a member of my family.
Me: Okey, so what’s your family structure like? Who is the
head of the family? What is the value?Han: I personally think that my Mom has more power over my dad because she stays at home doing housework and stuff and my dad is always busy at work. Well, it doesn’t apply to every South Korean family but in my family, my Mom is the head of power.
Me: So, does she go to work?
Han: She does not go to work. She does not have a job. She’s
just a house wife. This is great for the whole family because she cooks and
takes care of the house very well.
Me: Okey, so is that the reason why she’s the head of the
family over your dad? I think normally, men are the head of the house.
Han: Well, simply, I think my dad is a nice guy.
Me: Generally, in your country, does gender still matter in
a family?
Han: Technically not really, but you know, even in America,
gender is kind of a matter. I think everyone would like to have a son rather
than a little girl and that is kind of same thing happening in Korea, too. It
doesn’t come into face to face, but behinds, people kind of want to have a son
rather than a girl.
Me: How does your home country culture different from the US
culture?
Han: I think Korean is more conservative than American, so
they are less liberal; they are more like Republicans. They are not as open
minded as most of the Americans are. Me: What are the highlights in your culture? (What things will make people immediately whink about your country? Please tell more about its history).
Han: The recent one is the song Gangnam style by Psy. It
reminds most people in the world as a style which is equal to South Korea.
Me: So, what does Gangnam style look like? How about it?
Han: It’s the area which the richest people in South Korea
live in. It’s a district. It’s basically Beverly Hills of America in Korean
version.
Me: Does Gangnam represent all people in your country or
just a small area?
Han: It’s a tiny area, which probably between 100 to 200
hundred thousand people live in.
Me: What is your home town? (Where have you been growing up?
And where do you live?)
Han: My hometown is Seoul. As I mentioned, Gangnam is a part
of Seoul, but I am not from that area. I grew up in Seoul until when I was 15
years old. I moved to the US and live here for the last seven years.
Me: Could you tell me a little bit about Seoul?
Han: The city of Seoul has ten million populations just by
the city itself. The metropolitan area is about 24.5 million inhabitants which
becomes the second largest in the world. South Korea has the highest and
fastest broadcasting system in the world called DMB. And then I recently researched
about the GDP per capital. It was 32,000 dollars per capital, so it’s pretty
not that bad but not too great economic. Seoul also has headquarters of
hundreds companies such as Huyndai, Kia, and Samsung. Those are all
headquarters located in Seoul.
Me: Can you tell me a little bit about the lifestyle there?
What make it unique?
Han: Oh, okey. My city has the unique culture which I think
is really great. The city never sleeps. If you want any kind of food, you can
order it and it will get delivered to your house 24/7, so it’s really
convenient.
Me: Okey, so how a young person considered troublemaker in
your country?
Han: I think it depends on the person. When I was young, I
personally thought troublemakers are not cool, but all the others would think
that it’s cool.
Me: Ok, so what do you think about the music culture in your
country? Is it a significant part?
Han: I would say that it’s pretty significant but I’m pretty
sure it’s not as a big deal as the other high musical cultures such as
Australia and America. However, Korean has our own music called K-Pop which I
think is pretty popular in the whole Asia.
Me: Do you like K-Pop?
Han: Well, not too much but I like Gangnam style, yea.
Me: Is marriage important in your country that everybody
pursues?
Han: Yea, absolutely nobody wants to be alone when they are
at ages 40 or 50. They want to keep in track with their heritage, so I think
everyone pursues marriage.
Me: Are you sure? Because in the US, marriage is not really
the most importance, not everybody pursues it.
Han: Every situation has exception but most of people, since
they are conservative, even when they there are conflicts within the marriage,
they would try to figure it out rather than just break up and divorce.
Me: Is there still gender or race discrimination in your
country?
Han: Comparing to the US, absolutely not but I saw some
discrimination. Seoul, the city where I lived in, has a lot of Chinese and some
Africans immigration such as Nigerians who came to South Korea as labor
workers. We treat them kind of bad but nothing as bad as in America like kill
them or punch them on the streets.
Me: What is the most famous food in your country?
Han: Bulgogi, the very thin slide beef with our own unique
sauce, which tastes very similar to Teriyaki. I personally think Bulgogi tastes
better than Teriyaki.
Me: What is the traditional food then?
Han: Bulgogi is one of the traditional foods in South Korea
but there is also the one called Kimchi which made from cabbages and twenties
more ingredients go in. I don’t know all the elements but there are a lot of
things go in Kimchi.
Me: Are Bibimbab and Kimbab traditional?
Han: Yes, Bibimbab is steam white rice mixed with the chili
paste sauce and a bunch of different kinds of vegetable and also ground beef.
That’s very traditional. Every single time when I came back home, on the
flight, I always chose that food to eat. Kimbab is Korea version of Sushi. It’s
not traditional but it’s for high school students to bring with when they come
to the library and feel hungry but don’t get much money. Kimbab is one of those
kinds of food applied to the high school or middle school students who do not
have lots of money but fill out their hungers.
Me: Do most of people eat spicy food?
Han: I would say yes. I actually have trouble big time when
I went back to South Korea last summer. I got too much of American food which
is just sweet and salty. I was not eating any spicy food, so when I went back
to South Korea, I had lots of spicy food and I got sick for three days. So yea
they eat a lot of spicy food.
Me: What are your meals like? (size, number, and times of
day)
Han: We have a lot of soups, a lot of steam food, and a lot
of barbeques. We just have a variety of different kinds of food that very
uncountable. When we go to restaurants, there are at least five different sizes
of dishes. The size of the meal is not as big as American meals but at least
the five different sizes of dishes really make that up to get full. There are
some big meals that people will share with each others. It’s the one big part
in the middle. It’s kind of the unique thing but you get your own bowl right in
front of you, so you just pick it out from the big part. It’s kind of the big
size for families, about six to seven people.
Me: What is the education system in your country?
Han: It’s pretty much the same with the United States, but
one different thing is about the high school system. We have two different
ways. One is for the students who are preparing to go to the college. We are
focusing on those kids to just train them harder. On the other hand, the other
kids who don’t want to go to the college and just want to get a job, teachers
are focusing on training them the working skills for what they are interested
in rather than just educate them. Plus, high school in Korea is
three-year-system instead of four and middle school, we also have three years
but the US has two years. Those two are probably the only differences. Other
than that, everything is pretty much the same.
Me: Do a lot of people get a chance to attend college in
your country?
Han: Actually I researched this. The percentage of high
school-ers in South Korea applying and enrolling to colleges is higher than the
US. By the percentage, more Korean are willing to go to colleges than students
in the US.
Me: So is it hard or easy to get into a college?
Han: I think getting into a college in Korea is extremely
hard, but when you get in, it’s not that hard to graduate. So I would say just
only getting in is way harder than in the US.
Me: What are the top three social pastimes in your country?
Han: I think baseball comes as number one over soccer.
People in SK go to sauna as a hobby, they play pool; they play bowling; and
they also play a lot of video games. But my family, especially my mom and my
dad, they hike mountains a lot, at least twice a week. That’s their hobby and
my mom’s hobby is cooking food in general. She tries to cook different meals,
different stuff. My dad, actually, he enjoys hiking to the mountains. That was
just my family hobbies but in general, people hobbies are going to bowling,
playing pools, going to karaoke for teenagers, and they go to sauna for
relaxing.
Me: Do you think that generally, people in your country
reserve when meeting new people?
Han: If that’s for occasion or business, yes, they do.
Otherwise, they do not. It’s pretty much the same thing as in here in America.
Me: In which way people pay a bill? “Saparate?” or “together?” Who would be the person pay
the bill?
Han: Generally, it’s used to be elder guys paying for the
meals or whoever the person asks the other to go out. But now, most of people
pay separately. Unless the really elder people ask you to go out, then they
will pay for you.
Me: How many children can each couple have?
Han: Ok, well, South Korea is a completely different country
from China, so Korean couple; they can have as many kids as they want. They can
have twenty of them if they want to.
Me: What are your views on tattoos? What are the views your
country has on tattoos? Is it considered bad if a girl has tattoos?
Han: Elder people, older generation, they are really
conservative, so they think it’s not good. But our younger generation, they
think that’s pretty cool especially women, they have tattoos and when we see
them with tattoos on at the pools with bikini, we think that it’s sexy. But I
personally do not like to get tattoos on my own skin.
Me: Where would you suggest people to visit when they come
to your country, and why?
Han: Obviously the number one is Seoul which is my hometown
and the capital of South Korea. I’ve already mentioned about the city before so
I’m going to skip that. There’s also the other part is called Busan. It’s the
second largest city in Korea; it’s really far, in the southeast at the edge.
It’s famous for seafood, beautiful beaches, night lights and partying, just
kind of like Miami style. And then, there is also an island called Jeju Island,
on the southeast part of South Korea. It’s the island made by volcanoes.
Especially in the winter time, there’s a lot of snow and it’s really beautiful
but I would say that in the summer time, since that’s an island, a lot of
beaches and a lot of summer activities. It’s kind of like Hawaii in Korean
version.
Me: Which age is considered adult in your country?
Han: Officially, the age is 19, but people still rely on
their parents, so I personally consider it’s 25. But the legal age to be adult
is 19 years old in Korea which means they can drink, smoke, and drive.
Me: Do you think that people in your country are hard
workers?
Han: Generally yes because Korea, I think is a developed
country but still not quite as much as the US, so we are still trying to
achieve, to become a better country. So, I think they are hard workers. They
are trying harder than most of Americans, not every American.
Me: Do you think it’s normal for girls to ask boys out? Or
it’s better for boys to ask girls out?
Han: This question really depends on situations and
individuals. Korean girls are kind of being shy to ask guys out but if you meet
them the bars or clubs, they act as much as guys do.
Me: What are the different religions in your country? What
is the predominant one?
Han: I also actually researched this, about the religions.
The predominant religion is Christian. It’s about 45%, Buddhism is about 38%,
and the rest is non religion. So, the most popular, the predominant religion is
Christian in Korea.
Me: So, is there any other religion beside Christian and
Buddhism?
Han: I’m sure there
are some but not that I know among my friends or any people.
Me: What’s your religion?
Han: My parents are Buddhist, that’s one of the reasons why
they actually very enjoy hiking because all the temples are on mountains. I am
not really religious, but I am trying to be Buddhist.
Me: What are some holidays that you celebrate in Korea and
how do you celebrate them?
Han: The biggest one is called Seollal. It’s the Chinese New
Year; I think what it is same thing in Korea, too. We make dumplings, all
relatives get together, just like any other countries holidays. All relatives
get together, having a huge meal, talking, just catching up with the things.
That’s how we celebrate. And then, the one which is different from American
holidays is that we actually do worship and stuff prays for our ancestors at
night. That’s the one thing different.
Me: Is there any other celebrations?
Han: Yes, there is another one called Korean Thanks Giving.
It’s two months before the Thanks Giving in America. We go out at night, watch
the full moon together, and wish out hopes.
Me: Is Thanks Giving in Korea similar to American Thanks
Giving?
Han: Gathering relatives and families together and then
having a big meal are similar. The different thing is that we actually watch
the full moon, praying, and wishing things for the future.
Me: In conclusion, what things you do not like about your
country and what things you feel proud of?
Han: The one thing I dislike about my country is that even
though you disagree with someone older than you, you can’t tell your opinions
because our own culture thinks that’s really rude. So that actually makes way
less opportunities to be a creative person, to be a minded person. It’s close
to minded person. I actually hate about that thing. However, what I like about my
culture is that the food is great; nothing is fried much, really healthy, and
really tasty. And I am kind of proud of our economic situation. Yea, that’s
pretty much it.
Me: Thank you for the interview.Audio files recorded:
http://soundcloud.com/quyenkit/interview-part-1
http://soundcloud.com/quyenkit/interview-part-2
Interview report
The interview length is about 33 minutes. I asked Han the questions that I had already prepared in the page but sometimes I made more questions because things that I wanted to know just jumped into my head and I did it following the flow of the content. At first, I thought Han might not answer clearly all of the questions or it might be hard for me to catch up because we haven’t talked too much before. However, out of what I expected, Han was very open and was trying not to just simply answer my questions but also to explain and refer to his own experiences. It seems like Han had put some times on researching and getting prepared for the interview. This makes his answers more clearly and much more interesting.
To not miss any important questions, I divided the questions
invisibly into seven parts. All of the parts are family, culture, food,
education, social, religion, and finally, religion. From the interview, I found
out that Korean culture is the combination of Asian style and American style.
It is pretty similar to my country Vietnam, especially the way people celebrate
some holidays and the way people having meals. Koreans worship their ancestors
and in a meal, they get a big meal or some dishes in the middle of the table
and pick food from the big part. About the education, it’s hard for people to
get in but not that hard to graduate. However, on the other hand, just like
American, approximately half of the populations are Christian. Korea has been
the top developed country over the other countries in Asia. Its economic is big
and its lifestyle has a considerable effect on many other cultures. The
technology and music culture are some instants. Koreans are now confident, open
minded and integrate to the development of the world. The fact of some popular
companies such as Huyndai, Kia and Samsung, whose products are used all over
the world, has shown it. Generally, Koreans have characteristic of Asians and
keep their tradition similarly to the other Asia cultures but they are trying
to integrate to a developed environment.
The interview just kept flowing smoothly. I was really
enjoying asking questions and listening to Han’s speaking. I definitely got a
lot more information about South Korea culture and lifestyle through personal
thoughts of a native Korean, beside what I had researched on websites. 
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