WARNING: This post contains overly-romantic scenes involving individuals over the age of 50.
Last week I caught up with my best Korean (female) buddy that I hadn't seen in a while.
It is hard to schedule time to meet her these days because...
a) she got married a few months ago
and
b) I have been doing almost back-to-back trips... non-stop this year.
When we caught up she told me she had been stalking through some of my family vacation photos from Europe (family trip was back in June...) and she said she was really shocked about some of the photos.
????????????????????????????????
'Why? There was nothing out of the ordinary, I just got a bit out of control, with the posing'... I commented...
She replied;
'Not the posing...I mean...What is wrong with your parents?'
I said... 'whhhhhaaaatttttt...?'
She replied; 'Your parents were touching in every shot, I was amazed! I even showed my husband!!!'...
Upon further probing, she elaborated that she was confused about why my Mother and Father (both over 50) are so 'physical' with each other. That is; holding hands in photos, kissing, looking deeply into each other's eyes...*eeewwweeee ewe ewe ewe* ㅎㅎㅎㅎㅎㅎ *cringe*
I asked if this was typical for most Korean parents over 50.
She replied; 'Totally normal'.
(Photo Source: http://www.davidstuff.com/)
So to clarify what the deal was here... my Korean friend had a few questions about my parent's marriage;
'Why do you parents hug in public?'
'Why do your parents appear to like each other?'
So, the fact that my family is still together (albeit in different cities and countries) is defying statistics.
My parents generally taught my brother and I that physical affection is important and my Mother even still holds our hands sometimes... see here (my Mother and younger brother holding hands...);
I hate to generalize yet again...but I think there are some notable differences between Korean marriages and Australian marriages;
* Korean marriages are less about individuals and more about two families combining. Financial and education status are generally more important than sexual compatibility in Korean marriage match-making.
* Korean couples pour 200% of their attention into their children and children's education, which may leave less time for hand-holding, kissing, hugging, and eye-gazing activities.
* Korea is still a relatively conservative society when it comes to public displays of affection, and I have never seen a couple over 35 kissing in public in Korea (although... it might...be possible...).
* My Chinese friends tell me that there is a Chinese belief that having sex over the age of 50 takes years off of your life... some Koreans hold a similar belief that sex after 50 is detrimental to health (but again...probably not all Koreans think like this...surely...).
She told her husband; 'When we are over 50 we are going to hold hands and kiss like Luigina's parents. Ok?'. ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Last week I caught up with my best Korean (female) buddy that I hadn't seen in a while.
It is hard to schedule time to meet her these days because...
a) she got married a few months ago
and
b) I have been doing almost back-to-back trips... non-stop this year.
When we caught up she told me she had been stalking through some of my family vacation photos from Europe (family trip was back in June...) and she said she was really shocked about some of the photos.
????????????????????????????????
I guessed that she was referring to my weird poses... see here...
Luigina straddling a lion in Barcelona...
'Why? There was nothing out of the ordinary, I just got a bit out of control, with the posing'... I commented...
She replied;
'Not the posing...I mean...What is wrong with your parents?'
I said... 'whhhhhaaaatttttt...?'
She replied; 'Your parents were touching in every shot, I was amazed! I even showed my husband!!!'...
Upon further probing, she elaborated that she was confused about why my Mother and Father (both over 50) are so 'physical' with each other. That is; holding hands in photos, kissing, looking deeply into each other's eyes...*eeewwweeee ewe ewe ewe* ㅎㅎㅎㅎㅎㅎ *cringe*
My Korean friend explained that her Korean parents...
~~ do NOT touch...
~~ do NOT kiss...
~~ do NOT have sex...
and
~~ do NOT generally stare deeply into each other's eyes.
(Like this... ;)
~~ do NOT touch...
~~ do NOT kiss...
~~ do NOT have sex...
and
~~ do NOT generally stare deeply into each other's eyes.
(Like this... ;)
I asked if this was typical for most Korean parents over 50.
She replied; 'Totally normal'.
I am not sure if my family is a bit more 'physical' than Korean families... but I could take a leap and say that my Australian family shows a little bit more physical affection than the family of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il...
See here;
So to clarify what the deal was here... my Korean friend had a few questions about my parent's marriage;
'Why do you parents hug in public?'
'Why do your parents appear to like each other?'
Why do your parents kiss in public?
Why do your parents gaze at each other so romantically?
Considering the overly romantic behavior of my parents, you would think that I might be less cynical about marriage...
To be honest... I don't know if my parents have a typical 'Australian marriage'. I don't know if all Australian parents are this affectionate all the time. After graduating from High School in the Australian countryside, many of my friends' parents filed for divorce. A high percentage of my friends from Law School in Sydney also come from a divorced family.
So, the fact that my family is still together (albeit in different cities and countries) is defying statistics.
My parents generally taught my brother and I that physical affection is important and my Mother even still holds our hands sometimes... see here (my Mother and younger brother holding hands...);
I hate to generalize yet again...but I think there are some notable differences between Korean marriages and Australian marriages;
* Korean marriages are less about individuals and more about two families combining. Financial and education status are generally more important than sexual compatibility in Korean marriage match-making.
* Korean couples pour 200% of their attention into their children and children's education, which may leave less time for hand-holding, kissing, hugging, and eye-gazing activities.
* Korea is still a relatively conservative society when it comes to public displays of affection, and I have never seen a couple over 35 kissing in public in Korea (although... it might...be possible...).
* My Chinese friends tell me that there is a Chinese belief that having sex over the age of 50 takes years off of your life... some Koreans hold a similar belief that sex after 50 is detrimental to health (but again...probably not all Koreans think like this...surely...).
I think these slightly disturbing romantic pictures of my parents really inspired my Korean 언니 friend. ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
She told her husband; 'When we are over 50 we are going to hold hands and kiss like Luigina's parents. Ok?'. ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
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