Korea reading 5 - Norimitsu Onishi, Goodbye to Dad

[Rob_Hugo@PortNW]

Globalization:

Norimitsu ONISHI, “For English Studies, Koreans Say Goodbye to Dad,” New York Times, June 8, 2008.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/08/world/asia/08geese.html
Accessed July 13, 2009.

[Anonymous]

Once again, this idea of total and utter devotion to studies and education actually pricks a weird part of me.
As I am reading about the great lengths that Koreans will go to for education, I am thinking, "Yeah! I would do that too! I would totally jump on that train and ride to the end! To the hilt!" I too, would so get into the kind of greed where you tick off each minor accomplishment, each good test score.
It's a part of me that is kind of OCD, kind of perfectionistic, competitive, and strong. My will can be very strong and this appeals to that part of me. I momentarily forget about my other strong beliefs as in the need for; balance, physical fitness, social connection, spiritual fulfillment, family bonds, creative free play....etc etc, you know- the things that make life worth living!
To leave your family for better opportunities is something MANY of my students understand first hand. Would they understand doing it for the goal of entry into an elite university? That is a good question to pose. Is it a question of degree? Do you have to draw the line somewhere, sometime? Where? When?
I can relate to Dr. Kim who sent his kids abroad. His own father worked so hard, he never spent time with Dr. Kim, so now he is comfortable with a rather estranged and emotionally bereft relationship with his own children. Many people in America are grappling with the effects of absentee fathers and asking- "was it worth it?" and "Can't there be some middle ground?" [Edit by="price on May 16, 10:37:03 AM"][/Edit]
[Edit by="price on May 16, 10:38:17 AM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

In high school I had a few Asian friends (mainly Korean and Japanese) who lived in America with their moms and their dads lived overseas. They were all born here and were planning on going to college here, living here ect. But their dads still basically lived and worked overseas. As my friends got older, their moms would sometimes leave for months at a time, leaving these older high school students alone to fend for themselves. Their parents did what they thought was best to give their children the best. [Edit by="katkins on May 24, 12:45:15 PM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

This article was very interesting. The dedication to education is no less than remarkable, and as an teacher I obviously value learning. It seems there is an insatiable thirst for opportunity, maybe more so than education, arguably this is equally commendable. However, I can't imagine living apart from my family for the sake of opportunity, unless or survival depended on it. Not sure if this response is a result of my cultural values, privilege, and/or naivete'. I do appreciate the dedication to greatness. And wish we could spend more time, and money educating students here. If the education system in S. Korea is seen as rigid are there movements to reform it within S. Korea? Is the education system the way it is because of national interests? Could more of top tier schools be opened? It seems the demand is there.
What is the rate of return with those who study? In other words do most children who study abroad return home to reap the benefits of their education, and spend their lives in Korea? How much does an average family spend to educate their young children abroad? Are only the rich able to do this? Within Korean culture is there a perceived loss of quality of life or are benefits of education and professional opportunity a worthy reward?

[Anonymous]

In my role as a counselor in the education system, I attempt to find the root cause for the lack of motivation in students. There are many reasons for this, we are all individuals, but there are some common causes, because we are, after all, human beings with like passions, desires, and needs.
This story reminds me of an all too familiar cause for adolescent emotional pain. A child and also the adolesents need the role of father and mother in their lives. Not just the role, they seem to require the actual biological person of the parent, not just the figure, like a stepfather. Without the parents, both of them, in their lives, the young person develops dysfunctionally. I don't have first hand knowledge of every young person in the world, of course, but I have seen this happen so many times that I feel confident that this insight is correct.

[Anonymous]

40,000 South Korean school children are believed to be schooled outside of South Korea due to the rigid school system. This is just extreme. If this many parents are unhappy with the school system there, then they should stand up and protest instead of separating families over it. Instead, mothers are moving to the United States or New Zealand, creating a financial strain of supporting two house holds. What's worse is that South Korean women cannot work outside of South Korea because of Visa restrictions. Fathers visit their families occasionally seeing that they have the financial burden of supporting everyone and funneling the cost of traveling back and forth.
So once these children have completed their education, do they go back to South Korea? And seeing how America is vastly different, how do they re-assimilate?

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