On my mind: K-drama addiction

Ever feel like staying in and taking things easy on a free night? Here is a suggestion: Korean dramas. Korean dramas (K-dramas) are basically Korean-versions of soap operas that last for about 20 episodes. They are extremely popular all throughout Asia, despite the fact that they all basically share the same storyline, with only slight variation from each other.

List of typical plotlines that show up in all K-dramas:
-Rich boy falls in love with a poor girl
-Rich mother-in-law does not approve, so she physically/mentally abuses the poor girl
-A new character (rival, friend) shows up out of nowhere, creates a love triangle
-Car accident, which usually leads to amnesia
-Cancer or any other incurable disease
-Birth secrets revealed, lovers turn out to be long-lost brother and sister
-Happy ending (everyone resolves their problems and become one big happy family)
-Sad ending (someone commits suicide or everyone dies)

Although Korean people know just how ridiculous these Korean dramas are, we somehow end up watching them anyway. So, word of advice - beware, and watch at your own risk. If you are not careful, you can easily become addicted.

On my mind: Language barrier

For Korean-Americans, learning the Korean language is not a choice, but an absolute necessity. It all comes down to the huge language barrier that exists between Korean-Americans and their Korean-speaking parents.

After first-generation Korean parents immigrate to the United States, they work really hard to make a living – averaging around 10 hours a day. And most Korean parents only choose to work with other Koreans, who speak the same language and share the same culture. Even after coming home from work, Korean parents spend the rest of their night watching Korean television shows and dramas; they rarely watch any English programming. This is why Korean parents, no matter how long they have been living in America, struggle to learn English. Also, because Korean parents hate asking for any kind of help or favor (due to pride issues), they shy away from asking their children to teach them English. So in the end, it just has to be the other way around – with second-generation Korean-Americans learning Korean to communicate with their parents, even though they live in America.

Does this sound unfair? Fortunately, second-generation Korean-Americans hold no grudge against this matter. Korean culture teaches children to respect and obey their parents. And in this case, Korean-Americans are willing to accommodate to their parents' ways by learning an extra language other than English. For Korean-Americans, it is a natural way of showing love to their parents.