Name a new fact your learned about Korean culture from reading the book

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TheMazeRunner
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Re: Name a new fact your learned about Korean culture from reading the book

Post by TheMazeRunner »

History is not my cup of tea, but there are a few historical facts in the book that I learned while reading it. For example, Korea was under Japan in early years of 20th century.
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Post by Ivy Thuo »

I learned that Korea had a monarchy which led the nation at that point in time.
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Post by Josephe-Anne »

There were so many things I learned while reading this realistic novel. First off, I did not know that Koreans also followed the zodiac calendar. Additionally, I did not know that Korean culture had such a strict social hierarchy.
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Post by Anthony__ »

I learnt about the Yangban way of life. How they are determined to die for what they believe. Also, I noticed that there is a sign omen that accompanies every child at birth.
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Post by prakritisingh »

There were many things that I did not know about Korean culture. I never thought that sometime in history, the situation of women in Korea would be this worse provided the present scenarios. I was not aware that dowry, arranged marriage and other such issues existed in Korea earlier. This book opened my eyes to the real history this world have been hiding for so long.
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kdstrack wrote: 17 Jan 2021, 21:59 I found the details about arranged marriages to be quite interesting. First, they were married at a young age (13 and 14). Second, they had not seen each other previous to the wedding day. (I also enjoyed the detailed descriptions of the dress she wore and the food that was served! It was all very vivid and informative.)
I found it interesting near the end, to see women and families move away from marrying so early and arranged in a way where they didn't know each other. Embon had a flirtation with a woman who would have been happy marrying him, getting to know him slowly and introducing him to her parents. Here she was, and her family too, moving away from the tradition, but for some reason, Embon not wanting to risk the heartache of failing her parents' expectations. Goes to show, these things don't change quickly. It takes courage, no matter who you are in society.
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Post by Ahbed Nadir »

I learnt that in Korean culture unlike most of the world, it's the son that stays with the mother even after they grow up, compared to the rest of the world where the son flies the coop as soon as he reaches adulthood.
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Post by Ahbed Nadir »

I learnt that the Koreans rely heavily on palza or omens . They believe that certain things have certain meanings that are set in stone and cannot be changed no matter what. Their palza shape their lives or their destinies so to speak.
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Post by Ahbed Nadir »

I learnt that Korea's occupation by Japan occurred at matching timelines with WW1. It was a very interesting fact because most people focus on WW1 and the whole Hitler situation without realizing that other countries were also struggling for their independence at the same time.
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Post by Ahbed Nadir »

I learnt about the Yangban culture and beliefs and also that Their names are naturally monosyllabic.
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Post by Intuitive Catalyst »

Claudia DCD wrote: 30 Jan 2021, 14:13
kdstrack wrote: 17 Jan 2021, 21:59 I found the details about arranged marriages to be quite interesting. First, they were married at a young age (13 and 14). Second, they had not seen each other previous to the wedding day. (I also enjoyed the detailed descriptions of the dress she wore and the food that was served! It was all very vivid and informative.)
I found it interesting near the end, to see women and families move away from marrying so early and arranged in a way where they didn't know each other. Embon had a flirtation with a woman who would have been happy marrying him, getting to know him slowly and introducing him to her parents. Here she was, and her family too, moving away from the tradition, but for some reason, Embon not wanting to risk the heartache of failing her parents' expectations. Goes to show, these things don't change quickly. It takes courage, no matter who you are in society.
Agreed but in addition to that children were shunned and severely criticized if they decided to marry someone they loved instead of going the route of an arranged marriage. Embon was aware of this, of course.
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Post by Intuitive Catalyst »

Ivy Thuo wrote: 27 Jan 2021, 10:59 I learned that Korea had a monarchy which led the nation at that point in time.
Yes, that was really interesting and shocking actually because I know the South Korea of today and there is no hint to my untutored eyes of a monarchy ever being in existence.
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Post by zulfiyya »

I did not realize the extent of the sexism. There was one scene in the book where a lady was getting yelled at by her father in law, and her husband did not step in to stop it. Then it was said that the fact that he wasn't backing up his father and yelling at her too was already unlike tradition and meant that he was 'progressive.' It was also interesting to read that even those who were more liberal, rejecting strict cultural rules, were still unable to part from their classic social roles.

Embon's wife, for example. She is much more progressive, but when it comes to big life decisions heavily influenced by traditions like marriage, she still accepts her fate in society.
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Post by Intuitive Catalyst »

Astrological signs were taken seriously at the birth of a child especially if it was a boy. I also had no idea that Japan invaded and ruled South Korea for 30 years; also that Japan forbade the speech and writing of Korean. Everyone had to learn Japanese.
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Post by Liveforchrist51 »

I was sad to learn that in that time, having too many daughters was a shameful thing. I also did not know that who you married decided your fate of social status as well. There were several other interesting educational moments, but those two were the most intriguing to me.
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