Children's Day...what a nice idea...

Yesterday was Children's Day here in South Korea. It is a day that children are given a reprieve from the responsibilities of their stressful little lives. Some kids get presents...money, toys, Wii's...the usual. Some kids take family vacations. A few kids don't do anything special. I went for a walk at a nearby park, trying to get some sunshine and exercise, though I soon found the exercise bit was going to be harder than I had at first imagined. When Koreans have a holiday, they go outside. I am sure a lot of them also go to the mall, and to the movies, but for the most part - they are at parks, in the mountains, on the beach, on islands, you name it. My walk at the park became instead an obstacle course (getting around bikes, strollers, kites, rollerblades)and an observation of people - both of which were quite enjoyable.

As a westerner in South Korea, it is easy to pick apart various parts of the culture, mostly because in many ways it is vastly different from my own. I don't agree with sending children to hagwon after hagwon in pursuit of the highest test score, or with allowing children to sacrifice sleep, friendships, play, a childhood, in the name of getting ahead. But, again, I am not Korean, and I was not raised with the value system that exists in South Korea. So, rather than focusing only on what I don't agree with, I have spent a significant amount of time looking at the things I, and my western ideals, could learn a thing or two about. Korea is a healthier country, by far, than America. Koreans value eating healthy, exercising, family structure, elders in the community, hard work. They really teach their children, they take the responsibility of being a parent seriously, they value the environment, they are proud of who they are, they still subscribe to many of their traditions, and they don't steal. And on Children's Day, you really get to see family life.

This was not my first walk through parks here, and I have always been amazed by the same things every time I observe the way people interact. It is different than at home. I really feel that when people are at the park here, relaxing with the family, that is where they really are. They aren't worrying about what they have to do at the office, or if their children are going to be first on the monthly test, or what they are going to make for dinner, or how they are possibly going to get through a whole afternoon without updates from SportsCenter. Now, I am sure some people are thinking those very thoughts, but for the most part, people are just happy, enjoying their families, something that often seems to be in short supply in the States. I see whole families together, dad's playing with babies, nonchalantly pushing strollers to nowhere in particular. Pregnant women with their husbands carrying their shoes and bag. Couples sleeping together under a tree. A little girl teaching her younger brother how to hold the flowers she picked for him. Grandparents walking with their grandchildren, entire families biking together, playing badminton together. Everywhere. Hundreds of people. Just out to have a good day. We could use a little more of that back home.

It is interesting to look at the place you come from through the eyes of a person far removed. Looking at America through the eyes of Korea, I see that we are unhealthy, we are stressed, we are often violent. Some of us are uber-productive ALL of the time, and some of us are leeching off of a system that doesn't work. We are divided, confused, defensive, tired, disenchanted. Yet we are still pushing forward, putting one foot in front of the other, and hoping against all hope that there is a brighter future. We are at a cross-road, struggling to find an identity that encompasses cultures that are as diverse as the entire world, and not at all sure that the American Dream exists anymore. We are grappling with the question that if the American Dream no longer exists, what is to become of the "New World"? I love many things about Korea, but with all its flaws, I still love America. Maybe Children's Day would help us realize that sometimes...it really is just all about the family.