An Interview With a Korean-American on Cultural Differences

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An Interview With a Korean-American on Cultural Differences

In this interview Ben Bagley asks Theresa Han about the difference between Korean and American culture. Theresa is a teenager who recently moved to the United States so she has an excellent perspective for understanding the differences and similarities between these countries.

[BAGLEY] This is Ben Bagley, and I'm going to interview Theresa Han about Korea. Could you introduce yourself?

[HAN] My name is Theresa Han, I'm from South Korea, I'm 18 years old, and I'm a freshman in College.

[BAGLEY] How long have you lived in America?

[HAN] I think a little bit less than 3 years.

[BAGLEY] Where did you live in Korea?

[HAN] I lived in Pyoung Tek, It's right below Oosan, where the American Air force is located.

[BAGLEY] What were the people like where you lived?

[HAN] They're really busy. Fathers go to their work; Mothers if they have a job go to their work, and students go to school, so they don't have enough time to communicate with each other, like time to spend together, because mostly students come home like 10:00pm-11:00pm.

[BAGLEY] What did you do with your friends?

[HAN] We mostly go to each other's house, rent a movie or something, watch it, and do homework usually, because we have a whole bunch of homework. On the weekends we would go downtown; it's kind of like a shopping mall. It's a street. There are small restaurants, small cloths shops and all that stuff. It was kind of fun, but nothing special I think.

[BAGLEY] What did you do in your free time?

[HAN] Mostly watch TV I guess.

[BAGLEY] What was Korean TV like?

[HAN] Like on Japanese TV they have a whole bunch of dramas, so there are Korean dramas, there is regularly a music program, like 3 music programs on 3 different channels. I mostly watched them, like almost everyday.

[BAGLEY] Was American TV available in Korea?

[HAN] Yeah, there's channel 2, so I know like 'Wheel of Fortune' or whatever. And 'The Simpsons' was on channel 15, it was the educational channel, but ?The Simpsons?Ewas on it in Korean, so I sometimes watched it.

[BAGLEY] And was that dubbed or with subtitles?

[HAN] I think it was dubbed in Korean, because I had never heard how Homer really talks.

[BAGLEY] What is Korean music like?

[HAN] There are a lot of kinds of music. Like rock, like f...

... middle of paper ...

...uitoes.

[BAGLEY] Which country has a greater temperature difference throughout the year?

[HAN] In Korea the summer is so hot, and the winter is so cold. Really cold, so they are so different. In America the temperatures stay closer together, it?s way better.

[BAGLEY] Are there any other big differences between Korea and America?

[HAN] I think the school system, because basically you go there, I went to school usually by 7:30am and came home 7:00pm. But some students stay longer, like even 10:00pm if you are a senior and about to go to college because there is kind of, like parents and teacher think their kids or students should go to college. Like have to go to college. They?re gonna pressure them to study a lot, so when you?re a senior you start to study a lot and you don?t sleep that much. Usually I think some people sleep 3 or 4 hours per day and just study. No free time.

[BAGLEY] And they stay at school and study?

[HAN] ?Till like 10:00pm but after school ends they come home and study like until 2:00am or 3:00am

[BAGLEY] Would it be ok if I publish this interview on the internet?

[HAN] Sure

[BAGLEY] Well, Thank you very much for your time.

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