NoExplode
Joined: 15 Oct 2008
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 Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2008 7:02 pm Post subject: Insight Into Korean Culture |
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Koreans and adjusting to the West...
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/02/sports/golf/02lpga.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=kim%20lpga&st=cse&oref=slogin
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Although Kim speaks English well enough to have been her mother�s interpreter during the tournament, she opted to play it safe. She spoke in Korean while an L.P.G.A. official translated.
And another chance to shine a light on a tour personality was lost in the translation. |
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| Although language has become a primary talking point on the tour, the cultural gap may be wider than any English-speaking policy can bridge. Bivens has since strained relations more by indicating that her plan was also meant to help the South Korean players shake their omnipresent fathers. In a recent interview, she said her goal was to help assimilate the South Korean players into a culture starkly different from their own and to emancipate them from what she characterized as overbearing fathers. |
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| �The language is part of the control the parents have over their young daughters,� Bivens said. �If they don�t even know survival English, they�re totally dependent on the dad.� |
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Later, Christina motioned for a reporter to take the golf cart seat her father, Man Kim, had just vacated.
At the mention of Bivens�s name, Man Kim, who was standing in his daughter�s shadow, leaned into the cart and spoke to her in Korean. He interrupted her repeatedly as they discussed whether she ought to continue.
�Dad,� she said finally, �either you listen or whatever, but don�t do my interview for me.� |
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Some of the fathers turn up the heat, pushing their daughters to practice and berating them when they do not play well. Three caddies who work for them said there were a handful of South Korean players on the Tour who have been ostracized by their compatriots because of their overzealous fathers.
Christina Kim said: �I can understand and appreciate what Carolyn is trying to do in regards to emancipating Korean players from their fathers. However, it is my firm belief that just like in any other culture, one has to go and reclaim their independence, learn who they are as humans in this world, of their own volition. If someone is not ready to leave the comforts of the nest, or they haven�t got the strength to do it, I feel that it is their own choice.� |
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�I ask my mom, �Why me?� � Jang said. � �Why you guys pick me to play golf?� �
She spoke of the pressures that come with being her family�s Chosen One.
�I really appreciate what my dad is doing,� she said. �But think about it. How you�d feel if your dad retires because of you, and your mom is lonely because of you. I don�t want everything to be about me.�
Her father, who explained through an interpreter that he travels with Jang because his presence �keeps her from being lazy,� spoke of the long absences from his wife and two daughters and said he experienced �separation anxiety.� |
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| The pro-ams are like a roving cocktail party, with plus-fours instead of petit fours, and entry fees of $3,500 to $12,000 a person. Coolers around the course are stocked with soda and beer; golf is the ice-breaker for conversation. This kind of socializing is new to the South Koreans, who may even consider it improper. In their culture, it is unusual for young people to mingle with older strangers. |
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