Korean Job Discussion Forums

Koreabound2004 · Joined: 19 Nov 2003

Has anyone noticed that there are A LOT of families in SK that have this set up? I find it strangely odd that so many people can have this "perfect family." Comments...?? Has anyone else noticed this?

shortskirt_longjacket · Posted: Tue Sep 14, 2004 12:31 am Post subject:

actually, more of my students come from households that have two children of the same gender. only three or four of my students have the "one girl one boy" household.

two children seems to be the norm, however. only a few only children and none in my school that come from a family of three or more children.

Ya-ta Boy · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Location: Established in 1994

It is not an optical illusion. Wink

A significant share of them occur after an abortion or two to insure that the second child is a boy if the first born is a girl.

I have known quite a few boys who have 3 or 4 or even 5 older sisters.

peppergirl · Joined: 07 Dec 2003

schwa · Joined: 18 Jan 2003 Location: Yap

If a family has 3 kids, its a near-certainty they were born girl, girl, boy.

dutchman · Joined: 23 Jan 2003 Location: My backyard

Ya-ta Boy · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Location: Established in 1994

Ody · Joined: 27 Jan 2003 Location: over here

we too have the "perfect" setup.
'would like another to make it three if my husband will carry it.

dutchman · Joined: 23 Jan 2003 Location: My backyard

Koreabound2004 · Joined: 19 Nov 2003

I am referring to Koreans, not to foreigners who have kids in Korea or with Koreans. I am not implying anything, just making an observation. I assumed that there were abortions being performed, as it seems unlikely that this many families would have 1 son and 1 daughter naturally. There had to be some intervention. I have met so many Koreans now who seem to have this ideal family, and so I wondered...and thought I would ask, before discussing my own assumptions.

Rather_Dashing · Joined: 07 Sep 2004

I wouldn't call it a "perfect setup"... after all, your children aren't going to have sex with each other.

TJ · Joined: 10 Mar 2003

I'm Australian. When introducing myself to new students and I tell them that I have 2 sons and 2 daughters they all sit up and say "ooooooooohhh". When I tell them I have 3 grand sons and 3 grand daughters they all say "ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh".
It's all very amusing.

Incidentally, it just happened that the boys arrived first. But, I guess some of my students may be wondering if the girls came first and we just kept trying until we had 2 sons..

kelly · Joined: 31 Jan 2003 Location: Seoul

They are getting pretty strict on not disclosing the sex of the children before birth here. Even in the International clinics, our doctor would not tell us the sex of our little baby, but she did give us the pretty obvious scans so we could work it out for ourselves. Her explanation wasn't so much about people getting abortions in order to have the perfect family. She said that when mothers found out that there baby was a boy the went outside of Korea to give birth so as the child would no have to serve in the ROK army......