Korean Job Discussion Forums

Real Reality · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Location: Seoul

Korean Children Have Won Signs in their Eyes
What elementary school students like most about the lunar New Year is money, a survey by Edumoa showed. The education website for children said 46.8 percent of the ominously numbered 14,666 members who responded to the survey cited cash gifts as the chief reason why it was their favorite holiday. Some 29.4 percent said they liked the holiday because it allowed them to meet relatives or friends, while 5 percent said it was because they did not have to go to school. Another 4.6 percent cited going on a trip or picnic, and a gourmet minority of 3.7 percent cited the good food.
Park Won-su, Chosun Ilbo (February 1, 2005)
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200502/200502010025.html

Do you think the desire for money starts early in Korea?

jaganath69 · Joined: 17 Jul 2003

what they NEED is a good swift kick in the backside.

Cheers

Jaga

Cthulhu · Joined: 02 Feb 2003

I'm so glad their far less mercenary counterparts in the West only want cell phones, X-Boxes, Ipods and other expensive toys for Christmas.

Unlike their Korean counterparts they are so well adjusted and anti-materialistic these days. Laughing

McNasty · Joined: 04 Jul 2003

peemil · Joined: 09 Feb 2003 Location: Koowoompa

Welcome back...

Swiss James · Joined: 26 Nov 2003 Location: Shanghai

Kids' favourite part of Easter is the chocolate, favourite part of Christmas is the presents, they're essentially selfish creatures.

What were you expecting them to say?
"I really like bowing in uncomfortable clothes in front of my grandparents"?

phaedrus · Joined: 13 Nov 2003 Location: I'm comin' to get ya.

dogbert · Joined: 29 Jan 2003 Location: Killbox 90210

Considering that cash actually is the traditional New Year's gift for children, what's your point?

You're supposed to use a hiatus/sabbatical to come up with good material.

peppermint · Posted: Thu Feb 03, 2005 8:33 pm Post subject:

Considering that Korean holidays sound like rather joyless affairs, it's hard to blame them for being about the money. That said, when I asked some students about thier favorite holiday today, they said Chuseok not Seollal. ( as far as I know, they don't get presents at Chuseok)

billybrobby · Joined: 09 Dec 2004

yeah, isn't cash THE traditional gift at lunar New Year? so of course they'll take cash.

oh...wait...the point of the story is that they like getting the cash more than hanging their parents. not that they want cash over video games or something else.

seems like people aren't reading your posts carefully, Real Reality. I'd hate to know what percentage of people actually read the whole article. or maybe that statistic is somehow actually IN the article. i wouldn't know. didn't read it.

Swiss James · Joined: 26 Nov 2003 Location: Shanghai

dogbert · Joined: 29 Jan 2003 Location: Killbox 90210

tzechuk · Joined: 20 Dec 2004

When I was little and living in Hong Kong, we got lai see (those red pockets) for the lunar new year. Lai See has money in it. Normally family members give more and friends give less. We were taught not to open the pockets in front of the giver and take them home before we could open them. We would get given a piggy bank before the holiday season and were told to put away most of it in the piggy bank and could only spend, perhaps, 10% of what we got on sweets and stuff we wanted to buy for ourselves. I remember my mother checking our piggy banks every night to make sure we had put away the money.

The point of what I wrote above?

We always looked forward to the lunar new year for precisely the same reason kids do now - money!! Well, the sweets and other food were pretty good too.. much like Christmas. Razz