Traditions are important in every culture, and as two come together, it’s a lovely thing to combine those cultures and create new traditions. Since the birth of our daughter, my husband and I have been even more conscious about integrating Korean and Canadian aspects into our daily lives, […]
As an intercultural consultant, part of my work involves helping people prepare for life and work overseas. As such, my programs often include a little lesson about culture shock. I do this because people who know about culture shock are better able to identify when they are experiencing […]
While growing up in Canada, I was encouraged and taught to recycle by guest speakers from environmental and government organizations. Recycling was so strongly emphasized during my youth education that even today, as a young adult, I am reluctant to dispose an empty can of pop into a […]
It’s a hat. It’s a scarf. It’s mittens. But most importantly, it’s very good at keeping you warm while looking oh so cool. With current temperatures dipping well into the minus digits in South Korea, a quick wander about the numerous busy streets would no doubt result in the viewing […]
Kwon Ji Sook – J Korean owner and self-proclaimed honorary Newfoundlander – pays attention to the little things: perfectly folded napkins that rest below finely polished metal chopsticks, a decor that’s traditional yet modern, classical music rhythmically filling the delicious-smelling air. Kwon Ji Sook (Julia Kwon) opened J […]
Lady Gaga et Psy peuvent aller se rhabiller. La prochaine vidéo virale pourrait fort bien émaner du girlsband Kpop coréen 2NE1 qui récolte déjà des dizaines de millions de clic sur Youtube. Formé en 2009 seulement, CL, Minzy, Dara et Bom forment un cocktail explosif de musique électronique […]
My 5-year old tossed that question at me from the sofa, where he and his father were having their usual Saturday night hockey time last season. These are the kind of questions that make me pause as a Korean mom living in Canada. Having little memory of […]
(All the graphs and statistical/empirical studies presented below are taken from Alexandre Gauthier & Katie Meredith, “Canadian Trade and Investment Activity: Canada-South Korea”, (Ottawa: Library of Parliament Research Publication, August 15, 2011), online: <http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/LOP/ResearchPublications/2011-14-e.htm>). As a reminder, I ended my last blog with discussion of Korea-Canada trade in goods. We […]
I arrived in Canada in 1976, greeted by my Canadian family, composed of my mother, a homemaker, and my father, a mechanical engineer, both in their late-20s, and my two brothers, who were four and eight at the time. I, along with a handful of other Korean babies […]
Cette semaine, j’ai demandé à plusieurs personnes qui demeurent au Québec ce qu’elles connaissaient de la culture coréenne. Au total plus de 100 personnes ont répondu à cette question, la plupart à travers mes médias sociaux, le reste à travers des connaissances et […]
Jazz legend Dave Brubeck died today, just one day before his 92nd birthday. I have had the privilege of having been absolutely mesmerized by his performance at the Toronto Jazz Festival a few years ago. I remember hearing about how Mikhail Gorbachev was seen tapping his fingers to […]
Being born, raised and currently living my teenage years here in Canada has given me the opportunity to diversify my interests. A common interest myself and many of my friends have is Kpop, to be more general, the Hallyu Wave, also referred to as the Korean Wave. When I first […]
Outside of my English-speaking circle of friends, through a cluster of Indian and Pakistani merchants, over a bridge, and due north, can be found a patch of Korean shops and services known in Metro Vancouver as “Koreatown”. It stretches down both sides of North Road, hemmed in by […]
With pleasant cheers of encouragement, the audience breaks into rapturous applause as the athletes grandly enter the stadium. Each player has different appearance, different personality, and different background, but they have one thing in common: a small flag on their chest.
Thanks to the Korean embassy, I had the honour of participating in the Conference centre where the Korean and Canadian Prime Ministers gave speeches in celebration of the 50th anniversary of bilateral relations between the two countries. It was a high profile event, attended by the Prime Ministers of each coutry, Chief Justice of […]
Your passenger flight finally arrives in Korea. After reaching upwards into the flight cabinet to grab your carry-on luggage, you are ready to disembark the aircraft. While passing through the sky bridge, one can see dozens of other aircraft from various worldwide corporations parked at nearby exit gates. […]
What would be that one essential item you would bring to the deserted island? Predictably, this is a question the casts of the reality TV show Survivor get asked for their profile pages all the time. Of course, their deserted island isn’t quite so Robinson Crusoe, so answers […]
The story of how I quite literally stumbled upon the Hwa Gye Sa temple and International Zen Centre is cliche. It’s so cliche that I almost didn’t share it with you. But then I remembered the happiness and joy that resulted from my visits, so here goes. If […]
As I hold my baby for 13 hours on a flight, I think to myself: it’s a long, long way to Korea. It is hard to dispute that – the total distance from Vancouver (Canada’s Pacific-most major city) to Seoul amounts to over 8,000 kms (just about 5,000 […]
It’s not exactly unusual to see at least one English speaking member of a KPOP group—in fact, I have a hard time naming more than two or three without one. To Korean companies, it seems like the USA is a goldmine of Asian-American talent. It’s easy to see […]
