OT: Korean Ferry disaster

[kato13]

Originally Posted by Schone23666

And on a more personal note, it's probably partly why my mother's family disowned her when she married an American. Having their daughter marry a foreigner to them was apparently a disgrace to them and the family.

That is a very sad factor in their culture. I believe things have gotten better recently, but that does not change the past.

[Schone23666]

Originally Posted by kato13

That is a very sad factor in their culture. I believe things have gotten better recently, but that does not change the past.

I think the attitudes have changed somewhat over time, but it all really depends on who you talk to.

It's funny when I think about it...my mother grew up in the aftermath of the Korean War near Kunsan and married my father who was stationed over there during the Vietnam conflict (Dad worked in munitions, there was a joke that if you saw him running away from something, follow his ass quick), who was naturalized American but was raised by a German family who migrated to America. Said German relatives stayed behind in Germany and found themselves on the Eastern side of the Berlin Wall during the Cold War and we were finally able to reunite with them in the 90's after it all came down. So, I had blood relations in two Cold War hotspots...one former, another still ongoing. Funny that.

I remember watching the Wall being torn down live on TV with my father, and him saying wistfully, "If only your grandfather was still here to see this."