Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
When culture shock strikes, spare no effort or expense in making yourself happy.
Often it's your body and mind's way of telling you they need a healthy dose of the
very familiar. Make a few long-distance calls to old friends, get on the Internet to
seek out favorite music, TV shows, or movies, or splurge on that long-anticipated
Italian or Indian meal. Visit an expatriate stomping ground like Seoul's Itaewon dis-
trict to stock up on home comforts and mingle with some fellow foreigners, or go the
other way and spend a couple of days in the countryside collecting your thoughts.
Some find studying something local—the Korean language,
seon
meditation, or mar-
tial arts—helps rekindle their affection for the country. Whatever you decide on, get-
ting out and doing something is key. Sitting at home reflecting on all the things you
dislike about your new home is unlikely to improve your state of mind.
Taking kids to the grocery store can be a trial, never mind moving halfway around the
world, so be prepared for plenty of doubts—those voiced by others, and a few of your
own—when you make the decision to move your entire family to South Korea. It is a monu-
mental decision, and it's almost inevitable you'll hit some rough patches along the way, but
there are very few expatriate families who take the plunge and decide they're worse off for
it. Kids, like their parents, are bound to miss some aspects of home, but they will also find
plenty of things to appreciate about South Korean life, from the new friends they'll make to
the abundance of kid-friendly activities and entertainment. In fact, in many ways, the coun-
try is more child-centric than the West. South Korea, and indeed Asia, is also very much a
place on the move, and early exposure to the region's customs, culture, and languages can
help build a foundation of experience that will serve them well later.
Children are unlikely to know much about this strange far-off place they're being shipped
away to, so it's important that parents make at attempt to introduce them to South Korea
to encourage them to view the move more positively and address a few of the concerns
they'll inevitably have. Unfortunately, because the country doesn't occupy the same prom-
inence in the Western imagination as, say, China or Japan, there's less material on it out
there, especially things geared toward kids. But enough should be available on the Internet
