My final topic

My final topic is about the behavior of men toward women in Vietnam in the past and nowadays.
Nowadays, Vietnamese culture and society has changed a lot comparing to it used to be 10 years ago. Vietnamese people, Vietnamese culture and society are becoming Americanize now. That is the reason why I chose this topic.

Review of interview 3

My scorecard

The top three interviews are
1) Chancelvie Louzolo (20 points)
One more time, I found it very interesting to review Chancelvie's interview. She did such a great job on the third interview about my home country, Vietnam. Her interviewee is even from the same city that I am from, Hanoi. The interview remind me of my coutry a lot. The information that was given in the interview was great.
2) Donald Akroman (19 points)
The interview about Nepal was did in details by Donald. He asked the interviewee a lot of questions about Nepal and got all the answers that he needed.
3) Thanh Dao (19 points)
The interview about China was really good to be reviewed. There are a lot of the similar information as the interview that I did on my first interview.

Review of interview 2

My scorecard

The top three interviews are
1) Donald Akroman (20 points)
The interview about Nepal that Donald did help me understand more about the country Nepal. The country reports containted most of the important information about Nepal and the interview was done in details.
2) Chancelvie Louzolo (20 points)
Again, Chancelvie did such a good job on the interview about India. I am very interested in reading the country reports and the interview transcripts. I have known pretty much nothing about India, but after reviewing Chancelvie 2nd interview, I have learned a lot about India. She asked the interviewee a lot of questions and got all the answers detaily.
3) Gerry Jonathan (19 points)
Gerry's interview about Germany was very helpful to me. All the information about Germany's education, food, tradition are contained in his interview detaily.

3rd interview- Japan

Interview Preparation

My interviewee name is Azusa Nishimura. Azusa is the friend of my best friend, Tung. She is Japanese and she is now a senior at St. Cloud State University. Few days ago, I asked Tung if he has any Japanese friends because I have to do an interview about Japan for my English class. After that, Tung introduced Azusa to me. Tung and Azasa met each other in an international organization. I got Azusa’s number from Tung. I asked Azusa if I can interview her and she said “Of course.” We decided to meet each other in Caribou, Atwood Memorial Center at 4:00 pm on Friday, November 9^th. The interview lasted for 50 minutes. I asked Azusa questions about herself and about her home country, Japan. The interview went well. I recorded the interview by my cell phone.

Interview Report

The interview between Azusa and I lasted for 50 minutes, started at 4:00 pm and ended at 4:50 pm. I started the interview with the greeting; followed by the questions about her daily life, her decision to study abroad, and so on. I asked Azusa all the eleven questions required questions about Japanese traditions, Japanese music, Japanese foods, Japanese education and other questions that I wanted to asked her. Azusa answered all the questions in details. During the interview, few friends of Azusa came over and talked to her. There was also a guy who asked us some questions for his Public Relation class. I was surprised that Azusa was a senior in high school as an exchange student in Oregon before she came to St. Cloud State University. She has been to the United States for 5 years. After this year, Azusa will graduate and then she will come back to Japan and work. I also surprised that Azusa is from a small city, which is 7 hours from the capital of Japan, Tokyo and 2 hours from the second biggest city, Osaka. In addition, I surprised that Japan does not use Lunar Calendar like other Asian countries. Japan uses the same calendar with the United States of America. Japanese Culture and Vietnamese Culture (my home country) are very similar. Japanese and Vietnamese have very alike traditional and educational system.

Country Report

My third country report is about Japan. Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south. The characters that make up Japan's name mean "sun-origin", which is why Japan is sometimes referred to as the "Land of the Rising Sun".

Japan is an archipelago of 6,852 islands. The four largest islands are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku, together comprising about ninety-seven percent of Japan's land area. Japan has the world's tenth-largest population, with over 127 million people. Honshu’s Greater Tokyo Area, which includes the de facto capital city of Tokyo and several surrounding prefectures, is the largest metropolitan area in the world, with over 30 million residents.

A major economic power, Japan has the world's third-largest economy by nominal GDP and by purchasing power parity. It is also the world's fourth-largest exporter and fourth-largest importer. Although Japan has officially renounced its right to declare war, it maintains a modern military with the sixth largest military budget, used for self-defense and peacekeeping roles. After Singapore, Japan has the lowest homicide rate (including attempted homicide) in the world. According to Japan's health ministry, Japanese women have the second highest life expectancy of any country in the world. According to the United Nations, Japan also has the third lowest infant mortality rate.

More than 99 percent of the population speaks Japanese as their first language. Japanese is an agglutinative language distinguished by a system of honorifics reflecting the hierarchical nature of Japanese society, with verb forms and particular vocabulary indicating the relative status of speaker and listener. Japanese writing uses kanji (Chinese characters) and two sets of kana (syllabifies based on simplified Chinese characters), as well as the Latin alphabet and Arabic numerals.

Primary schools, secondary schools and universities were introduced in 1872 as a result of the Meiji Restoration. Since 1947, compulsory education in Japan comprises elementary and middle school, which together last for nine years (from age 6 to age 15). Almost all children continue their education at a three-year senior high school, and, according to the MEXT, as of 2005 about 75.9 percent of high school graduates attend a university, junior college, trade school, or other higher education institution.

The two top-ranking universities in Japan are the University of Tokyo and Kyoto University. The Programme for International Student Assessment coordinated by the OECD currently ranks the overall knowledge and skills of Japanese 15-year-olds as sixth best in the world.

About music, Japanese music is eclectic and diverse. Many instruments, such as the koto, were introduced in the 9th and 10th centuries. The accompanied recitative of the Noh drama dates from the 14th century and the popular folk music, with the guitar-like shamisen, from the sixteenth. Western classical music, introduced in the late 19th century, now forms an integral part of Japanese culture. The imperial court ensemble Gagaku has influenced the work of some modern Western composers.

Notable classical composers from Japan include Toru Takemitsu and Rentarō Taki. Popular music in post-war Japan has been heavily influenced by American and European trends, which has led to the evolution of J-pop, or Japanese popular music.

Japan enjoys full religious freedom based on Article 20 of its Constitution. Upper estimates suggest that 84–96 percent of the Japanese population subscribe to Buddhism or Shinto, including a large number of followers of a syncretism of both religions. However, these estimates are based on people affiliated with a temple, rather than the number of true believers. Other studies have suggested that only 30 percent of the population identify themselves as belonging to a religion. According to Edwin Reischauer and Marius Jansen, some 70–80% of the Japanese regularly tell pollsters they do not consider themselves believers in any religion.

Nevertheless, the level of participation remains high, especially during festivals and occasions such as the first shrine visit of the New Year. Taoism and Confucianism from China have also influenced Japanese beliefs and customs. Japanese streets are decorated on Tanabata, Obon and Christmas. Less than one percent of Japanese are Christian. Other minority religions include Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism, and Judaism, and since the mid-19th century numerous new religious movements have emerged in Japan.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan

Image Source:

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=japan&um=1&hl=en&sa=N&tbo=d&biw=1230&bih=604&tbm=isch&tbnid=hSXclDKPoqnIlM:&imgrefurl=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ja.html&docid=QAziMpZuOewMvM&imgurl=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/graphics/flags/large/ja-lgflag.gif&w=451&h=302&ei=JpygUMuQIYbJyAHgqoCoDw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=4&vpy=189&dur=1392&hovh=184&hovw=274&tx=155&ty=123&sig=104032491894295845661&page=1&tbnh=132&tbnw=201&start=0&ndsp=19&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0,i:140

Transcription

Me: My name is Trang and I am from Vietnam.

Azusa: Okay. My name is Azusa. I am from Japan.

Me: Can you write down your name?

Azusa: Yes, sure. Ha-ha. This is my first name, Azusa. Do you need my last name? No?

Me: Yes, I do.

Azusa: Okay. (Writing down her last name, Nishimura)

Me: Okay, thank you. So how long have you been to the United States?

Azusa: United States? Totally, it is 5 years. First year, I was a high school student in Oregon and I went back to Japan. I came to Seattle for 2 years and I transfer to here for 2 years.

Me: So the first year in Oregon, were you an exchange student?

Azusa: Right. Right.

Me: And then you went to community college in Seattle?

Azusa: Right.

Me: Which one did you go to?

Azusa: I went to Green River Community College. I know one of my friends from Vietnam. There are so many people from Vietnam too.

Me: I have some friends from North Seattle Community College, South Seattle Community College, and Seattle Central Community College.

Azusa: Oh really? They are famous Community College. One student here that I met, I think she is from Vietnam.

Me: Is her name Duyen? D-U-Y-E-N?

Azusa: I am not sure about her name, but she has short hair and she has a brother as well, I think.

Me: Yes, I just took a test with her because we have the same class.

Azusa: Okay, that is cool.

Me: Okay. So I will start with the first question. What city are you from in Japan?

Azusa: I am from Mie, which is near from Osaka. Osaka is in the South and it is not Tokyo. Tokyo, it takes me 7 hours to get there by bus. If you fly, it just takes one hour. I am from the South.

Me: Okay. What is the value of family in Japan?

Azusa: Oh, that is really important. I think family is really important for me. Friends are also important. The value? Can you give me an example?

Me: In your tradition, are your parents…

Azusa: My parents’ pay for my education. Here in US, they pay for their education themselves. I think they have so many responsibilities. My parents will raise me until I graduate from the university. I don’t know. What else?

Me: So your parents will pay for you until you get a job?

Azusa: Oh not until I get a job, just until my graduation. People stay with their parents. If they want to go to Tokyo, then they go to Tokyo, or Osaka, or something like that. If they can afford their living fees and everything, they won’t send you money. Usually, they will stay together until they graduate.

Me: Are you going back to Japan or are you going to stay in the United States after graduation?

Azusa: Okay this is my last year, so I really have to think about it. The thing is, I am trying to apply for the internship. After that, I am thinking that I will go back to Japan.

Me: So are you going to do a Master Degree after that?

Azusa: No, I am not. Right now, I don’t think about it. I am going to work right now, so… Ha-ha.

Me: What is your major now?

Azusa: International Business.

Me: Okay. So the second question, what is your family structure like?

Azusa: Oh okay, like my mom, my dad, my younger brother, and me. And I have two pets. I have two dogs at home.

Me: So who is the head of the house?

Azusa: My father. It is kind of culture I think. Father is really important because he is making money for us, he is supporting for living. We tried to eat together all the time, in the morning, especially for the dinner. For lunch, he works. If he is late, we will wait until he comes home.

Me: Your father goes to work, does he give the money to your mother to buy stuffs?

Azusa: Yes, that is right. My mom also works for him, in the same business. But she is usually at home. I think my mom has the power for the financial thing. You know… when dad does not know how much money do we have. My dad is making money and my mom is trying to keep track of the money.

Me: Yeah. So the third question, does gender matter in a family?

Azusa: I think the women do the housework. My dad sometimes has the relaxing time because he is tired at work. He wants to take a rest. My mom usually does the clean up, does the laundry, makes the food for us. I don’t really see my dad clean up my room. Oh not my room, but the house. My room is my responsibility; I just do it by myself. My mom is kind of try to clean up kitchen, living room.

Me: Yeah. Some questions about the culture, how does your home country culture different from the US culture?

Azusa: I think it is totally different. I think it is totally opposite. I don’t know, there are so many things. For example, people in Japan do not talk to each other randomly. When you take a bus, you don’t take to a random guy or random girls like “Oh, you look nice” or something like that. We are not going to talk. What else? I think customer service over there (Japan) is so much better. When I came here, wow, it is so bad for the customer services. They are just, of my god, just throw things. They don’t really give it to you. They just throw it to you. Wow, customer services over here suck. What else? For example, here, classroom setting is different. In Japan, if I meet a friend in class, we will stay together. Outside class, we want to hang out more. But here, I made a friend in class. I know she is busy, but we don’t really hang out outside. Inside the class, we are friends, but outside, we are nothing. When I said “Hi” to her, she didn’t really know or she didn’t even notice. For me, in Japanese culture, family and friends are stronger than here.

Me: In Japan, when you go to school, can student pick the subject that they wanted to study like in the United States, or does the school tell you what to study?

Azusa: The high school, we have required classes that we just need to follow. But for universities, we can take whatever we wanted. You also have to decide the major before you get into. So that is the thing different from here. In here, you can gradually choose your major. In Japan, you have to know what you want to focus on in your freshman year. If I am going for an English major, they will have certain classes that I have to take. Others than that, classes are flexible, I can decide which class I want to study.  It is not really free like here, you know.

Me: In Vietnam, we have the same thing with Japan, I think. We cannot really choose what we want to study.

Azusa: Oh okay. Ha-ha.

Me: There are a lot of subjects that I did not want to study, but I still had to study. What are the highlights in your cultures? What things will make people immediately think about your country?

Azusa: I think people care about you. I know, Japanese, they are really shy. But they are really crazy at the same time. If you get to know them, they are really open and they really care about you. I think it takes time to open their mind. When you get to know them, they are so crazy. It is kind of fun. People try to understand what they are thinking as well. In here (United States), you have to say what you are thinking. In Japan, we kind of get to know what you are thinking when you are not saying it.

Me: Yes, I know. If you don’t like something, you won’t say it. In here, if people don’t like something, they just say, “I don’t like it, I don’t want it.”

Azusa: Yes, that is right. Sometimes it is good, but sometimes, it is not good though. Sometimes, people may unclear about what you are thinking. But still, I think people are interested in it.

Me: So… is Tokyo the biggest city in Japan?

Azusa: Yes. It is the capital so it has modern technology. Osaka, the second biggest city, is both traditional and modern at the same time. That is more mixtures. First time, my friend wanted to go to Tokyo. But later, after they went there, they was like “Oh, I wanted to go to other places.” I think cities, or capitals are kind of the same everywhere. You know… New York.

Me: Yes, there are a lot of people. It is just… too much people.

Azusa: Yes, and Seoul is kind of the same like Tokyo.

Me: Yeah. So what is your hometown and where do you live? I think I asked you before, but can you write down the name of your hometown?

Azusa: Okay, sure. (Writing down Mei, her hometown)

Me: So you have been living here for the whole life?

Azusa: Yes, that is right.

Me: Could you tell me a little about the city?

Azusa: The city is really small like here (St. Cloud) but there are so many transportations such as trains and buses. You can go everywhere anytime. It is not like twice an hour. It works every ten minutes or so. It is not really inconvenience even it is a small town.

Me: Do you guys have subway in your town?

Azusa: We do… No, it is a train. We don’t have a subway in my cities. But we have the trains all the time to go to the big cities, you know. There is also a supermarket near by my house. I need to have a car though, if I wanted to go to somewhere else.

Me: Do you know how many people are there in your city?

Azusa: I don’t know how many right now. I can check and I can give you the answer later.

Me: Oh, I can Google it too. And how a young person considered troublemaker in Japan?

Azusa: How do I think? I think they are really troublemaker. Ha-ha.

Me: What make you think that they are troublemaker? Troublemaker is just a not good person.

Azusa: The kids who are just loud in the public.

Me: They talked loudly?

Azusa: They just think about themselves, like “I’m the best”. I think it is the habits for the young generations everywhere, I guess. Especially high school students, when they try to get a train to go to their high school in a different city, I noticed that they talk really loud. They are so loud. I think I was like that when I was a high school student as well. I didn’t tell others but I am just thinking by myself. For the little kid, when they are bullying and fighting each other, I see them as troublemaker.

Me: What do you think about the music culture in your country? Is it significant in your country?

Azusa: Music? It is really big. Actually, right now, it is more J-pop. I think it is kind of Westernize. I think everywhere become Westernize, I guess. They are sexier; they show how sexy they are. R&B is also famous. Country music is kind of a slow one, you know. I think a lot of people like R&B and J-pop. Right now, K-pop is the biggest one. A lot of K-pop group came to Japan. They are hitting Japan as well. I think we have famous music from foreign as well.

Me: Like Big Bang, Super Junior?

Azusa: Yeah, and Kara, and Girls Generations.

Me: So do you think K-pop and J-pop is kind of similar?

Azusa: Yes, it is like the same. Do you know AKB?

Me: No, I don’t.

Azusa: I can just write down. (Writing down AKB). AKB is a really big group right now. I am a big fan of them. They are just like Girls Generation.

Me: Oh, so they are girls group? Not boy group?

Azusa: Just girls. Yeah. The mid-thirty people kind of like the younger girls. For me, it is kind of “No, no, not really.” You know.

Me: Is marriage important that everyone in Japan pursue?

Azusa: I guess yes. It is changing I think. The age that we are getting married is getting older, compare to my mom’s generation, my grandma’s generation. Right now, my generation is getting married at the late age.

Me: How old?

Azusa: 29 or 30.

Me: Is that for boys or for girls?

Azusa: For both. The girls tend to get married at early age like 22 or 24. Some of my friends get married very soon, like after they graduate from high school. For the whole Japan, I think they are getting married in the late age. I know they want to get married, but we are worry that, they have a little money, and it will cost to raise the kids. I think people care about that too. They want to get their certain job first, and they want to have more money security, you know.

Me: Okay. Is there still gender or race discrimination in your country?

Azusa: I guess so. Comparing to here, especially for gender. For the girls, at working place, women and men should have equal rights. In here, the company give you break when you have the baby, even for men. But in Japan, only the women can get the break. It is getting better though. Comparing to here, I can see more different. Men are higher than women. And also, back in Japan, I saw a lot of Chinese in Osaka, which is a big city. I didn’t see a lot of them 4 or 5 years ago. Right now, the government allows Chinese to come over freely because they can spend a little money here, in Japan. I heard that people in Osaka don’t really like Chinese because Chinese just talking Chinese all the time and Japanese people could not understand what are they talking about. For me, I met a lot of Chinese friends and it is really good. It is okay to just come over than I can show them all kind of stuffs. But for the older generations, they don’t think it is a good thing, you know. They think why the Chinese are here, why are they talking in Chinese. I think it happens everywhere.

Me: Yeah. I think we have a Chinese town in the city down to the South in Vietnam.

Azusa: Oh really?

Me: All the Chinese people live in that town.

Azusa: And they talk in Chinese? For me, it is okay. I understand, you know.

Me: And they can speak Vietnamese too.

Azusa: Oh. I don’t think they can speak Japanese. They just speak Chinese.

Me: Some questions about the food, what is the most famous food in Japan? Sushi?

Azusa: Oh, you know sushi, right? I am trying to say something different.

Me: What else?

Azusa: Hot pot as well. It is very famous. It is the big thing with hot water inside. You can put meat in it. You can put any kind of seafood. Sukiyaki is more famous.

Me: Oh, you should write it down for me.

Azusa: Sukiyaki is kind of expensive a little bit because of the group of meat. And you will have white rice to eat together. We will beat the eggs. All the meat and everything have a very strong taste and we will deep them into the eggs and then we eat.

Me: Raw eggs?

Azusa: Yes, raw eggs. I know that is kind of strange for you but it tastes good, you might want to try it if you go to Japan.

Me: But actually, I don’t really like raw eggs. What food do you think is the best?

Azusa: The best? I would say hot pot, because it is health. You can eat as much as you want and it won’t make you gain weight or something like that.

Me: Yes, it is not like American food.

Azusa: I know, right? Ha-ha. Hot pot keeps me healthy and my skin will be better. It contains vitamins and nutrients. I feel hot pot is really. I don’t have to care about how much I am eating. I am kind of person who has big stomach, I can eat a lot.

Me: Yes, me too. Did you gain weight after coming to the United States?

Azusa: Yes. I gained weight so easy, you know. Oh my god. Especially when I am stress from the tests, I keep eating. There are a lot of calories in it.

Me: I know. I gained 20 lbs after I came here.

Azusa: You look so skinny.

Me: But I lost 18 lbs.

Azusa: So it is 2 kilograms, not 2 lbs, right?

Me: No, 20 lbs is 10 kilograms.

Azusa: Yeah.

Me: That’s a lot. I looked really fat.

Azusa: Ha-ha. But you lost weight then.

Me: Last summer, when I came home, I gained 10 kilograms and my parents couldn’t recognize me. They said, “You’re so fat.”

Azusa: How long have you been here?

Me: This is my third year. But I was an exchange student in high school.

Azusa: Where were you?

Me: In South Dakota.

Azusa: Really? Wow. There is not a lot of Asian, rights?

Me: No. There are only 300 people in the town that I lived. It is a really small town. And I am the only Asian in that town.

Azusa: Really? Do people curious about you?

Me: Yes. They looked at me like “Look at her, she has black hair and blah-blah-blah.”

Azusa: I don’t know. I can understand how you feel.

Me: Ha-ha yeah. Do most people in Japan like spicy food?

Azusa: I don’t think so. I know that most of my friends like spicy food. Personally, I really like spicy food because I have eaten the Korean food.

Me: Korean food is spicier.

Azusa: Yes, I love Korean food, so that trained me a lot. So now I like the spicy food. But not a lot of people eat spicy food.

Me: One time, I tried to eat Kim-chi and my tears just… Ha-ha.

Azusa: Oh… but now it is okay, right? I mean now it is not spicy at all, but the first time I ate it, oh my god, it is so spicy. But there are so many Korean foods in Japan right now, a lot people experience to eat it as well.

Me: About education, what is the education system in your country?

Azusa: Before elementary school, they might go to the kindergarten for 3 or 4 years. And at 6, they go to elementary for 6 years, and 3 years for junior high, and 3 years for high school. After high school, you might want to decide if you want to go to work, or you want just to focus on haircuts, make up, designers, so they go to designer schools for 2 years. And other students like me; they go to college for 4 years. And they have 2 years college also.

Me: Community College?

Azusa: Yes. They get to choose where they want to go after high school. Elementary school and high school is mandatory. After high school, you can get to choose.

Me: Oh okay. So what is the most important subject in your country generally?

Azusa: I think English, right? Ha-ha. It is kind of weird in Japan. I learned English when I was I junior high. Right now, they are putting it into fifth grade or sixth grade. But I know a lot of my friends from Asian countries like you guys, I know my friend from South Korea, they learned English from their elementary school.

Me: Yes. I learned English when I was 6 years old. And I have a younger sister, she learned English since she was 4 years old.

Azusa: Yeah. In Japan, we don’t really have a good education for English. But still, I think English is really important. Japanese don’t really want to go outside, they just stay inside, so they should know some English. I think English is really important right now.

Me: Actually, in my high school, no… my middle school, we have a class for the best students in our school. If you get into that class, you can learn Japanese also. But I didn’t get into that class because I wasn’t good enough. One of my friends gets into that class, she learned Japanese. And when she came to America, she got a Japanese boy friend.

Azusa: So that is good for her, right? Ha-ha. She can use the skills just as like what she learned. That is really cool. So many Asian students can learn a third language but in Japan, it is not famous to do that.

Me: Oh okay. Do students have to wear uniform in every school?

Azusa: In elementary school, they don’t have to. Usually, they don’t wear, but in private school, they do have to wear. For the P.E. class, I have to wear some weird uniform. In junior high and high school, you have to wear certain kind of uniform. It is kind of funny because my friends decide which high school they wanted to go to because of the uniform. “That school’s uniform is cute, so I wanted to go there.” Ha-ha.

Me: I saw a lot of Japanese students pictures and I saw they wore short dresses and really long stocks.

Azusa: I know, the white stocks? That was in the older generations. A lot of people wanted to do that. Uniform is really fun, I guess.

Me: So do a lot of people get a chance to attend college in your country?

Azusa: Yes, I think a lot of people wanted to go to college. Colleges help you prepare for the jobs so a lot of people wanted to go to college.

Me: So do you guys have to take the examination?

Azusa: Yes. I think most Asian countries have to take it, right?

Me: Yes.

Azusa: It is not like here. The high school for the senior years, they just focus on the subjects to get into college. And in junior high, they have to study too. They have big exams to get into high school as well.

Me: But you didn’t have to take it because you came to the United States?

Azusa: Right. But when I was in junior high, I had to study to get into the high school. But then I don’t have to take the big test for college.

Me: Me too!!!

Azusa: Yes, that is kind of a good thing.

Me: I hate taking those tests.

Azusa: I know!

Me: Too much stuff to study. About social, what are the top three social pastimes or hobbies?

Azusa: Can I just say my hobbies?

Me: Yes. It’s okay.

Azusa: Okay. I love sports. For example, I was in the soccer team when I was in elementary school; actually my dad was the team coach. I play soccer with my friends. I also do skiing and snow boarding.

Me: Oh really? Oh because you guys have snow in Japan. We don’t have snow in our country.

Azusa: Oh ha-ha. We don’t have that much snow in our place so we have to go to certain place, like few hours of driving. But I do like snow boarding. A lot of people do go to the concert as well, but I haven’t been to any concerts yet. Actually, I like to be out door; I am not an indoor person. And that is how I grew up. My dad likes camping and soccer. Whenever we have a holiday or something like that, we tried to go to some other places such as amusement park. We also do camping, those kind of activities.

Me: Okay. You have a meeting at 5, right?

Azusa: Yes, I have a meeting at 5.

Me: Okay so I will pick which questions that I should asked you. How many children can each couple have in Japan?

Azusa: We don’t have any limit. If you have more than one, it is considered as very good because we are getting fewer kids. Right now, the government pushes us to have more kids. But other people just have one or two right now because they cannot afford the money, you know.

Me: And you have to take care of the little kids.

Azusa: I know. Usually right now, they just have 2 or 1 or 3. That’s average. In my mom’s generations, they have 4 or 6. It is different.

Me: Yeah. In Vietnam, we do the same things. But when I was an exchange student in South Dakota, I knew a family and they had 9 children.

Azusa: They had 9 children? Really? Wow. That’s a lot. Wow. I have never heard of that.

Me: And they looked the same.

Azusa: All the same? Ha-ha. They are 1-year difference, and 2 years difference.

Me: Yeah. I cannot remember their name ha-ha. And another question, what are your views on tattoos? What are the views your country has on tattoos?

Azusa: Tattoo is a really bad big thing in Japan. If you have a tattoo, at the job interview, if you put it somewhere that others can see, they won’t hire you, and you are considered as a really bad person. I think tattoo is very interesting. Do you know gangster in Japan?

Me: Yes. They have tattoos all over?

Azusa: Right. They view tattoos that way, even if you just want a tattoo as a cute or funny thing. People think tattoos as very bad. We have hot spring, a public place, we don’t cover anywhere, it’s kind of weird culture, and they are separate for boys and girls.

Me: Oh that is good ha-ha.

Azusa: Ha-ha yes that is good. If they look at your tattoos, they will consider you as bad people. If people have tattoos, normally they will try to hide it inside or in the back. My friend, she actually came over here with me to the Community College in Seattle, she debated whether she should have a tattoo or not because she wanted to have it for a kind of cool thing. And she decided to have it in the back, just a little bit. But it is a really big decision for her, you know. In Japan, we considered it as really bad. You cannot really show it to the public, you know, without wearing something.

Me: Actually, in Vietnam, in my country, 10 years, people viewed tattoos really bad. But now, people at my age, they have a lot of tattoos, they like tattoo.

Azusa: Yeah. In my generation, I don’t really think about because of tattoos, you are a really bad person. I don’t really see that way, but most people in societies, they think that way.

Me: Especially the older generation?

Azusa: Yes, right.

Me: What age is considered adult in your country?

Azusa: 20.

Me: Is that the drinking age?

Azusa: Yes.

Me: The driving age?

Azusa: No. Driving is 18 actually. But drinking and considered as adult is 20 years old.

Me: So 20, you have to go to the jail if you do anything bad?

Azusa: Right.

Me: Okay. What are the different religions in your country?

Azusa: Most of us are Shinto, which is a kind of Buddhism. I don’t think we are strong Buddhism, but most of them are like me, Shinto. We sometimes go to the temples, but we don’t go to the temples every Sunday, we don’t go all the time. If sometimes, I wanted to pray for the exam, I will go to the temples and pray and I will get a little thing and I put it into the bad, it makes me feel better. I think that’s a part of my religion. I know there are some percentages of Christian. I don’t really see Muslim like here. Christian is a little bit after Buddhism.

Me: Can you write down the Shinto?

Azusa: Yes. (Writing down Shinto). Maybe you can kind of search for it.

Me: Yes, I will do it later. About special occasion, what are some holidays that you celebrate in Japan?

Azusa: In Japan, New Year is really big, December 31^st. January 1^st is also a big one. We do get together and we eat together for the first day of New Year. You have to eat, and you will go shopping at the same time. You also go to visit your grandpa and grandma.

Me: So you guys don’t use the lunar calendar?

Azusa: I don’t now. I didn’t know actually. I was really surprising when I got here. I know a lot of friends form China, Vietnam, Korean whose follow lunar New Year. First time when I heard of it, I was like “What is the lunar New Year?” you know. I didn’t know about the lunar New Year.

Me: I though Japan use the lunar calendar.

Azusa: I know. When I think of New Year, it is January 1^st; it is a really big thing. Usually for Christmas, it is for friends; boy friends and girl friends hang out together. Always we have winter break on the 22^nd until January 10^th for students. For lunar New Year, we do have school, you know. It is kind of different. What else? Yeah I think New Year is a big thing. For the students, we have summer break. We have family gathering for the ancestors. If people die and their soul come back to our house or our living, we get together. If our grandpa and grandma live far away, we will visit them and try to pray for the grace. I think that is the big one too.

Me: Okay. The last questions, what things you do not like about Japan? And what you feel proud of Japan?

Azusa: The thing that I don’t like in Japan, and most of Asian countries, are people considered to be the same, you know. For example, people care too much about what others think about themselves. I just don’t like that. You can just live like what are you thinking, it is like what you can follow by your feeling. I don’t like the society system in Japan. It is so hard to explain. For example…

Me: Like in here, just get a tattoo if you want.

Azusa: That’s true. College in USA, people in any ages can come here and study anytime they want. But in Japan, college is only for students who are 20, 21, and 23. They have a trail, and people just ride on the trail. For me, you can go any other ways, you know. For me, the way that I look at the society is always the same. I feel a little bit boring. I don’t like that part. But I really proud of, I think, people respect each other. I think people do respect each other that are a very proud part, I guess. People know what you are thinking and they care about you. That is what I am proud of, I guess.

Me: Okay, so those are all the questions.

Azusa: Okay.

Me: Thank you for being my interviewee.

Azusa: Well, it is nice to meet you.

Me: Actually, do you want anything to drink? I just wanted to say thank you.

Azusa: Oh really? Oh my god. Seriously, I love coffee. But it is really nice to talk to you.

Me: It is really nice to talk to you too.

Audio recorded

http://soundcloud.com/user643942237/interview-3

2nd Interview- South Korea

Interview Preparation

My interviewee name is Seokyung Kim. Seokyung is the friend of my best friend, Tung. She is an exchange student from South Korea. She is a senior in St. Cloud State University now. Few days ago, I asked Tung if he has any Korean friends because I have to do an interview about Korea for my English class. After that, Tung introduced Seokyung to me. I told her that I wanted to interview about South Korea and she said yes right away. We decided to meet each other in the library at 6:30 pm on Thursday, November 1^st. The interview lasted for 35 minutes. I asked Seokyung questions about herself and about her home country, South Korea. The interview went well. I recorded the interview by my cell phone.

Interview Report

The interview between Seokyung and I lasted for 35 minutes started at 6:30 pm and ended at 7:15 pm. I started the interview with the greeting; followed by the questions about her daily life, her decision to study abroad, and so on. I asked Seokyung all the eleven required questions about Korean traditions, Korean music, Korean foods, Korean education and other questions that I wanted to asked her. Seokyung answered all the questions in details. I was surprised that Seokyung is an exchange student in St. Cloud State University. She came to the United States to study for only one year. After that, she will come back to South Korea. I also surprised that Seokyung does not like Kim chi, one of the most famous foods in South Korea.  In addition, I surprised that Korean Culture and Vietnamese culture (my home country) are very similar. Korean and Vietnamese have very alike tradition and educational system.

Country Report

My second country report is about South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea, is a sovereign state located in the southern part of the Korean Peninsula. The name “Korea” is derived from Goryeo, a dynasty that ruled in the Middle Ages. Its neighbors are China to the west, Japan to the east, and North Korea to the north. South Korea lies in the North Temperate Zone with a predominantly mountainous terrain. It covers a total area of 99,392 square kilometers and has a population of 50 million. The capital and largest city is Seoul, with a population of 9,794,304.

South Korea is a presidential republic consisting of seventeen administrative divisions and is a developed country with a very high standard of living. It is Asia's fourth largest economy and the world's 15th (nominal) or 12th (purchasing power parity) largest economy. The economy is export-driven, with production focusing on electronics, automobiles, ships, machinery, petrochemicals and robotics. South Korea is a member of the United Nations, WTO, and OECD. It is also a founding member of APEC and the East Asia Summit.

South Korea has one of Asia’s largest economies, one that resumed strong growth after a brief downturn as a result of the global economic crisis of 2008. But alongside that prosperity run continued tensions with North Korea, its sometimes-belligerent communist neighbor, with whom it remains technically at war. 

Education in South Korea is regarded as crucial to financial and social success, and competition is consequently fierce, with many participating in intense outside tutoring to supplement classes. In the 2006 results of the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment, South Korea came first in problem solving, third in mathematics and seventh in science. South Korea's education system is technologically advanced and it is the world's first country to bring high-speed fibre-optic broadband Internet access to every primary and secondary school nation-wide. Using this infrastructure, the country has developed the first Digital Textbooks in the world, which will be distributed for free to every primary and secondary school nation-wide by 2013.

As of 2005, just under half of the South Korean population expressed no religious preference. Of the rest, most are Buddhist or Christian. According to the 2007 census, 29.2% of the population at that time was Christian (18.3% identified themselves as Protestants, 10.9% as Roman Catholics), and 22.8% were Buddhist. Today, freedom of religion is guaranteed by the constitution, and there is no state religion. Christianity is South Korea's largest religion, accounting for more than half of all South Korean religious adherents. There are approximately 13.7 million Christians in South Korea today, with almost two-thirds of Christians belonging to Protestant churches, while about 37% belong to the Roman Catholic Church.

South Korea shares its traditional culture with North Korea, but the two Koreas have developed distinct contemporary forms of culture since the peninsula was divided in 1945. Historically, while that of neighboring China has heavily influenced the culture of Korea, it has nevertheless managed to develop a unique cultural identity that is distinct from its larger neighbor.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Korea#Culture

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/southkorea/index.html

Image Source:
http://www.google.com/imgres?q=south+korea&um=1&hl=en&sa=N&tbo=d&biw=1279&bih=607&tbm=isch&tbnid=L20OycsTs7VYAM:&imgrefurl=http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Korea_South.htm&docid=nd8M5yteqbMS1M&imgurl=http://www.worldstatesmen.org/kr.gif&w=324&h=216&ei=2FebUNTJI-PVyQG_qYG4DQ&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=282&sig=104032491894295845661&page=1&tbnh=148&tbnw=201&start=0&ndsp=20&ved=1t:429,r:9,s:0,i:180&tx=104&ty=120

Transcription

Me: My name is Trang and I am from Vietnam, the same country as Tung from. So what is your name?

Seokyung: My name is Seokyung Kim and I am from South Korea.

Me: Okay. Can you spell your first name and last name please?

Seokyung: (writing down her first name and last name on the paper).

Me: Okay. Thank you. So why did you choose America to study?

Seokyung: My school just has two programs. One was Canada and one was U.S.A. so I wanted to come to America rather than Canada. U.S.A is also a multicultural country.

Me: So… Back in your country, are you a senior?

Seokyung: Junior.

Me: How long have you been to the United States?

Seokyung: It has been two months and 10 days.

Me: Okay. So you count everyday?

Seokyung: Yes, sort of. Ha-ha.

Me: So when will you come back home? After the spring semester?

Seokyung: Yes.

Me: Okay. So I will start with the first question. What is the value of family in Korea?

Seokyung: Value? Mostly, we live together until we get married. We live with mom, dad, and siblings. I think, here, many people divorce easily, but in Korea; we value family a lot so it is hard to divorce. There are not many people who divorced. And I think we care about family a lot.

Me: Is the children in the family always listen to their parents? Like everything? Almost everything?

Seokyung: Yes. We should. Ha-ha. Some kids don’t listen their parents.

Me: Okay. What is your family structure like?

Seokyung: Structure? Like what?

Me: Like who is the head of the house? Is the father of the house always made the decision about everything?

Seokyung: Not really. My mom is in charge of financial things. I think she usually decides everything but still my dad is the captain.

Me: Do both of your parents go to work?

Seokyung: No, just my dad.

Me: Okay. So your dad earns money and your mother just kind of manage the money?

Seokyung: Yes. She manages the money.

Me: Okay. Another question is does gender matter in a family?

Seokyung: Gender matter? In my family or in general?

Me: In general.

Seokyung: It is disappearing but I think it still exists, like men are higher than women.

Me: You meant men have the rights to do more things than women?

Seokyung: Uh-huh but not for now. Nowadays, it is changing a lot.

Me: Oh so it becomes equal now?

Seokyung: Yes. Because women today are working so I think it is kind of equal now.

Me: So normally, do women in your country go to work?

Seokyung: Not in my parents generations, but younger people are both work mostly.

Me: Okay. And how many siblings do you have by the way?

Seokyung: One.

Me: Just one? Oh okay. And here are some questions about culture. How does your home country culture different from the US culture?

Seokyung: Just culture? We don’t say “Hello” to strangers. In here, when we have eye contacts, you say “Hello”, right? It is weird. And I think Koreans are more conservative. We don’t really talk about sexual things to people.

Me: What about the food culture?

Seokyung: Food? We share food together. We have main dishes in the middle of the table and we share.

Me: What about the holiday? Do you guys celebrate different holidays than the United States?

Seokyung: Halloween. We don’t celebrate Halloween.

Me: What about Christmas?

Seokyung: Yep. We celebrate Christmas and New Year’s Day.

Me: So do you guys has the same New Year with China or the United States?

Seokyung: I think we have the same New Year with China because we use lunar calendar.

Me: Yeah. We use lunar calendar in Vietnam too. What are the highlights in your culture? What things will make people immediately think about your country?

Seokyung: We have formal and informal language, like grammar. When we talk to senior, we have certain terms or grammars to show respect to them. We talk differently with friends and other people.

Me: So can you say some of those words in Korean?

Seokyung: Okay. If you are my friend, when I say “Hello”, I just say “An nyoung”. And if you are the older person or stranger, I will say “An nyoung ha seh yo”.

Me: Oh okay. I think I heard that in the Korean movie.

Seokyung: I also have to bow when I say “An nyoung ha she yo”.

Me: Are there anything else you want to tell my about the highlights in your culture? How about the traditional dress? What is it called?

Seokyung: Hanbok.

Me: How do you spell it?

Seokyung: (writing “Hanbok” on the paper).

Me: Okay thank you.

Seokyung: Hanbok is colorful. It has white sleeves and white skirt. The skirt starts from the chest.

Me: Is there a bow in the back or front?

Seokyung: I don’t know. I don’t know what it is. Ha-ha.

Me: So you haven’t where Habok before?

Seokyung: I did wear it before.

Me: What day you have to wear it?

Seokyung: When? New Year day or Thanksgiving Day. Few people wear it in special days.

Me: Okay. So you guys do celebrate Thanksgiving?

Seokyung: Yes. Not Thanksgiving like the United States but Chinese Thanksgiving.

Me: Like just the day family gather?

Seokyung: Yes.

Me: So what is your hometown and where do you live?

Seokyung: I live in Incheon.

Me: Oh. I have been to Incheon International Airport.

Seokyung: Oh yeah. Ha-ha.

Me: Is this how you spell Incheon?

Seokyung: Yes, that is right.

Me: So that is your hometown and you live there since you were born?

Seokyung: No. I live in another city, Bundang.

Me: Can you write it down?

Seokyung: Yes. (Writing “Bundang” down). Both of them are near Seoul.

Me: Okay. How far is that from Seoul?

Seokyung: Bundang is 30 minutes from Seoul and Incheon is 1 hour.

Me: Could you tell me a little about the city? Oh wait. How long have you live in Incheon?

Seokyung: Incheon? 2 years.

Me: And the rest of the years you live in Bundang? So can you tell me a little about Bundang?

Seokyung: Bundang is a new city. It was built 19 years ago and it is close to Seoul. There are many apartments in the city. Most of Korean live in apartments, not houses like this. (Pointing to the house near SCSU) Ha-ha.

Me: Is that a modern city?

Seokyung: Yeah. It is new. Everything is quite new compare to other cities. There are so many institutions for education. People in Bundang are very crazy about education.

Me: Are they all smart people and they like to study?

Seokyung: Parents want their kids to study a lot.

Me: Is that the reason why you move form Incheon to Bundang?

Seokyung: No. I lived in Bundang and move to Incheon.

Me: So… Were you born in?

Seokyung: Bundang.

Me: And now you are living in Incheon?

Seokyung: Yes.

Me: So what about Incheon?

Seokyung: Incheon is where Incheon International Airport is placed. Incheon is near the sea so I can eat raw fish. It is not a new city so it is not as modern as Bundang.

Me: So why did you move form Bundang to Incheon?

Seokyung: Because I went to university which is in Incheon.

Me: So just you move to Incheon, not the whole family?

Seokyung: No, the whole family.

Me: Oh okay. How a young person considered troublemaker in your country?

Seokyung: Drinking and cigarettes, smoking and not studying.

Me: What about people who go to nightclubs and bars?

Seokyung: Yes.

Me: So what do you think about the music culture in your country? Is it significant in your country?

Seokyung: Music culture? Do you know K-pop?

Me: Yes!

Seokyung: There are so many idols

Me: I think Vietnamese people are crazy about Korean music. So what is your favorite idol?

Seokyung: I like band music.

Me: So you don’t like music of Big Bang?

Seokyung: Oh I like Big Bang though.

Me: What about Super Junior?

Seokyung: Nah… Not really. Ha-ha.

Me: Ha-ha. Okay. Is marriage important that everybody pursue?

Seokyung: Yep.

Me: What about… a woman is over 30 years old and is not married… do people discriminate her?

Seokyung: Not discriminate but people will always ask her “Why aren’t you married?”

Me: Are they going to have bad thoughts about her?

Seokyung: I don’t really know about this topic because I am only 20 years old. If she has good jobs and good properties, maybe people think it is cool; maybe she is enjoying her life. If she does not have any jobs, people will think that she can’t get married. It depends on persons I think.

Me: So are there a lot of people get married after a certain age like 30 years old?

Seokyung: Yes, I think so.

Me: Okay. Here is another question for you. Is there still gender/race discrimination in your country?

Seokyung: Yes.

Me: Are there black and white people live in your country also?

Seokyung: Not many. But we have people from Southeast Asia such as Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, and some from Saudi Arabia. We don’t have many Whites or Blacks.

Me: So you guys treat people from other countries not the same as Korean people?

Seokyung: We have many strangers who are half-blooded. When they come to Korea, they get married with Korean. There are many Korean Filipinos. One of the biggest problems in school is they have different color of skin, different face. I don’t think Korean discriminate other races but it is premature. We have educated students to not discriminate friends.

Me: But somehow if a person with different skin color walk by, are you guys still have a thinking that…

Seokyung: Yes, for foreigners because we are just one race, just Korean.

Me: About the food, what is the most famous food in your country?

Seokyung: Kimchi.

Me: Do you know how to make it?

Seokyung: No. You need many ingredients and many spices so I don’t know.

Me: So have you eaten Kimchi since you came here?

Seokyung: No. I don’t really like Kimchi… Ha-ha.

Me: Oh you don’t like Kimchi? I ate it once and it was so spicy… I meant it was really hot; there were a lot of peppers. What food do you think is the best? What is your favorite food?

Seokyung: Korean food? I like seaweed soup.

Me: Oh seaweed soup? I know that.

Seokyung: Oh really? It is good for health. People eat seaweed soup when women gave birth to babies.

Me: You guys eat it in your birthday, right?

Seokyung: Yes, right.

Me: Okay. So what is the famous food?

Seokyung: Bibimbob.

Me: Can you write it down for me?

Seokyung: I don’t know how to spell. (Trying to write down “Bibimbob”)

Me: Okay. And what are your meals like? What are the size, number, and times of day?

Seokyung: Three times a day. Number?

Me: I meant how big of a meal it is. Do you guys eat less than American?

Seokyung: Yes, absolutely.

Me: So did you gain weight after you came to the United States?

Seokyung: Yes, Ha-ha.

Me: Yeah… After three months living in the states, I gained 20 lbs. After 2 years, I lost 18 lbs.

Seokyung: Wow. It is good.

Me: Yeah. I was too food.

Seokyung: They made fries.

Me: And they put a lot of cheese on the food. Does most of Korean eat spicy food?

Seokyung: Yes. People like spicy food.

Me: About the education, what is the education system in your country?

Seokyung: You meant the elementary and high school?

Me: Yes.

Seokyung: We have 6 years of elementary school, three years of middle school, three years of high schools, and then university.

Me: How many years of university?

Seokyung: 4 years. There are colleges that we just need to go for 2 years.

Me: Like community college?

Seokyung: Yes.

Me: So do you guys have the colleges entrance examinations?

Seokyung: Uh-huh.

Me: So what subjects are in the exams?

Seokyung: Korean, Math, English. You have to school either Science or Social Study for the fourth subject. If you choose Science, there are Physics, Chemistry, and Biology. If you choose Social Study, there are Politics, History, and Geography. I can’t really remember.

Me: So what did you choose?

Seokyung: I chose Social Study. I have to study four of them.

Me: Were the exams hard?

Seokyung: Yes, because we have to memorize so many stuffs. It was hard to study all.

Me: What is the name of the university that you are studying?

Seokyung: Gyeongin National University of Education.

Me: Is it famous in Korea?

Seokyung: Hmm… In Korea, if you wanted to be in elementary school, you must go to university, which is, specialize in education. There are 10 education universities in Korea.

Me: So you came there to become a teacher?

Seokyung: Yes.

Me: So what is your major now?

Seokyung: Elementary education.

Me: You wanted to be a teacher?

Seokyung: Uh-huh.

Me: Okay. What is the most important subject in your country generally? Are they Korean, Math, and English?

Seokyung: I think it is English. If you are good at English, you can go to the universities that you wanted.

Me: How long have you been studying English?

Seokyung: Since I was 8 years old.

Me: Okay. Do students have to wear uniform in every school?

Seokyung: Not every school but most of them.

Me: How many days that you have to wear uniform?

Seokyung: Everyday.

Me: Is it just depends of different schools?

Seokyung: Uh-huh. Most of them have to wear uniform.

Me: Do you prefer to wear it or not?

Seokyung: Yes, I prefer to wear.

Me: Why can’t you wear short or flip-flop to school?

Seokyung: Why can’t you wear short? We need to wear uniform. Ha-ha.

Me: Do a lot of people get a chance to attend college in your country?

Seokyung: Yes.

Me: Do a lot of people pass the college entrance examination?

Seokyung: We don’t really pass the exams. We just have high scores and low scores.

Me: So you get to go to better universities if you have a higher score?

Seokyung: Uh-huh.

Me: About social, what are the top three social pastimes or hobbies? What are the top three sports, group events, and various activities in Korea?

Seokyung: Generally or for university students?

Me: Just generally?

Seokyung: Oh… It is so hard. Ha-ha.

Me: So do you know the famous sports in Korea?

Seokyung: Soccer and basketball.

Me: What about the events?

Seokyung: Can you give me example?

Me: Hmmmm… Do you guys have events for sports or events for music? Just famous events. It is just a famous day.

Seokyung: K-pop concerts! Do you know the Korean programs on TV? The music likes Big Bang or something like that.

Me: Yeah. I watched a lot of them but I don’t remember the name of the programs.

Seokyung: I think it is either Inkigayo or Music Bank.

Me: Yeah. I cannot pronounce it. Do you think that people in your country generally reserve when meeting new people? Do they talk to new people easily or not?

Seokyung: Not as much as here.

Me: In which way people pay a bill? “Separate” or “together”? If you go out to eat with your friends, is one of them going to pay the whole bill?

Seokyung: In my case, we just separate. I think it is too wide broad question.

Me: If your family and your family’s friends go out and eat together, is one of them going to pay the whole bill, maybe your father or the father of another family?

Seokyung: Yes, I think so. I think one of them will pay?

Me: Is it just a traditional thing? In Vietnam, most of the time, just one people pay the bill.

Seokyung: Yes. And next time, other people will pay the bill.

Me: So who would pay the bill?

Seokyung: The men.

Me: What way do you prefer personally? Would you like to pay separately or together?

Seokyung: I think separate is better.

Me: Yes, okay. Do you think girl’s pay for boys is normal in your country?

Seokyung: Girls pay for boys? No. Ha-ha. I think it is opposite.

Me: So how many children can each couple has?

Seokyung: There is no limitation. Government encourages people to have more children.

Me: Okay. We just have few questions left. What are your views on tattoos? Do you like tattoos?

Seokyung: Yes.

Me: What are the views your country has on tattoos? Is that considered as bad if girls have tattoos?

Seokyung: I don’t think young people will think it is bad. may be old generations people will think it is not appropriate.

Me: If you have a tattoo, are your parents going to mad?

Seokyung: Yes, probably. Ha-ha.

Me: Yes, Ha-ha. My parents will be really mad if I have a tattoo. Where would you suggest other traveling to when they come to Korea?

Seokyung: Seoul.

Me: Why?

Seokyung: Because it is the biggest city. There are so many things to see. You can see traditional buildings and modern building. You can see both sides of Korea. So I think Seoul is a good place to travel to.

Me: Are there a lot of famous Koreans live in Seoul?

Seokyung: Yes. There are subways and buses. Transportations are very convenient.

Me: which age is considered adult in your country?

Seokyung: Ahh… 20? Let me think. I am 21 now… so 20.

Me: So how old can you smoke and drink alcohol?

Seokyung: When you are freshman in college.

Me: So it is 18?

Seokyung: 18? Is it? Yeah so it is 18. Ha-ha.

Me: Do you think that people in your country are hard workers?

Seokyung: Yes.

Me: I saw a lot of Korean singers have to go to the hospital because they have to work too much. Ha-ha. About the religion, what are the different religions in your country?

Seokyung: Christian and Buddhist.

Me: Which one if more popular?

Seokyung: Christian.

Me: So what is your religion?

Seokyung: I am a Catholic.

Me: Okay. What are some holidays that you celebrate in Korea?

Seokyung: There is Independent Day. Korean was the colonial of Japan so we put Korean flags outside of the house.

Me: What about New Year?

Seokyung: New Year? We made certain foods and we pray before the ancestors. We bowed.

Me: Okay. The last question, what things do you not like about your country? And what you feel proud of?

Seokyung: It is too hard. Ha-ha. Hmm… I think people too care about the universities. I think life in Korea depend on where are you study. Children feel big pressure on studying, even when they are young.

Me: What do you feel proud of Korea?

Seokyung: Do you know the history of Korea?

Me: Not really.

Seokyung: Okay. We were so poor 50 years ago. In short time, we developed a lot. I think it is a pretty proud of thing.

Me: Okay. So those are all the questions. Thank you for being my interviewee.

Seokyung: Oh, no problem. If you need to ask more questions, just text me.

Me: Okay, thank you!

Audio file recorded

http://soundcloud.com/user643942237/interview-2-south-korea