[MISSION] Family Month: Taking Lessons from K-Drama About the Importance of Family Life in Korea
2025-05-30
May, Family Month celebrated in Korea; is almost coming to an end but it is leaving behind the reminder that Family is the most precious thing we can have in our lives. In congruence with this month’s significance, I have found some very important lessons while watch the recent super-hit K-Drama “When Life Gives You Tangerines”. Here are three lessons to take which I think are worth sharing:
1. It takes a village and a community to raise a child: In an increasingly growing individualistic world, where people are becoming detached from society and living very isolated lives, it is clearly evident that we are forgetting the importance of community in our lives. From a very small age since we are born, we are not able to fend for ourselves, or guide ourselves to becoming fully grown successful adults. In every stage in life, we are dependent on others in our community and society to make progress and flourish. Not just the family and home that we are familiar with, but also the neighborhood, the schools, the friends we make throughout life’s journey, our work environments every situation in life has to offer us something which will shape our identity, our self-worth, our understanding of human relations and our social skills. Thus, we should embrace this knowledge and acknowledge the community we belong to and also surround ourselves with the friends and community we which to be a part of. Although it may seem possible to some extent, but living alone, detached and Isolated from community cannot be the optimal environment to achieve success and progress in life.
2. Parents and Grandparents Love and Sacrifice for Children is Invaluable:
Children sometimes get so used to receiving from their parents and grandparents that they fail to realize how much they have sacrificed in their own lives to fulfill the dreams and aspirations of them. In Korean Society and in most Asian societies, where family is considered first priority, parents and grandparents usually take the responsibility to nurture their children to their utmost ability, even foregoing their own dreams and wishes. They expect nothing in return from their kids except for them to succeed in life and go farther in life than they did themselves. They are always ready to bless their children with love, affection, mental and financial support whenever necessary. It is indeed a matter of great luck for children to have such strong support systems. Not only does it ensure a beautiful childhood for them but also the love and support of parents and grandparents enables them to move forward faster with higher acceleration than those kids who have no support from family.
3. “Family” is beyond blood relations: When we think of family and relatives, we think of our relatives who are related to us by birth; our parents, our uncles and aunts, our cousins, our grand parents etc. But as life goes on, we realize not all blood relatives are who we can relate to. In different stages of our lives, we realize that we can find people who we can relate to more than any of our own family members. These people can be someone from our school, our workplace or our neighborhood and community. As long as there is a connection of the heart, it does not matter where they are from. They can understand you and your situation without much explanation; they have that intuition. They can offer emotional support and valuable help which no blood relations or family member can ever provide. We must value these connections and remember that these people are also very important part of our lives.
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