Internationalmatt's Blog

Family a Cultural Universal

I wrote yesterday about Yeon-Og and her resiliency after the death of her husband. Today I would like to share about her husband In Keun Choi. In February 2006 I received a phone call telling me they had an emergency asking me to come to the hospital right away. i went and found out that In Keun had just been diagnosed with stage 4 stomach cancer an hour earlier. They were in tears. Yeon-Og left for a little while after I arrived due to being tired and 8 months pregnant.

After Yeon-Og left the first thing In Keun said to me while we were alone was “I am not worried about me because I know Jesus, but what will happen to my wife and children if I die. How can they stay here? What will happen to them?” I spent a lot of moments like this with In Keun in the 4 months that followed. he told me his dream was to buy a house after he graduated from his Phd program and got a job. His reason was to give his children a backyard to play in. We talked together almost every day and every time he talked about his family. I was with him when he died. While he lay unconscious I bent down and whispered in his ear “I will help your wife and children anyway I can” I was told that as I whispered, he smiled his last smile.  I can think of no better example than this of the fact that family is a cultural universal.

In all cultures family is important. The family roles and responsibilities may differ, but family is valued. In fact family is often valued more in other cultures than it is here in America. Love of family knows no boundaries and exists in all cultures.

October 6, 2009 - Posted by internationalmatt | Cross Cultural, Experiences of international friends, Globalization, Human Resources, Internationals, Korean friends, Mutlicultural, Uncategorized