Comparison Essay

Parivaar v. 가족

Mumtaz Dehlavi was a typical child of a conservative Muslim family. With ten brothers and sisters, her mother stayed at home, and her father worked at the local tobacco factor (“Culture of India”). Roh Moo Hyun was the youngest born into a farming family of five children (“Roh Moo-hyun Biography”). As their names suggested, these two did not grow up in similar regions or cultures. Dehlavi was from India and Hyun was from South Korea. Three important comparable aspects of family structure in India and

South Korea are marriage traditions, life at home, and child rearing.

 Marriage in South Korea cannot happen until several qualifications are met by both parties. Family background and education are crucial factors in matchmaking.

While many adults will find their spouse at work or school, parents will often arrange meetings to encourage certain couples (“Culture of South Korea”). In the Korean perspective, marriage is a union of two families, not just two adults. This is to maintain the male line; family registers can often date back 500 years (South Korea). But growing in the past few decades is the divorce rate in South Korea. 10% of marriages are now remarriages. Modern law has provided divorced and widowed women with more independence than in the past, allowing women to remarry as well as men (Culture of

South Korea). 

The Indian tradition of obtaining a spouse is notably different. Arranged marriages by parents are still commonly practiced in most areas. Couples rarely meet before their wedding day. (Culture of India) Yet, due to the firmly-rooted caste system, women in the lower castes are not permitted to remarry, but men typically are. In contrast to South Korea, the divorce rate in India still lingers just under 1% (South Korea). While the marriage process is incredibly different, the idea of marriage as a combining of families is consistent in both countries. The benefits aren’t focused so much on the individuals so much as they are on the whole family’s sake.

Technically, both genders are equal in South Korea. However, societal pressure has maintained its male supremacy and this is seen in typical home life (Culture of South Korea). The Confucian tradition of the father as the head of the house hold is very common. Wives then take on most of the house keeping. The eldest son has the most responsibilities to his family members. First to his parents, the eldest son’s duties are then directed to his brothers, to his sons, his wife, and lastly, his daughters (South

Korea). Traditionally, this was why the eldest son got all of the family inheritance.

Korean homes generally only have two generations, with the occasional grandparent from the father’s side (Culture of South Korea). Overall, family welfare is stressed far more than that of the individual, along with the importance of duty, loyalty, honor, piety, respect, and sincerity (South Korea). 

Indian homes have similar ways of thinking. The patriarchal society, also with a father as the head, dictates that a woman must first obey her father, then her husband, and then her sons (Culture of India). While laws state that family inheritance should be equally distributed, that rarely happens. Sons usually inherit the family’s status and properties while the daughters receive the dowry at marriage. Differing from South Korea, Indian homes may have three or four generations in one house. Large buildings with multiple families living in separate rooms are also common in the more crowded parts of India (India). The patriarchal mindsets in both of these cultures have set a similar foundation in these families.

Probably the biggest difference between these two family structures is practices in child rearing. In India, mothers and older sisters take care of the children or the grandmother if the mother works. Children are then raised to help the family and do their expected responsibilities (Culture of India). This is in great contrast to South Korea.

Children will often be indulged with affection, encouraging emotional dependence on their parents. This method is used so that children become even more so appreciative of love and devotion their parents provide for them. Boys tend to rely more on their parents than girls who become more individualistic (Culture of South Korea).

The families of Dehlavi and Hyun were of cultures that shared similar view points on the importance of family. While India and South Korea share a patriarchal home life, they differed greatly in many other respects. Koreans do not partake in arrange marriages and Indians don’t purposely raise their children to be dependent on them.

However, in two different homes, the family’s wellbeing is still the most important objective for everyone.

Works Cited

"Culture of India - Traditional, History, People, Clothing, Traditions, Women, Beliefs,Food, Customs, Family, Social, Dress, Marriage, Men, Life, Tribe, Population,

Religion, Rituals." Countries and Their Cultures. Web. 07 Oct. 2010. <http://www.everyculture.com/Ge-It/India.html>.

"Roh Moo-hyun Biography - Life, Family, Childhood, Children, Name, History, Wife,School, Old, Information, Born - Newsmakers Cumulation." Encyclopedia ofWorld Biography. Web. 07 Oct. 2010. <http:/www.notablebiographies.com/newsmakers2/2005-Pu-Z/Roh-Moo-hyun.html>.

"Culture of South Korea - Traditional, History, People, Clothing, Traditions, Women,Beliefs, Food, Customs, Family, Social, Dress, Marriage, Men, Life, Immigrants,

Tribe, Population, Religion." Countries and Their Cultures. Web. 07 Oct. 2010.<http:/!www.everyculture.com/Ja-Ma/South-Korea.html>.

"South Korea: Language, Culture, Customs and Etiquette." Professional ! TranslationServices | Interpreters | Intercultural Communication & Training. Web. 07 Oct.2010. <http://!www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquettesouth-korea-country-profile.html>.

"India - Language, Culture, Customs and Etiquette." Professional Translation Services |Interpreters | Intercultural Communication & Training. Web. 07 Oct. 2010. <http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/ !resources/global-etiquette/india-country-profile.html>.