Being An American Culture Essay

Cultures around the world are divide by their distinctive characteristic of people, and how people interact within their society. Most cultures are driven by the way their environment has been set for them. Many of cultures have to adapt to the way their environment are due to the conditions that are set for them and the amount of resources that they are provided. The biggest drive for culture are the historical custom. Most countries continue to carry their ancestor custom so that the tradition may stay with them throughout their years, in which making other countries distinctive from one another. One of the particular country that will be discuss in this report is North Korea. In this report, I will be discussing the North Korean culture, with describing their living condition in the country, common issues that they face with on a daily bases, and common threat that they pose on other countries.

Although China’s influence over Korea has waned severely since the dynastic years we find the Confucian system of virtues and behaviors, China’s chief export from that time, still very much alive. Korea highly values the extended family, education, personal discipline and public order. In South Korea Confucian temples continue to be maintained throughout the country. The tenets of Confucianism are seen as antidotes to social ills and therefore education is thought of as a means of building character, not simply of intellectual formation. The values of Confucianism are promulgated throughout Korea in places as diverse as school, the office and the home. Television programs often portray Confucian merits such as filial piety and harmony. However

Good families have many ingredients that make them function properly. One of these elements is values, or what the family views as important. This helps family members know what is good and bad for them. The article “Celebrating Your Family Culture” states, “Around our household, we constantly say, ‘Well, in our family we believe…and everyone’s family is different.’ I’m sure my son gets tired of hearing this in response to why he can’t have the latest electronic gadget, but I also think hearing this anchors him. Kids want to know where you stand on important issues and what your family values,” (Trudeau). The article tells how even though the family values can annoy a member; it steadies them to know the priorities. Having that clear view can also have other effects on family members. When My Name was Keoko tells how Keoko or Sun-hee saw her uncle and mom value their patriotism. This helped her see that her own patriotism should be strong (Park 11, 32, 33, 93). The family values were very important when the Japanese invaded Korea. They were probably the only Korean thing the people of Korea had. Without them the Koreans would give up and never have their own culture again. Concluding, the values that families have are very

Defining what really is to be an American does not sound as easy as it seem. It will always be complex process. As immigration continues to fuel the growth of the population of our nation, racial and ethnic gap increase and evolve along with it. Racial and ethnic identities become more and more convoluted and difficult to understand. Race and ethnicity continue to intermingle and push a cultural shift in the US– a shift that plays a significant role in redefining America in a day-to-day basis.

Growing up as an Asian American, I often struggle to identify my own cultural identity. Being the first generation of both my mother and father’s side of the family, I more than often get confused between American and Asian culture when applying them to society or at home. While being raised at home, I am largely influenced by culture and traditions from Asian parents and relatives. However, when I go to school or someplace else, I am heavily judged for practicing part of my Asian culture because it is entirely different than western or American. With that being noted, I began to learn and adapt to the western culture in hopes of fitting with society as well of trying to keep my Asian culture intact. As can be seen, this situation I dealt with is the same problem the whole Asian American community faces. Mainly focusing on younger generations like me for example, the Asian American community struggles to adapt to the western culture because they were raised with an Asian influence. Wishing to fit in society and be part of the social norms, the Asian Americans community faces issues that identify their cultural identity.

Previous research reveals that Korean-Americans are considered the most separated from the rest of the society, both culturally and ethnically. Study used Berry (1997)’s strategies of assimilation, integration, separation and marginalization and three main dimensions of cultural orientations; language, identity and behaviors (Choi et al. 2014). Study included youth who are highly integrated in society; born in the US or immigrated at a young age; proficient in both English and mainstream behavior practices whereas their parents known to be culturally separated and the family socialization processes largely Korean (combination of high acculturation and high enculturation, characterizing integration). Researchers used years of residence and nativity

Being an American “For the land of the free”, do these words sound familiar? Of course they do they are the lyrics from the United States of America’s national anthem. Now earth has countries that stretch from coast to coast. But few of the countries have the freedom that the United States of America. Being born American is an honor to many of the citizens, because this country has plenty of things to be proud of.

As I went into my middle school years, the expectation to be both Korean and white tipped over my life. Some friends of mine, who have eastern beliefs, would say to focus purely on academics while others, who have more western beliefs, would say to focus more on my pursuit of happiness. Many

“Mom, why is she so dark like fillipino if she’s korean like me?”, “I thought asians were suppose to be smart”, “Since your last name is Kim are you related to Kim Jong Un?”. These were some of the comments I’ve heard growing up in, my whole life. Not just from America where people see me not as a true American but also from Korea, where there is no ethnicity difference. Growing up, I learned to understand it was because I looked different and racism is a concept that is inevitable, but the summer of seventh grade I visited Korea, it changed everything. It had been a while since I last visited Korea, I had been so young I could not remember anything. But when I went that summer when I was older, I was shocked. In a land where I thought I belonged to with my race, was doing the opposite of what I had to learn to overcome in America. In a place where I thought I looked the same still had reasons to accept me. Even though I was the same race as the people there, I still wasn’t good enough. My skin was to dark, I was too big, my face was too round, and I didn’t look ‘asian’. Racism had been consistently plaguing by my side since the beginning.

The country’s devastating past created a need for unity to improve its conditions and this sense of unity remains as exhibited by its collectivistic nature. Sun witnessed many events in which the people of her country supported and motivated one another, whether at a soccer game or after an environmental disaster. The Korean War resulted in a creative solution in which the country utilized its efficient labor force to export high quality products at a low cost. South Korea’s showcased Schwartz’s value of mastery as its people worked hard and developed their skills to improve their country’s conditions. In South Korea, Sun was exposed to great customer service. She found this created happier lives for the country’s residents as it helped to create an environment which focuses on making others happy via provided services. Sun’s culture has molded her into a person who genuinely enjoys helping others, and she has decided to use this personality trait in her future career by becoming involved in the hospitality industry because of the great experiences she has had in South Korea. Exploring Sun Namkoong’s culture allowed me to recognize the ways in which culture has direct influences on one’s current and future

The values of Confucianism such as collectivism, conformity to norms, shame, patriarchal and hierarchal family systems, and rigid gender roles have a strong impact on the structure of and roles within the KA immigrant family (J. Lee, Wachholtz, & Choi, 2014; Postmus & Hahn, 2007). This philosophical and cultural idea maintains the husband’s authority and dominance over his wife and reinforces the wife’s submission to her husband’s governing role (B. Kim, Titterington, Kim, & Wells, 2010; J. Lee et al., 2014; Postmus & Hahn, 2007). Obedience, subservience, quietness, and purity represent the virtues of good Korean women (Moon, 2005; Tran & Des Jardins, 2000), and suffering and perseverance are valued virtues in Korean culture (Song & Moon, 1998;

Americans in our society have far reaching effects on our religious and symbolic behaviors through mass culture and media. Religious freedom and the acts of it influence us as Americans and as a society. It is the basis on which America was formed through mass culture. Societal effects have intensified not only in America, but around the world and the pressure to believe another’s religion have strongly increased. Since America was attacked on September 11 2001, our public perception towards the Muslim religion have since changed.

So, if I make the fried Kim-chi with the Kim-chi from a market, it is just not tasty as much as the one that my mom made. Yet, however the taste of it, every time I eat Kim-chi, it reminds me of my mom’s caring for me and the fact that I am Korean. Because when she tried to make me eat Kim-chi, she always used to say like ‘oh, Koreans should eat Kim-chi.’ By that time, however, what she said did not really come across my mind. Since all the people around me were Korean, I did not really know what being Korea means. But now I am in America, and being ‘Korean’ becomes one of the unique characteristics that represent me.

The United States of America being the third largest country in the world with more than 315 million inhabitants, consists of multicultural societies with ethnically diverse population. Since there are a lot of foreigners, the US culture has evolved in such a way accepting and tolerating other foreign cultures. US is very much influenced by protestant work ethics according to which people believe in themselves and their efforts to attain the goal of self-actualization and success. The rich diversity in the culture brought by foreigners, prevailing values of protestant ethics, hard work etc. have helped US to emerge as a superpower in the past years. Nearly every religion had its impact on US culture in one way or the other. The

My return to Korea in the summer of 2001 was nothing short of a culture shock. I was in a country I thought I had learned by heart. It was the country I always rooted my identity and pride from. I wasn’t ready for the shock. I