MetaCity Story

  Why Korean Children Are Surprisingly Polite How Korean Toddlers Grow Up With Grandparents, Daycare, and Manners Education “Pretty Lee Hyewon” My wife and I always call our little grandniece, “Pretty Lee Hyewon.” Her real name is simply “Lee Hyewon.” But after years of calling her “Pretty Lee Hyewon,” something interesting happened. Whenever we called her that way, she reacted much faster and smiled much bigger than when we simply called her by her name. Her parents both worked full-time jobs, so until she turned three years old, we took care of her at our home. In Korea, grandparents often help raise children while parents work. Many Korean children spend much of their early childhood with grandparents. Hyewon also grew up mostly through home childcare during her early years. The Baby Who Crawled Backward When Hyewon first learned how to crawl, she crawled backward instead of forward. Nobody knew why. When she became one year old, she finally stood up for the first ti...

  Parents’ Day Special What Is Parents’ Day Like With a Talkative Little Grandniece? “Pretty Lee Hye-won” Whenever I call my grandniece, there is always one word attached to her name. “Pretty Lee Hye-won.” By now, you may have guessed that this little lady is five years old and a girl. Even now, she probably thinks her real name is actually “Pretty Lee Hye-won.” Because both of her parents work full-time jobs, we practically raised her in our home from the time she was one year old until she turned three. Early every morning, her parents would bring her to our apartment before going to work. Her mother always arrived carrying diapers, snacks, baby food, and extra clothes. My wife took care of her throughout the day. My wife and I still do not have biological grandchildren of our own, so this tiny little girl became almost like our very first granddaughter. We adored her beyond words. Her own grandparents were also working, so they did not have enough time to care for he...

  Parents’ Day in Korea and Mother’s Day in America The Difference Between Korean Parents’ Day and American Mother’s Day In Korea, May 8 is Parents’ Day. My mother is now 91 years old. Her father was an educated man who served as a township chief during the Japanese colonial era. She was born as the second child among eight siblings in Mueol-myeon, Seonsan-gun, Gyeongsangbuk-do. For reference, former President Park Chung-hee was also born in Seonsan-gun. Today, the area is called Gumi . Because of this connection, my family had known President Park’s family for many years. A Family Marked by Tragedy Among my mother’s eight siblings, four died during childbirth when my grandmother was giving birth. Two sons and two daughters survived. Tragically, both sons later drowned in a reservoir while swimming during the summer when they were young. My mother’s older sister later died while giving birth after marriage. In the end, my mother became the only surviving child among ...

  Korean Hospital Surgery Costs Shock Americans — My Elbow Surgery at a Korean University Hospital Introduction — A Healthy Korean Man’s First Major Surgery I had rarely experienced serious pain in my entire life. Looking back, I was probably born with a naturally strong body. For decades, I ignored even the free national health checkups provided by the Korean government. Every year, Korea’s National Health Insurance Service continued sending messages encouraging me to receive medical screenings, but I never paid much attention. In South Korea, the national health insurance system is operated by a single government agency that requires every citizen to enroll. Whether you are an office worker or self-employed, insurance premiums are automatically collected based on income. Although the government covers a large portion of medical expenses, many Koreans still purchase additional private insurance such as supplemental reimbursement insurance, cancer insurance, and caregiver insurance...

  Chicken Soup in America, Abalone Porridge in Korea Why Koreans Eat Abalone Porridge When They’re Sick Kimchi Stew Instead of Abalone Porridge On the first day after my wife received her nerve block injection, I told her, “I’ll buy you some abalone porridge.” But she replied, “No, I don’t really want that. I’ll just eat what I normally eat.” Whenever she had a cold or the flu before, she loved eating abalone porridge. That is why shingles felt like such a strange illness to me. After receiving the nerve block injection, my wife seemed to recover nearly 80% of her normal condition. Honestly, she looked almost no different from before she became sick. If it had been the flu, she probably would have needed several days to recover. Instead of buying abalone porridge, I cooked kimchi stew for her. Surprisingly, she ate the same amount as usual and seemed to enjoy it very much. I even wondered to myself, “Is this really the same person who was screaming in pain just a few days ago?” Why...

  How Korea Treats Shingles So Quickly — Same-Day Care, Low Costs, and the World’s Fastest Medical System Introduction “Ugh… ah… it hurts…” Hearing my wife groan in pain beside me made me feel sick myself. “Hurry. Let’s go to the hospital now.” At around 8:45 AM, I rushed down from our apartment on the 29th floor to the B2 parking garage and started the car. The clinic, Hansangwoo Pain Medicine Clinic , was only about 1.2 kilometers (0.75 miles) from our home — roughly a 5-minute drive away. After parking in the building’s underground garage, we hurried up to the 6th floor where the clinic was located. My wife had already been taking medicine prescribed by a nearby internal medicine clinic for two days, but her pain had become unbearable. The nurse asked: “Did you make an appointment?” My wife replied: “No. I have shingles and the pain is too severe.” The nurse then asked whether she had brought the medicine from the previous clinic. When my wife said no, t he nurse immediately ac...