Christmas has become a popular holiday in South Korea.
Nevertheless,
Christmas is seen as a distinctly Christian holiday.
That
said, as the holidays approach, western teams may wish to
greet
Korean colleagues with:
Sae hae
bok man i ba deu say yo! (Seasons Greetings)
Hint:
Break the greeting into: sae hae bok-mahne-bah deu say yo
Sae hae
bok man i ba deu say yo! works well both in person, in a
card, or
an email. In fact, it is a common seasonal greeting into
the New
Year.
"The first Christmas in Korea."
A number
of years ago while researching early Westerners in Korea,
I came
upon an account of the first "official" Christmas tree in
Korea. I
thought I'd share the story...
Since the
mid 1880s, Anglo merchants, diplomats, and missionaries
who lived
and worked in Korea celebrated their respective national
and
religious holidays. Most often these were small affairs as
there
were few foreigners dwelling in Korea-most Anglos were
concentrated
in the port towns and Seoul. Naturally some Koreans
were
curious of these strange western ceremonies and started asking
questions,
especially about Christmas.
The
Korean royal family was no exception. In December 1893, King
Kojong
and his wife Queen Min became very curious about the holiday
and
started to inquire about its significance. In fact, Queen Min
summoned
her closest western friend and personal physician,
missionary
Lillias Underwood to explain about Christmas. That year
on
Christmas day, Queen Min sent the Underwood family gifts of
expensive
cloth and silk screens.
Encouraged
by the queen's gesture and aware of the royal family's
curiosity,
Lillias asked to set up a Christmas tree in the
palace-even
though it was several days after Christmas.
Accounts
tell of Lillias putting a great deal of effort into
trimming
the tree. When finished Lillias was somewhat disappointed
with the
results, as "their majesties were too impatient to wait
till dark
to view it." With no heavy drapes to block the lights
from the
windows, the full effect of the Christmas tree was "quite
spoiled."
Lillias cited "the poor little candles flickered in a
sickly
way in the glaring daylight." Nevertheless in spite of her
concerns,
Lillias did introduce the holiday tradition to the Korean
court.
On behalf
of myself and Bridging Culture Worldwide have a happy
holiday
season!
Sae hae
bok man i ba deu say yo!
Questions?
Feel free to contact
dsoutherton@bridgingculture.com
1-310-866-3777
Don
Accounts tell of XXX putting a great deal of effort into XXXXX. When finished, XXX was somewhat disappointed with the results, as "their majesties were too impatient to wait...
ReplyDeletePlace any similar nouns in the X spots and still sounds like modern day working conditions. Classic Corea.
G4S