I'm Australian, but from a mixed ancestry... in fact, pretty "mixed up"; at least 5 different cultures involved if you count my grandparents from both my parents' side. There is Asian blood in there (chinese and japanese) and European as well. Compared to the general Aussie population, I'd like to say that my family's not as "open" as a typical Westerner but neither are we as "traditional" as a typical Asian. It's a blend of both worlds. Therefore, I can relate to most of the Asian cultures and speak a number of languages. It also helped that I worked for a few years in China before making my debut as a writer. My family travel a lot, mostly because of work. My parents do not live in Australia. The reason why I'm Australian was because I married an Australian and decided to make Australia my home. Therefore, to your question of how Korean culture compares to mine, bear in mind that although I may be Australian (lived here for almost 30 years now), I may not be your typical Aussie!
Similiarities:
1) Respect of elders. For some reason, this was deeply embedded in my family's culture - possibly because my grandma (father's side) was Japanese and Japanese can be extremely picky about the correct way to address each other and to be polite and respectful to others. Dad grew up that way and in his household, he taught us that way as well.
2) Formal speech - only when we do not speak English. I find the English language very limited. For example: an aunt is an aunt in English regardless if she is your mum's sister or dad's sister or dad's cousin etc but in other languages, aunt from dad's side has a different name than aunt from mum's side or how in English a brother's a brother but in many other languages, older brother and younger brother has different names and those names (how we call them) differ between the gender of the person who does the talking (eg: there are "feminine" verbs and "male" verbs).
3) Food - in our household, we eat fusion foods - western, chinese, japanese, korean, indian etc
4) We take care of our elders - mum and dad lives with my brother and his wife and it is a common thing in our culture (not just Asian but in many European culture too!). I think the culture of living independent lives away from your elders are very much the Caucasian-American culture that was spread through modernisation. In many cultures, you can easifly find at least 3 generations living under one roof.
5) Physical affection between gender - holding hands, stolen kisses; contrary to popular belief, couples are not as publicly affectionate as couples in America or Europe. I can hardly found couples wrapped in sexual rapture in public, the kisses were very polite too. In my whole 30 years here, there were only 2 occassions I found rather rude display of affection in public and both times, the couples were rather stoked (aka drunk!).
6) Being drunk and loud - what can I say, Aussies love their beer and their BBQ! Every Friday and Saturday night, the pubs are full and you'll be hard pressed to find a spot in popular bars and restaurants. When Aussies get drunk, we can be rather loud and occassionally, some of the women may require some piggyback rides to get back home. hehe
Differences:
1) We are more open with our affection - two kisses on both cheeks for families and friends, though the general Aussie here prefer only one kiss on the cheek. Because my family has stronger european influence, I still stick to the two kisses but my kids who grew up as typical Aussies usually just gives one for their friends. They know they need to give their mum two. haha We also hug more easily.
2) Parents are more open and reasonable. Whilst we expect our kids to do well in life, we do not press them to excel just in academic life but in overall life. Children have more choices here too.
3) Boy bands? I do not follow bands much but I know that famous Aussie artists are normally solo or we are rock bands and we do have a few actors and actresses that have made it big in Hollywood.
4) Like amrita's list, teachers here get the sack if they ever lay a finger on a student.
5) Big cities - I cannot fully explain this but the big cities in Australia (eg: Sydney, Melbourne etc) have a different "feel" than the ones found in Asian countries. Big Asian cities are so happening and their cities NEVER sleep. Well... certain parts of Sydney never sleeps as well... but the "feel" is different. That is the reason why I love to travel to Asian cities. I love them!
6) Fashion and cute stuffs - I do not want to say that Aussies are fashion-less but compared to the Asian fashion, ours is so "laid back". Asians sure are creative. Not to mention all the cute stuffs we see in those dramas and movies....I wish half of what we found here in Australia is that creative. When it comes to fashion, Aussies have a very simple, straight-forward approach.
7) Hair style - especially for the men. I can vouch that most Aussie blokes will look ridiculous in those "pixie-ish" hair cuts that most Asian actors spot nowadays. In fact, it will be downright wrong for Aussie blokes to wear those hair style! *shivers*
