[KS] Inquiry from a New York Times columnist

[Peter Schroepfer]

Greetings to all on the list, many of whom I owe at least a decade's worth
of New Year's wishes. I'll try to catch up!

To the immediate point, I attended university in Seoul and certainly do
recall people who graduated before, with, and after me discussing what nice
gift to present their parents with, whether to present them with the whole
of the envelope containing their first monthly wages, and so on. It also
seems to me that over the years I've occasionally read mention of people
buying their parents red thermal underwear on that occasion. Up until the
late eighties thermal underwear was not a particularly unusual gift (I
received some myself on occasion), whereas red is not a celebrated color
like it is for the Chinese.

A simple internet search of "first monthly wages" and "parents" reveals a
lot of discussion of this, especially by younger people asking "Why thermal
undies and why red?" The general consensus seems to be that back when Korea
was poor and people were getting their first jobs in public life
disconnected from family (1) thermal underwear was special because it was
expensive and heating systems were poor and (2) red was the cheapest dye
available.

Here's a piece written by a father who posts pictures of a purse for his
wife and brand-name "outdoor wear" for him, from their daughter on the
occasion of her first wages.
http://www.ohmynews.com/NWS_Web/view/at_pg.aspx?CNTN_CD=A0001858594

Peter Schroepfer | 서반석 드림.
5!O.29O.3439

"Do not deny the classical approach, simply as a reaction, or you will have
created another pattern and trapped yourself there." - Bruce Lee

On Thu, Jul 21, 2016 at 4:51 PM, Lieber, Ron <lieber at nytimes.com> wrote:

> Hello -
>
> My name is Ron Lieber, and I write the Your Money column for the New York
> Times -- all about anything and everything that hits you in the wallet. I
> write often about families and money -- how not just dollars but also
> wisdom and values are taught and passed between generations.
>
> On that note, over the years Korean-American friends of mine have told me
> about a tradition where new college graduates (or teenagers or college
> students or even some older adults getting their first paychecks at a new,
> prestigious workplace) buy a gift for their parents after they start their
> first full-time jobs. I've heard about everything from handing the entire
> paycheck over in cash to buying red thermal underwear for both parents or
> lingerie for their mothers.
>
> I'm trying to trace the origins of this tradition and write about how
> different Korean and Korean-American families interpret it today. I think
> it's something that all young adults might want to mimic in some way,
> whatever their family background.
>
> If you can help, I'd be grateful for an email reply -- even if it's to
> share a story about a gift you've given or received.
>
> Thanks so much...
>
>
> Ron Lieber
> The New York Times
> Your Money columnist
> lieber at nytimes.com
> 212-556-1514
> http://nytimes.com/lieber
>
> "The Opposite of Spoiled" is my book about how -- and why -- to talk to
> kids about money. For more information, visit http://oppositeofspoiled.com
>
> Twitter: @ronlieber <https://twitter.com/ronlieber>
>
>
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