Visiting Korea with my husband and sons has been a wonderful and tremendously meaningful experience. I nearly cried when we first landed at Incheon International Airport, and later as I watched my boys navigating the aisles of a Family Mart.
And this is exactly what this trip has been all about: little, sudden spurts of joy that made me feel like weeping every hour and that no one has been able to explain. Not to mention the 8 pounds I’ve gained in two weeks.
Every day was challenging -though being fluent in Korean I had to rely on my husband for most everything-, yet exciting and full of opportunities to teach our children, and myself, a little more about our country. The food, the history, the fun places we visited. And through Sean and Will’s enthusiasm I was reminded to forgive, understand, overlook, to embrace and enjoy rather than judge, criticize and shake my head with disbelief every time someone bumped into me and didn’t apologize.
Watching Sean and Will with my husband’s parents transcend the language barrier through the love they have for each other also reminded me of the significance and beauty of family, and how much I want my kids to develop a closer, meaningful bond with their grandparents. At the end of the trip, they even started to talk to them in Korean spontaneously.
The family dinners. The banana milk. The Jjimjil bangs. The shoes with lights. I didn't think I would love it so much. I didn’t think it would be so hard to leave. And I sincerely hope that all of you who still have to travel to Korea with your family will have as much fun as we did.
More pictures of our trip here and here.
- Irene
