The Domestic Honor Fight
The last time I experienced this phenomenon was 20 years ago, the last time I was in Korea. I had completely forgotten about this sort of thing. I'll explain.
The other night, around 4:30am, I was woken up by the sound of a woman crying. She was somewhere out my window, either on the street or in an apartment very close to me. She was very loud. She was crying, yelling, screaming and the sounds she made there's no way to describe other than it sounded like the despair of a creature on its last stand. You really don't hear this kind of wailing anywhere else, at least not in any of the many places I've traveled. Every now and then, you could hear her husband, and he'd retort with a "Huhn" or some other gutteral sound that really didn't say anything. But it would be the woman screaming for about five minutes, and then the husband with a few gutteral sounds, and then the woman screaming again.
What was going on? Usually this sort of thing has a few causes, but it usually means that someone's life situation has changed dramatically. And yes, Koreans can sometimes become over dramatic in these situations, but I think there's a logic to it because these situations are generally of such importance that they become issues like this. In these types of cases, usually it's something the husband has done that has forced a bad change to the family. In most cases, it's usually a loss of an important job where the wife is wailing about how they're about to become destitute and homeless (as I live in the most expensive part of Seoul, I can see this as a HUGE issue if it ever happened). Or the wife could have found out about an affair the husband was having, and somehow it has become of such importance that the wife finally felt the need to address it and show how it has completely destroyed her every foundation worth living.
These moments usually appear as if they're life-shattering. For everyone else in the area, you are forced to listen to about an hour of this battle between husband and wife, much like you might have to listen to two cats in heat going back and forth, because it actually sounds a lot like that, without the positive aspects that such an encounter might bring for two cats. It is also the loudest thing you'll ever hear at 4am in the morning. Eventually, you fall back asleep and the issue is over, but I have yet to figure out what the resolution is between the husband and wife that bring on this event. I wonder if they work things out, or if their existence is as threatened as the wife's wails indicate that it just might be.
Stumble It!
The other night, around 4:30am, I was woken up by the sound of a woman crying. She was somewhere out my window, either on the street or in an apartment very close to me. She was very loud. She was crying, yelling, screaming and the sounds she made there's no way to describe other than it sounded like the despair of a creature on its last stand. You really don't hear this kind of wailing anywhere else, at least not in any of the many places I've traveled. Every now and then, you could hear her husband, and he'd retort with a "Huhn" or some other gutteral sound that really didn't say anything. But it would be the woman screaming for about five minutes, and then the husband with a few gutteral sounds, and then the woman screaming again.
What was going on? Usually this sort of thing has a few causes, but it usually means that someone's life situation has changed dramatically. And yes, Koreans can sometimes become over dramatic in these situations, but I think there's a logic to it because these situations are generally of such importance that they become issues like this. In these types of cases, usually it's something the husband has done that has forced a bad change to the family. In most cases, it's usually a loss of an important job where the wife is wailing about how they're about to become destitute and homeless (as I live in the most expensive part of Seoul, I can see this as a HUGE issue if it ever happened). Or the wife could have found out about an affair the husband was having, and somehow it has become of such importance that the wife finally felt the need to address it and show how it has completely destroyed her every foundation worth living.
These moments usually appear as if they're life-shattering. For everyone else in the area, you are forced to listen to about an hour of this battle between husband and wife, much like you might have to listen to two cats in heat going back and forth, because it actually sounds a lot like that, without the positive aspects that such an encounter might bring for two cats. It is also the loudest thing you'll ever hear at 4am in the morning. Eventually, you fall back asleep and the issue is over, but I have yet to figure out what the resolution is between the husband and wife that bring on this event. I wonder if they work things out, or if their existence is as threatened as the wife's wails indicate that it just might be.
Labels: Korea
Stumble It!
posted by Duane @ 9:06 PM
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