한국어 공책

Familial relations are confusing in Korean. Sex, age, marital status, and things I probably still haven't figured out come into play.

I have been told that I should call George my "new father" (새아버지) to make it clear that he is not my "real father," but then another Korean told me if I didn't call him 아버지, then it seemed like I didn't like him. Whenever my students or Koreans find out I have a stepfather, they give me a very pitiful look. I've learned to say, to the students at least, that I am very lucky because I have two dads who love me. And when I tell them that I have seven living grandparents, they freak out that I must have gotten many presents when I was young.

Koreans find the familial distinctions hard, too. I asked YJ some terms this weekend, and later Good Man. Both didn't know what "sister-in-law" or "brother-in-law" would be and had to look it up.

I have three parents and 8 grandparents (one is dead). I have 11 aunts and uncles, 10 of whom are married, bringing...wait, I forgot the aunts and uncles on my stepdad's side. Um...he has one sister, but I've only met her once, and he has a brother and her wife and their kids. OK, so a total of...I don't know how many aunts and uncles.

All of the married couples except one have kids (I think) and some of those kids are married with kids.

My mother's side of the family is especially complicated. Mom has a stepdad (dead) and a stepmom with half brothers and sisters. Of my mom, her sister, and their three half brothers...four of them have either
been married, had kids and then divorced or married someone who'd already been married and had kids or both.

Everyone in my family is an aunt, uncle, cousin, grandma, grandpa, brother, sister. We make no distinctions about married-in, stepped-in, halfed-in. Once you're in, you're in. Forever. Mwhaha haaa ha!

When my brother and I were kids, however, we needed to keep track of the grandparents (we called them all "Grandma" and "Grandpa."). So between ourselves we called them "Grandma and Grandpa," "Grandma and Grandpa in Florida" and "Grandma and Grandpa Who Shoots Bears." Then Mom married George and there were "Grandma and Grandpa George's-Last-Name."

This weekend, with YJ, I made a family tree. I left off marriages, divorces, and kids of all the aunts and uncles. The only marriages are those of my parents, grandparents, and brother's family, as well as Good Man's parents.

A lot of things came down to 외 (outside, mother's) or 새 (new, step) or both! 외새모모. I very likely got the order of siblings in my father's family wrong.

My family tree stretches over two pages, cause Mom's side got its own page. We also included Good Man, what his immediate family would be to me if we were married, and what my brother and his wife would be to Good Man. I forgot to find out what my parents would be to Good Man.

Family Tree (Dad and Stepdad's Family, Good Man, Johnny and Ashley's Family)

Family Tree (Mom's Family Only)