Lunar New Year – Taiwan and Korea's biggest holiday – is coming up on February 1st, and this usually means it's time for family reunions!

Given the COVID situation, we can't say for sure celebrations will happen. Nonetheless, it's still a great time to discuss family, the most central part of the holiday and a big part of our students' cultures in general.

So today, we'll share some fun facts about families, modern and traditional, in both Taiwan and South Korea. We'll also throw in some discussion questions as well as vocabulary (bolded) that you can teach.

Fun Fact #1: Chinese and Korean have elaborate terms for family members.

During the New Year, extended families get together, which means it's time for our students to greet all the relatives they haven't seen all year. Easy enough, right?

Not at all! In both Mandarin Chinese and Korean, what you call a relative depends on a variety of factors, such as whether they are on your mother or father's side of the family, whether they are related to you by blood, and more.

To give you an idea, Chinese has at least five different terms for "uncle" depending on whether this uncle is your mother's brother, father's older brother, father's younger brother, mother's brother-in-law, or father's brother-in-law.

Terms for relatives you don't meet very often (think "grandma's sister's husband") are becoming less well-known, but you'll be surprised by how many are still in use.

For fun, you can show students a family tree and ask them what terms they'd use to refer to each person. This can be your own family tree or a generic one you find online – just make sure it's filled with as many people as possible!

• Do you like seeing all your relatives during the holidays? Why? Why not?
• How often do you see your extended family?
• What do you think about English terms for family members?

Fun Fact #2: Adult children financially support their parents.

During the Lunar New Year, you'll often see people giving money to children. But what happens when those children grow up? In Taiwan, they are expected to give money to their parents and grandparents as well as their kids, nieces, and nephews.

• How much money do people usually give their parents and grandparents for Lunar New Year?
• Besides New Years, what other occasions do people give money as gifts? (You may be surprised to hear that people do this at funerals too!)

Adult children don't just give money to their parents during New Year. In fact, in many families in Taiwan and South Korea, they give their parents some money on a regular basis. For example, a survey in 2016 found that 60% of South Korean children do this.

• How common would you say it is for people to financially support their parents?
• How do people decide how much allowance/pocket money to give their parents? Do they give more if they live together?
• Are all children expected to chip in equally or are some expected to contribute more than others?

Children helping their parents financially isn't unique to East Asia, but it is more rooted in culture. As one expert explains:

Children incur a debt to their parents who gave birth to them and raised them. This debt lies behind the idea of filial duty: treating parents respectfully at all times, taking care of them in their old age, mourning them well at proper funerals, and performing ceremonies for them after their deaths. Even fulfilling these duties, however, is not enough to repay the debt to one's parents.

The deep-rooted belief that children should give back to their parents is also built into the law in South Korea and Taiwan. In fact, until 2010, adult children in Taiwan were legally required to financially support their parents even if they had been abandoned as children.

• Would you still give your parents money even if you weren't on good terms with them?
• How do you feel about laws that require children to financially support their parents?

These days, more and more people feel that the responsibility for supporting parents – especially elderly parents – should be shared between the children, society, and of course the parents themselves. Some parents won't even take money from their kids anymore.

• How do people usually prepare for retirement in your country?
• What kinds of pension plans do companies or the government offer?
• How would your parent(s) feel about living in a retirement home? How would you feel about this?

Fun Fact #3: Children live with their parents until marriage and some stick around even longer.

In Taiwan and South Korea, there's no shame in living with your parents until you're married! Most children who study or work in their hometown will keep living with their parents.

• What are some pros and cons of living with parents?
• How common is it for people to live with their partners before marriage? Is this taboo?

Some children continue to live with their parents even after marriage. This is more common for male than female children, and traditionally it was the eldest son's duty to do this.

• How common is it for married couples to live with parents? What are their reasons for this?
• These days, it is still common for eldest sons to live with their parents after marriage?

There are many practical reasons married people might live with their parents. Working couples can be sure that their children will have grandparents to look after them during the day, and living expenses and housework can be shared – definitely also a plus.

However, if there are large differences in lifestyles, values, and expectations, this arrangement can be disastrous for the marriage and even lead to divorce. So these days, many people recommend married couples live close to their parents but not necessarily under the same roof.

• Did you grow up living with your grandparents or know anyone who did? What do you think of this arrangement?
• How common would you say divorces are in your country? What are the main reasons?

These days, more and more people delay marriage or just don't get married at all. Folks who do this can either move out or continue living with their parents. Some will even move back in with their parents after a divorce.

• Why do you think more people are delaying marriage or not getting married at all?
• In your country, do unmarried people continue to live with their parents or move out? What are the main reasons for this?
• Do divorced people usually move back in with their parents?

👋 That’s It For Now

We hope these fun facts serve you well in your lessons this month! For more family-related topics, here are some options from Daily News that will definitely spark interesting discussions with your students:

• Bad Family Relations Worse for Health Than Romantic Problems
• Active Dads Make Families Happier
• Are Friends Better Than Family for Your Health?

And if you want a more general introduction to the holiday, check out our last year's post on this topic: "Upcoming Holiday: Lunar New Year 🎉."