Comparing And Contrasting Cultures: Korean Culture And Caribbean Hispanics

I find the Korean culture very interesting because my favorite food to eat is Korean bbq and I would love to learn more about their culture. According to statistics, the international diabetes federation lists the prevalence of diabetes in Korea in 2003 as 5% to 8% and forecasts a prevalence of 8% to 11% in South Korea by 2025.

One of the famous or most well-known of the Korean dish is kimchi. Kimchi is made up of cabbages, hot pepper, and salt to crisp the vegetables. Kimchi can be eaten with any food because it is a side dish and Korean people usually have side dishes around their main meal. Like most Asian heritage, Korean meals would mostly contain large portions of rice with anything they eat. In New Year, they would usually prepare a dish named “duk”, which is rice cakes that is steamed and formed into sticks. From all my readings, it seems that Korean people eat a lot of food that is warm such as tofu soups because they live in a cooler environment.

Korean people don’t usually drink beer or liquor but they have their own so called, “Soju or rice wine.” Soju is similar to Russian vodka and Korean rice wine is usually made out of grain rice and boiled water. Rice wine would fit perfect for a cold season because it would be used back in the days where famers who would want to warm themselves up.

Since Korean history, acupuncture, reflexology, and herbal medicines were all being used back in the days and still today. Current food practices, since there is now more access to faster food and limited time to cook, Koreans tend to consume more fast food items. Packages of Korean ramen is also an easier way out to eat with some of kimchi side dish. Lastly, always address Korean American clients as Mr., Miss, or Mrs. Followed by their surname. For example, “Mrs. Park.” Always build a good relationship and be more engaged in the conversation because that shows a sign of respect and good rapport.I find Caribbean Hispanic really unique due to their traditional foods and dishes because it originally came from the New World where Columbus arrived. As I was reading I came up with some important information such as diabetes prevalence in their culture, traditional foods and dishes, holiday foods, traditional health beliefs, current food practices, and counseling considerations. Before I start, I would like to describe what I know from diabetes type 1 and 2.

Type 1 diabetes is when the body are eliminating insulin and Type 2 diabetes is when it’s making lesser insulin which results in insulin deficiency. Caribbean Hispanic type 2 diabetes prevalence is mainly focused on Mexican Americans than Hispanic groups because there is not enough information to estimate as a whole. Middle aged and older Hispanics are more at risk for type 2 diabetes than others. Compared to type 1 diabetes, type 1 diabetes is lower by half than type 2 diabetes.

Their traditional foods usually contain cheddar cheese, avocado, mango, beef, and eggs. Some of the dishes we probably aren’t familiar is Tamarindo, which is a cinnamon-brownpods that contain sticky and tart brown pulp and inedible large brown seeds. Their most eaten dish in Caribbean is rice and beans. Their Traditional Christmas foods includes pernil (roast pork), Arroz (rice), and congri (beans). Caribbean Hispanics traditionally believe that health exists only when the body, mind, and spirit are in balance. For example, a compliment should contain a blessing rather than just a compliment itself.

Current food practices can be different from each household family because of their food availability, health beliefs, socioeconomic status, and daily exposure to food advertising. The largest Caribbean Hispanics is usually in New York, New Jersey and Florida. In my opinion, if there is a larger population than there would be easier access to their food such as the availability of markets and restaurants in the Caribbean culture. Lastly, counseling considerations is one of the most important key to communicate with Hispanic clients. We should always address them in a mannered way by using the term senor (male) or senora (female). We should also find about their beliefs because that may affect their health outcomes. Family dynamics is also very important to Caribbean Hispanics because they care more about their family than their own health.

From my perspective, Korean culture and Caribbean Hispanics shared some things in common, which is rice and how their household runs. Rice is both important in both cultures because they eat rice in their main dishes. Caribbean Hispanics would have rice with shrimp, chicken, and beans. Korean culture would have rice with tofu soup and side dishes such as kimchi. Something I find both different in the culture is their breakfast style, and traditional health beliefs Caribbean Hispanics breakfast seems really light because they tend to have white bread and some eggs with a cup of coffee.

On the other hand, Korean breakfast is the most important meal of the day and it can be described as having a feast on the table. They would have rice on the table, soup with seaweed or tofu and plenty of side dishes such as kimchi, sweet potatoes, squid, fish, and chop chae. In Korean culture, coffee or tea cannot be served with meals it can be served after meals while Caribbean Hispanics can have any time. Something very similar is the way how household runs in the family and that is women tend to do the cleaning and cooking. In both culture, women took care of the house work and do all the cooking for the family. For beverages, Koreans tend to like to something warm to drink even with anything that contains alcohol so no ice would be included. Their main alcohol drinks are soju or rice wine. Having a few of those drinks would heat up the body according to their terms. Rum and beer are popular alcoholic beverages for Caribbean Hispanics. Beer is colloquially referred to as a frita (“cold one”). Korean health beliefs are that they believe traditional Korean medicine has a long and successful history. Korean practices a lot of western forms of medicines in their own expertise.

Caribbean Hispanics traditionally believe that health exists only when the body, mind, and sprit are I balance. I would think that both cultures would have a hard time assimilating to each other’s culture. This is because Korean culture is more used to a colder season and everything they does is relate to it. On the other hand, Caribbean Hispanics is better adapted to a hotter environment. Another important key is both culture have different traditional beliefs and one might not agree with the other.

The culture that would identify me the most is the Korean culture because I am also Asian so we have very similaritiesways of doing things such as, having a breakfast feast. I probably would have a hard time with the Caribbean Hispanic culture because I don’t agree with their traditional belief such as complimenting a person must also include a blessing. I also prefer warmer drinks than cold ones. What I like about the Caribbean Hispanic culture is that they tend to eat a lot of vegetables such as beans and green peas. In my opinion, I think the Caribbean Hispanic culture has a healthier diet lifestyle than any other culture. What I like about the Korean culture is that have a lot of side dishes to eat for every meal and that is having more different kind of food to eat from. All of this can apply to my future practices in healthcare because I have learned the basic steps for these two different cultures this can be by food they’re consuming and their health beliefs. If I was a physician, I can assume what they’re consuming that is bad for their health and what they actually want that is happening to their body. For example, the Korean culture would prefer western medicine practices to heal them more than eastern medical wisdom.