Good Fortune

Last weekend was our second annual Memorial Day Hong Kong trip.  We enjoyed it last year but left feeling unsatisfied as if we missed something, so we decided to go back this year and do some more exploring in search of the elusive "What makes Hong Kong Hong Kong?"  Since our last visit, our good friend Tasha moved from Seoul to Hong Kong so she was our tour guide and bar hopping coordinator.  Also visiting for the weekend was Tasha's Korean friend Chloe (her English name) from Seoul.

Chloe speaks English beautifully and we took advantage by asking her a gazillion questions about Korean culture, specifically about her new boyfriend.  Every answer inevitably led to another question, but after one revelation we were so shocked we had to linger on the topic for quite some time.  Here's the story:

Koreans observe strict filial obedience and seek their parents' permission for nearly everything.  One example is that Chloe is 30 with a good job and her own apartment (shared with her sister, but rare to be living away from her parents while unmarried), but her parents insist that she send her money home.  This isn't because they need financial assistance, rather it's because her parents want to ensure she's spending her money wisely and therefore they manage it for her.  Chloe had to ask for permission to go to Hong Kong, both for budgetary reasons and because it was a long way to travel.  So it's safe to assume that Chloe's parents have strict rules for dating, and sure enough they do, but it's not quite what you'd expect.  Most parents want to know the background and education of their daughter's prospect, but Chloe's mom went to the fortune teller to get the real story.  In fact, she went to three fortune tellers to be sure she was getting the right story, and Chloe's boyfriend's mom went too.  So after about a month of dating, six fortune tellers weighed in on their relationship and determined based on their birth dates, birth times and birth locations that they are an "okay" match.  Not written in the stars or damned as star-crossed lovers, just "okay."  Chloe and her boyfriend didn't attend any of these sessions, but they were beholden to the results, because they said if they got bad results then they would break up.  How very superstitious!  Chloe said she was extremely nervous beforehand because her older sister was in love with a man for half a year before her mom consulted the fortune tellers, but the readings were ominous so she had to break up with him anyway and is still lovesick over him.  Can you imagine?  Chloe says all couples she knows have been vetted by several fortune tellers and she offered to take Andrew and me to see our future.  Korean fortune tellers use a book of numbers based on birth dates and times so there are no tarot cards or palm reading.  I'm pretty curious….

To be honest, I think we learned more about Korea than Hong Kong on this trip, but it was a superb trip nonetheless.  Expect another post with HK photos in a few days….