한국 엄마들

어렸을 때, 제가 잘못을 하면 우리 엄마는 큰 나무 숟가락을 들고 저를 때리시려고 집 (안) 여기저기를 쫓아다니셨어요. 근데 저를 야단치실 때, 맞는 것 보다 엄마의 화나신 목소리가 더 무섭더라고요. (이제 엄마는 부드러워지신 것 같지만 아빠는 원래 쿨한 편이세요.) 사랑하는 우리 엄마가 옛날에는 이러셨다고 한국어머니가 있는 친구에게만 얘기 해줬어요. 그 친구들도 저의 경험과 비슷한 이야기를 해줘서 깜짝 놀랐어요. 친구들 엄마도 옷걸이나 무선 전화기로 때리셨다고 했어요. “뭐... 'kimchi temper' 때문에 화를 참는 게 어려웠겠지"라고 했어요. ㅎ

When I was little, whenever I was really naughty, my mother would take a wooden spoon and chase me all around the house, with full intention of walloping my butt into shape. But while I was getting my scolding, my mother's angry voice was actually scarier than the whacks. (My mother's calmed down quite a bit since then, but my dad's always been pretty cool in that regard.) The fact that my loving mother was actually this worked-up in the past, well, this I told only to my other friends with Korean mothers. I was really surprised to hear that they had the same stories I did, although with varying objects such as hangers or cordless telephones. "It must be the kimchi temper that makes it hard for our moms to control their anger," they said. Haha.