I visited my daughter in Korea after she married a Korean man — then I overheard her husband speaking Korean with his father, unaware I understood every word
My daughter, Emily, moved to South Korea for work a few years ago.
That’s where she fell in love with a man named Joon, and not long afterward, they got married.
Joon always spoke English with me.
When we first met, I thought he was wonderful.
He was kind to Emily, attentive, and caring.
I was happy for my daughter.
Then, a few years after their wedding, I decided to visit Emily.
I missed her terribly.
Joon and Emily met me at the airport, and I was incredibly happy to see them.
Emily settled me into the guest room and told me that she’d invited Joon’s parents over the next day so we could all spend time together as a family.
I’d only met Joon’s parents once, at the wedding, and they seemed like lovely people.
The next evening, Emily was still held up at work, but Joon’s parents had already arrived.
So I hurried into the kitchen to prepare some appetizers for them before dinner.
Joon’s mother stepped away to the bathroom while Joon stayed at the table with his father, Young-ho.
I was preparing appetizers and bringing them straight to the table.
Then Young-ho switched to Korean, turned red as a tomato, and began speaking to Joon in a slightly raised voice.
They spoke freely, clearly assuming that I DIDN’T UNDERSTAND Korean.
But the thing was, I’d started learning Korean after Emily got married.
I hadn’t told anyone about it yet.
I’d simply been studying it quietly.
And then I froze in the doorway when I heard WHAT Young-ho was saying to his son.
Young-ho (in Korean):
“Oh my God, how much longer are you going to hide this from Emily?
You DON’T deserve her.
You’re DISGRACING our family.”
