- I moved to South Korea in 2007 and shortly after met my now-husband.
- We have three boys, ages 2, 8, and 12, and are raising them in three languages.
My journey to South Korea began in 2007 when I accepted a position as an associate professor in Daegu. I met my Persian husband, a jeweler and businessman with Korean citizenship, in 2008. My husband and I met while riding motorcycles, and as our romance blossomed, so did our love for this peaceful and beautiful country.
We are parents to three boys, ages 12, 9, and 2, who are part of their third culture and have Korean citizenship. We celebrate the holidays of three cultures. We speak three languages at home — Korean, English, and Persian.
Raising kids in South Korea is a slice of modern paradise: convenient, safe, and attractive in both outdoor recreation and education.
Universal healthcare made it easier to have a big family
The reason for the big age gap between our kids is that I suffered a miscarriage and infertility before my third child. Fortunately, fertility treatments are available immediately in modern hospitals at no cost.
After our third baby arrived, we spent three days in a private hospital room eating traditional Korean postpartum fare: three meals of rice and seaweed soup. We checked out, paid a tax-refundable fee of $680 for the delivery and our stay, and went home, where we received help from our postpartum doula. All Koreans have two weeks of free access to postpartum doulas, which is extendable for an additional two weeks for a fee that costs us $375 a week for full-time 40-hour home care.
At home, our doula cleaned every micro speck of dust from our entire house and prepared lunch for our whole family. She cared for our children during her stay and taught me to make kimchi and banchan.
Soon after, we received a congratulatory birth bonus of about $1,500 and a monthly government stipend. All newborns receive monthly stipends of about $528 for the first year, gradually decreasing until the early elementary years.
While on my fully protected, extendable, and paid 90-day maternity leave, I began juggling life with three children. My boys attended Korean school and read a lot to maintain their English and Persian skills at home.
School lunches are the highlight of my kids' day
Entering a school here is like walking back into 1990s US. I worry less because of the open-door policy for parents to enter school, no metal detectors, no guns, and no active shooter drills. My kids walk to school and play independently with friends in beautiful parks.
School lunches are the highlight of my kids' school days. Warm, healthy meals with multiple side dishes like fresh salads, crab soup, duck, and shrimp cakes with macarons for dessert. No child ever brings a lunch box to school — nothing to pack except for field trips.
Shuttle services for after-school programs make it easy for kids to participate in activities. Schools also offer many programs, including robotics, piano, martial arts, coding, soccer, art, and academic subjects. Multicultural families have access to private tutoring for language, math, and life skills.
We will send our youngest to full-time day care and pay only our low school taxes. Preschool education offers a blended Montessori approach with modern facilities, including swimming pools and vegetable gardens. Our boys enjoy their educational experiences. As they get older, they benefit from public International Baccalaureate schools, which aim to create communicative and self-directed learners.
In South Korea, we have discovered a community where all children can flourish, that celebrates multiculturalism — we have starred in television shows, performances, and books — and where educating kids is a unique adventure.
We will continue to embrace the educational opportunities, the culture, and, of course, the delicious food South Korea offers.