HYPOTHESIS: Yoomi Choi

HYPOTHESIS:

The term “goose fathers” derives from the Korean view of the goose as a traditional symbol of family loyalty. These goose fathers send their wives and young children overseas for the purpose of acquiring a better education, while the fathers remain in Korea.
The negative situations that the goose fathers are introduced with are loneliness, unable to provide themselves with nutritious meals, and the fear of coming home every night and day in an empty house. This is why many fathers often have meetings with other fathers with similar situations in order to relieve stress, and their loneliness. These meetings usually consist of drinking and smoking because it is the easy way out. These habits create an increase in health problems among goose fathers. In extreme cases, many commit suicide after severe depression and stress.
These problems not only affect the fathers, but also mothers too. Mothers, who have followed to take care of their children, also go through difficulties. They are obligated to learn a new language and to adapt to a whole new environment, and attend to children’s puberty without a father figure. Mothers also deal with stress from the obligation of disciplining their children, and loneliness from being away from their husbands. Mothers are also under a lot of pressure to lead the children the right way, if the children fail academically or even emotionally, the fathers will blame the mothers for everything.
Children are also prone to a lot of stress. They are forced to get used to a new culture and environment and to exceed academically more than the typical children. They are not familiar with the new language and have no friends. They are also under pressure to do better so that the parents can be proud and feel like they have made the right decision to come overseas. Since studying overseas is high in demand, the number of students flying to different countries increased tremendously, which means there are more Korean students in each school, which would lead these students to create a clique. This clique will have no obligation to learn the new language, or even to apply themselves with other foreigners.
Due to the long distance relationship between the father and the children, they tend to grow apart from each other and feel uncomfortable and awkward toward each other. This is a negative issue towards a family and leads to divorce. If there was a system or product that can help these family understand what each of them are going through, and to be able to build a healthy family from long distance, it will improve the quality of family relationship, and prevent family disasters in the future.


WHAT INFORMATION WOULD SUPPORT OR REFUTE YOUR ARGUMENT:

-Statistics
-Experiences of these groups of people
-Media


WHO HAS THIS INFORMATION:
-Korean overseas students
-Parents
-Schools
-Media


HOW MIGHT YOU EXTRACT THE INFORMATION:

-Interview
-Questionnaire
-Observation


HOW CAN THESE GROUPS BE REACHED:

-I would find online forums that these groups of people created and ask questions, and email for more details



STAKEHOLDERS:

Fathers:
-Working in Korea to support the family who is in overseas
-Hurting because of bad economy, dollar currency is peaking
-Feeling left out and distant from mothers and children (lack of communication)

Mothers:
-Under pressure to take care of children to be successful
-Going through different culture, language, environment, and children’s puberty
-Constant worrying of husbands’ emotional and physical well being

Children:
-Under pressure of getting the best grade they can
-Stress coming from different culture, language, environment, and puberty
-Slow education process due to increased Korean overseas students
-Feeling awkward when they meet with their fathers due to long time spent apart

Teachers:
-Assume that the whole family is together
-Expect the same as non-international students
-Will have better understanding of these situations so that they can form some kind of support group for these children, so that they can have mother/father figure

Korean board of education:
-They can help with their own education system
-Find a way to improve their education system


RESEARCH PLAN:

Interviews and Questionnaires

To students:
-The reasons why you are studying overseas? Their decision or parents decision?
-When did you move to different country?
-How did you feel when you first went studying abroad?
-Do you go back to Korea for vacations?
-What frustrates you the most?
-Do you contact your family often? Using phone? Email? If not, why not?
-Do you talk about what is going on in your life with your parents?
-How do you feel when you meet your father, does it feel like old times or do you feel awkward?
-What problems did/do you have with your parents? Why is that?
-How would you like to improve your relationship with your parents?

To mothers:
-Why did/didn’t you go with your children?
-Did you think about sending your children alone?
-Did you choose to go or not go with your children?
-Do you communicate with your husband often?
-How is your relationship with your children? Husband?
-What frustrates you the most?
-Do you talk about what’s going on with children’s life?
-What problems did/do you have with your children? Husband?
-How would you like to improve your relationship with your children?

To fathers:
-How has your daily routines changed?
-Did you perspective of studying abroad change?
-Do you communicate with your children and wife often? How do you communicate? Phone? Email?
-What frustrates you the most?
-What do you talk about when you are on the phone with your children?
-Do you visit your children during the vacations?
-How do you feel when you meet your children? Is it like old times or is it awkward?
-What problems do you have with your children? Wife?
-How would you like to improve you relationship with your children?

To teachers:
-Do you notice the different mannerism and etiquette between the typical students and international students? If there are, what are they?
-In school, do international students form cliques?
-How do they perform academically? Do they participate or stay quiet?
-Do they participate in extra curricular activities?