The Ultimate Plea

Judy: One of the most striking things I see in Kdramas -that is unheard of in American life- is pleading or begging while on one's knees. This seems to be the highest level of submission and deference you can pay to someone else... the penultimate request from one person to another. Kneeling can be done to ask forgiveness, to show respect, and when honoring ancestors. It's a big deal.

In Love, Marriage, & Divorce (Season 2, Episode 9) one of the cheating husbands conspicuously gets on his knees in front of his wife to beg forgiveness. She completely understands how serious his behavior is but ultimately rejects his plea. (This Gmama can provide commentary on her decision but this post is only about the kneeling.)

I find Korean emotions perhaps a bit deeper than American emotions; or maybe they just demonstrate their emotions more visibly. They seem to be very adept at offering intense apologies; no breezy 'sorry 'bout that' from Koreans. Instead apologies are self effacing and intense for even things that Americans might find less serious. And the ultimate apology is doing so on one's knees.

Pat here. I agree that their apologies seem more profound, but I wonder if it’s just another kind of lip service. It happens so regularly in Kdramas that I’m thinking it’s almost meaningless. It looks good, but is it really sincere?

And while we’re on the subject of what Judy calls kneeling but I call Full Body Prostration (watch ‘The Red Sleeve’ to see FBP in action), have you noticed no one over 50 years of age does it? I tried it the other day and needed a winch to get back up. Apologizing in Korea is for young people!

You guys have a winch in your house? Or is it a wench?- Judy

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