Canada Goose-Dad

Koreans have an interesting saying when referring to guys like me: 기러기아빠 (gi-reo-gi a-ppa, wild goose dad). Whenever I told Koreans that I was here and my wife and kids are in Vancouver they would call me this, and now I know why. My boss explained it to me quite well (although he called the bird a seagull, as many Koreans do).

It goes like this: a goose flies very high in the sky (so does a vulture, but I guess that's not as poetic, nor as flattering) and has very good eyesight. Therefore, it can see things waaaay in the distance--which is good, because that's where a 기러기아빠's family is...across the ocean. It is used for Koreans who go abroad to work, as many do in the Middle East on the many Korean-lead construction projects there, for the many families that have the wife and kids in a foreign place (especially Canada, especially Vancouver...there are so many there) and the dad stays in Seoul, and for guys like me who come to work but whose wife likes Vancouver soooo much she can't bear to live in Seoul and put the children through such torture as is living here.

It's just another part of Korea where things that don't make a lot of sense at first seem to be clearer once you get the whole story.


The majestic, beautiful Canada goose.