90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way fans are dragging Jihoon Lee for being unprepared for his wife, Deavan Clegg, and his children's arrival in Korea. Deavan's mother even thinks that he should have his own home, a steady job, and fat savings account by his age. However, a fan pointed out that Jihoon actually isn't lazy according to Korean standards.
Fan-favorites Jihoon Lee and Deavan Clegg have returned for the second season. The couple has a lot of changes with acclimating to married life, having a family of four, and a recent heartbreaking miscarriage. Fans are so excited to see that Deavan and Jihoon's story continues. Fans watched on season one of 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way when Deavan left everything to come to Korea to be with her then-fiancé after the birth of their baby, Taeyang. Deavan was expecting to live with her new husband and her two children in their own home, however, she was surprised to find out that she would be staying with her in-laws.
On the newest episode of 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way, Jihoon is still not motivated to take care of his growing family. Many fans believed Jihoon is merely lazy with no motivation to take care of his two children or American wife. However, a 90 Day Fiancé fan on Reddit, who happens to be an American married to a Korean man and currently living in South Korea, came to young man’s defense. The user was to point out that Deavan has no idea or knowledge of how things work in South Korea but expected situations to go as they would in America. Many agreed with Deavan’s mother when she told cameras that 30-year-old Jihoon should have life savings and a home by his age. However, what American audiences fail to realize is that it is actually a very unrealistic expectation in South Korea. Read the entire statement from u/Sunshine_Every_day below:
In South Korea, it is not easy for the younger generation to get on the property ladder. Most Koreans live with multiple generations in one household. Grandparents, parents, and children stay under the same roof until they get married or their mid-30’s when hopefully, they have a decent job. Most of the population lives in high-rise apartment buildings. To rent, a Korean must put a large down payment that can be as low as $10,000 but as high as six figures. The actual rent can also be as high as a couple of thousand dollars a month.
Then the Reddit user points out that TLC actually mistranslated what Jihoon said about getting a job. The user points out, "The subtitles said, "I don’t really have a real job," implying that he lied about having a job. However, what Jihoon really said in Korean is that he doesn’t have anything he could call a "job" or "career", he just does part-time jobs. In Korea, there are two types of jobs, which are usually translated in English as "full-time jobs" and "part-time jobs." The term "full-time job" refers to salaried positions with a contract, and “part-time job” refers to non-permanent positions in which you earn an hourly wage." This makes sense now that Jihoon would say that. The TLC editing made it seems he's entirely unprepared when the truth is that he's merely pointing out that his part-time job isn't salaried.
For most young Koreans, like Jihoon, it makes the most sense to wait and save up as much money as he can. This is why in Korean standards he is not lazy; he is just following the cycle that most Koreans his age do. Supporters of Jihoon felt it was completely unfair that Deavon said it was easy to find a place to live as she misrepresented their situation.
90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way airs Sundays at 8pm EST on TLC,
Source: u/Sunshine_Every_day