Video of grateful Korean student goes viral

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A video of a South Korean student kneeling down to his father to express gratitude ahead of a college entrance examination has been widely shared on Chinese social media.

Gun Junseo, 18, was about to take the College Scholastic Ability Test on Thursday morning when he abruptly called his father, who had shortly earlier dropped him off, and asked him to “come back quickly.”

The 50-year-old father then drove back, worried that his son had forgotten to take the test.

He was surprised when Gun Junseo walked to the front of the car and knelt down in a bow to thank his father for all that had been done in raising him.

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The father uploaded the footage, which was captured by the back camera on the car, to his Facebook page, and was later approached by the media.

“I was so surprised. As a father, I should have been the first to hug him and show my support, but I was grateful that he knelt and bowed to me first,” the dad said.

Kneeling and bowing is a sign of respect in South Korea and several Asian countries but Chinese no longer do it as often as in the past.

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The video sparked online debate on Chinese social media. Some said they don’t fully identify with the behavior.

“There are plenty of ways to express gratitude, but kneeling down is not the best way,” said a Weibo user whose comment got more than 4,100 thumbs-up.

“The father must be so scared, wondering what happened indeed,” said another Weibo user.

Others voiced support for such respectful behaviors with comments such as: “So touching”, “This is humanity". Gratitude for parents should always be borne in mind.”

Some netizens also reminded that it is also a traditional part of the culture of China. “What’s wrong with kneeling down to parents? It used to be our culture, but it has been ignored.”