Discussion on Korean Culture

[heifeng]

This was something I hope might be pretty interesting/ educational (for me at least hehe). I am sure that many of us studying here in Beijing note that there are many Korean exchange students and those of us in China also know how popular Korean fashion, soaps, songs, etc. are these days.

I personally realize, however, I don't really know a great amoung about Korean culture and how it compares with Chinese culture. Other than watching 加油金顺 and from my exposure to my Korean classmates since I came to China (and I'll conveniently forget the many club hopping K-town girls I knew in LA prior to coming to China) it seems like language studying is very important to many students, as is religion in some cases. Korean students really like to stick together, guys like to drink and have their post military service connection with one another. Girls seem ultra feminine, and often shy, although a few more extroverted tom boy-ish ones do exist here and there. Usually, the louder ones actually have pretty good spoken Chinese. Other than this, it seems parents have a huge role in deciding what and where there kids study...etc. From soap operas (always a great resource for cultural understanding, right?) it seems like people are a little bit more direct when they communicate. Is that so?

I guess Beijing has recently overtaken LA as having the most # of overseas Koreans, so what else is good to know about Korean culture/customs, etc?

[bhchao]

This is a complex topic, as there are many similarities and a few differences between Chinese and Korean culture. I can briefly highlight some important points

1. Both cultures emphasize the intimacy of close relationships between members of a "family". This "family" may not necessarily be one's immediate family clan. "Family" can also incorporate relationships with close friends, associates, or customers; with a big emphasis on reciprocity and loyalty. The Chinese version is guanxi, while the Korean version is called "jeong". The two are quite alike, but with subtle differences. Members of a "family" in the guanxi and jeong contexts are expected to conduct favors for each other, often for the purpose of achieving a common, collectivist goal. Westerners may perceive this as cronyism or corruption, but this perception is misleading.

An example is your friend treats you to lunch or dinner. If you had strong guanxi with that friend, you are expected to return the favor to him or her. The same thing applies in the context where a business applies a similar approach with a customer.

In other words, a greater emphasis is placed on loyalty or emotional commitment in guanxi or jeong, rather than on logic or the law.

In China, having guanxi or connections may mean the difference between life or death, or between success and failure. Jeong in the Korean context is hard to define in concrete terms. It not only includes loyalty, commitment, or interdependency within a group (similar to the Chinese context), but jeong may develop between two people who have shared experiences. Gradually the intimacy between these individuals or group of individuals grows into a long-lasting relationship. Koreans view this as "tied to each other by fate". Jeong transcends gender and one's immediate family. Two males may develop jeong for each other, and vice versa for two females. Again, Westerners may view this in a homophobic context, but that is not really the case in jeong.

The subtle difference between the Chinese and Korean contexts is that the former tends to emphasize loyalty and reciprocity. The latter also emphasizes the same thing, but with a greater emphasis on emotional attachment and bond.

2. Chinese and Koreans are more similar to each other in emotional temperament and mindset than with the Japanese. Japanese may often be perceived (perhaps wrongly) as aloof, calculating, or not openly expressing their feelings often. A lot of Koreans will express their feelings or displeasure with you to your face if they feel they have been treated unfairly.

[novemberfog]

I don't know much about Korean culture, but from my encounters I have always felt there is a very strong system when dealing rank in soceity. Besides the obvious respect in Korean society for doctors and advanced professions, even amongst students there seems to be a form of rank.

I only know the Japanese terms, 先輩"senpai" (senior) and 後輩"kouhai" (junior). I would appreciate it if anyone could post the proper Korean terms for these words. The Japanese system seems to be much more lax in my opinion, espeically outside of a corporate setting. However, the Korean system seems to be in place even in daily life and friendship. My Korean friend my age always adressed our elder Korean friend as "noona" (big sister), while I as a native English speaker was free to just use first names. I always felt I was on the outside because I didn't know Korean culture.

As I understand, traditional Korean businesses also have this from of seniors and juniors. My friend often had to go drinking with his seniors until 2 AM, and then sneak back into the office to finish his paperwork before the start of the business day. As a result, on weekends he prefered to sleep rather than meet with friends. This is because he was a "junior". If he made it to "senior" level in a few years, he could go home after drinking and leave the paperwork to the youngest employees.

[bhchao]

I only know the Japanese terms, 先輩"senpai" (senior) and 後輩"kouhai" (junior). I would appreciate it if anyone could post the proper Korean terms for these words.

The Korean term that is the equivalent of 先輩"senpai" (senior) is sunbae. Sunbae is used to address someone who is older or has more experience. Hoobae is the equivalent of 後輩"kouhai" (junior). .

[Pravit]

Sorry if this is a silly question, but from movies I get the impression that Korean culture is a bit, uh, physical. That is, there has been copious amounts of spanking/face-slapping/fistfights in every Korean movie I've seen...Shiri, Taegukgi, Oldboy, JSA, Silmido, even...no, especially My Sassy Girl. A side question: is spanking very common in Korean schools? When I was in China last summer, we shared a building with a Korean school where the students were about 18-20 years old, I imagine. Idling about one day, I noticed the Korean schoolmaster taking two students out into the corridor and giving them hard thwacks on the butt. So I'm curious: 1) Is there any age limit for spanking? 2) Why would anyone want to pay to go to a Chinese language school where they spank you for misbehaviour, especially at that age?

I did ask some Korean friends about it, who both seemed shocked that such a thing would happen, so perhaps it doesn't happen much in Korea. But why do it abroad?

[pandaxiongmao]

Physical punishment was banned in Korean public schools maybe around 1997. After that, there were some cases of students that got physically attacked by teachers/headmasters/etc, and those people were forced to step down.

However, it only applies to public schools in Korea. If it is a cram school, it can still happen. There are a lot of parents that want their children to learn whatever the subject is, even if it requires physical abuse.

As for why it happens abroad, well, such schools are not under the Korean government. The teachers and staffs probably grew up before physical punishment was banned. Unless they receive training to discipline kids otherwise, they will probably just continue with what they know. Remember, until pretty recently, even South Korea was a military dictatorship.

[bhchao]

Teachers at schools in Taiwan also physically disciplined students pre-1987. But many parents actually condoned these practices because they believed that such discipline will help mold their children into responsible adults.

Times have changed since then. Few schools today engage in these practices. Attitudes towards such punishment have made a U-turn.

[bhchao]

There is also a difference between the Korean and Chinese overseas communities. Korean overseas communities (with the exception of Central Asia) speak the single language of Korean with no dialects of the same language that would sound like a different language altogether.

There are regional dialects of Korean on the Korean peninsula. People in Busan speak a rougher form of Korean than their Seoul counterparts, but they can still be understood by people from Seoul. The difference in accents may cause Seoul residents to look down on the Busan accent, and vice versa. Likewise, people from North Korea speak their own version of Korean, but can still be understood by South Koreans. Regional dialects in Korea are mutually intelligible to all Korean speakers.

Overseas Korean communities in North America have a strong cultural connection with the peninsula. There is a large number of ethnic Koreans in Uzbekistan and Kazahkstan, but unlike their North American counterparts, Koreans in the former Soviet republics in central Asia have been integrated into those societies. In the film Wedding Campaign, two farmers from South Korea travel to Uzbekistan to find a wife. They end up meeting two ethnic Korean women who look like them, but speak a different language (Uzbek) as their primary language.