Every community in the world has its identity and a particular way in which it bases its
values. Modes of behavior are what can be used to understand any particular social group.
Culture varies from one community to the other; some communities have similar cultural values.
It is therefore very important to keep in mind, recognize and respect a community’s culture in
any given time in the presence of that particular community to avoid disagreements.
The Republic of Korea has a very rich culture, very distinctive from most of the other
communities in the world. Its identity is greatly characterized by how it natures its values and
how it maintains these values. The values can be based on ethnical background, social
stratification,
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Culture is always based on some rules that govern socially acceptable behavior. These
behaviors can be ethical or morally right.
Koreans have strict grounds on matters concerning etiquette. People of lower status bow
people of higher status when greeting them, and the most senior person is the one who is allowed
to initiate a handshake. In a social gathering, one is supposed to wait to be introduced and
should say good-bye and bow to each person individually before leaving.
Song 4
One is not supposed to offer an expensive gift to a person knowing that they cannot
afford to reciprocate the same. The Korean people consider certain numbers as lucky or
unlucky. Number four is considered unlucky, and gifts should not be given in multiples of four.
Number seven is considered as a lucky number (De Mente, 5).
Dressing is treated with much concern in the Korean culture. Business clothes should
always be conservative.
The Korean etiquette norms are not biased, but they are very strict. This can be confused
with biases by other communities in the world.
Men are allowed to shake hands while maintaining eye contact and women are allowed
In our lifetimes, we meet many people. And, hopefully, with each of them we follow a certain protocol when we first meet them. When one is greeted sweetly, or even sourly, the receiver is expected to graciously accept it and return the favor politely. In other countries, children are taught to show their respect towards elders at all times. Young ones in the Philippines are conditioned to grab an elder’s hand and bring it up to their forehead in a bowing motion, this practice is known as “blessing”. However, no one has ever given a more in depth answer for the reason of these practices other than, “Because you should.”
...has a national identity, an identity borne of many cultures and in the spirit of cooperation.
The culture of a community invariably determines the social structures and the formation of a society. Developed over time, culture is the collection of beliefs and values that a group of people maintain together. Culture is never constant, and thought to be continually renewed over years as new ideas and concepts become mainstream. It ranges from how people live, day to day topics for conversations, religion, and even entertainment. It is analogous to guidelines, or the rulebook of the said group of people. Society, on the other hand, emanates from the social structure of the community. It is the very institutions to which create a regulated and acceptable form of interaction between peoples. Indeed, culture and society are so perversely intertwined in a
The are quite a few different ways that Korean Catholics both affirmed and challenged traditional concepts of morality and ritual from the Choson Era. Traditional Choson Korea before Catholicism was one based off Confucianism (and Neo- Confucianism) basis of thinking. One that saw morality, filial piety, Social Hierarchy, Social relationships, and ritual as the normal way of life. This way of thinking had kept Korea stable for generations. (Confucianism equals morality) When
a community sees national issues says a great deal about their identity and the same goes for
North Korea is a peninsula made up of mountainous terrain with narrow valleys and has bodies of water on both its eastern and western sides. The western sides are the lowland plains of the country while the eastern side has a narrow coastal region with steep mountains (Korean Cultural Orientation, 2009, p. 5). The country only covers 47,250 square miles and is only about 20 percent bigger than South Korea. The bulk of the population resides on only one-fourth of the land due to the terrain and living conditions (Operational Cultural Awareness Training – North Korea, 2008, p
I would expect the other person understand that in Korean culture, many people use “no” as “yes.” Also, they should understand that the Korean adult and I met several times before and that the Korean adult and my parents know each other very well. Also, the timing of giving the allowance is when I about to leave after meeting my parent’s friend.
Soh, C. S. (2001). South Korea. In C. R. Ember & M. Ember (Eds.), Countries and Their Cultures (
...y say that I was able to get a good overview of Korean history with a strong sense of knowledge gained. What I specifically gained was a better sense of Korea as a unique cultural entity with its own sense of excellence and its individuality. I have also learned that regardless of the hardships Koreans have suffered in this century, they have successfully endured every worst situation a nation can ever experience. From Japan's colonial rule to the heavy influence Korea felt from Russia's communist state and America's democracy, Korea was able to withstand all these instabilities and overcome to what may be a healthy and modernized nation. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who would like a broad yet thorough overview of Korean history because; this book is precisely written and sectioned accordingly to not make learning history difficult or confusing.
In the Grenadian culture, everyone is greeted the same way however, in the Nigerian culture their greetings are very symbolic. Because in the Nigerian culture, one’s age and social status demands respect. Whenever you meet an elderly man or woman, you must greet them in a particular way; you extend your hands to them and bow your heads. Also, you must take time to ask about their health and well-being. Because, rushing a greeting is considered as being rude. Unlike the Grenadian culture, there is no set way in which we should greet anyone, furthermore, greeting people is a matter of choice. One can choose to greet or not to greet anyone, either way it can be considered as being
Formal greeting calls for a prolonged handshake with the left hand to support the right arm and direct eye contact to show respect
Communist North Korea continues to be an underdeveloped country while South Korea continues to prosper in all areas such as technology, and agriculture. These two countries have vast differences with their political and government views. North Korea at one point was influenced by the Soviet Union but no longer. However, North Korea continues to be influenced by and receive aid from China. South Korea continues to be influenced by the United States of America. North Korea is governed and controlled by a dictatorship, which has complete control over media and social
In the diverse world in which we live, each country has its own identity and culture. In fact, a culture has its own languages, traditions, customs and social particularities. We can therefore assume that the relationships between individuals change from culture to culture because of cultural distinctions such as impressionism and individualism. Indeed, in a collectivist culture, individuals see themselves as a part of a group, while in an individualist culture individuals are independents from the community. Therefore explaining the differences between a collectivist and an individualist culture with the examples of the United States and the Ivory Coast can help any sociology class student to understand how
Looking at the high global population, there are different cultural and societal values and practices that define communities. The result is the apparent cultural diversity we witness in cities that house immigrants from various cross-border cultures. One important aspect of local culture, however, is that it is primarily based on the geography of the particular settings. Local culture are isolated groups that hardly change over time and ties to their physical environment. The routine practices of societies are responsible for the variation in the cultural beliefs of the different communities. However, the geography of the setting of the organizations plays such an integral role in supporting the practices that make societies unique. The uniqueness of the values and routine activities of the communities, to a large degree, depends on the mundane aspects of the locations that vary across the globe (Marsh and Alagona
In this interview Ben Bagley asks Theresa Han about the difference between Korean and American culture. Theresa is a teenager who recently moved to the United States so she has an excellent perspective for understanding the differences and similarities between these countries.