Violet - Culture differences

(Culture differences beteewn American culture and Korean culture)

We learned about a culture. Every single country has their own culture and it shows how people are living with their own culture. We have several similarities between American culture and Korean culture but there are many differences as well. I want to make clear how Korean culture is different from American culture.

When we meet for the first time, we have very different cultures. “Respect elders” is most important in Korea culture. We usually ask people’s age to use correct language when we meet very first time. We have two types of language; one is used to elders and the other one is used to friends or people who are younger than the speaker. If we don’t know people’s age, we cannot decide which language to use. On the other side, Americans do not ask “How old are you?” in the first meeting. That behavior is absolutely impolite and people would feel that it is an invasion of privacy. Also, you can offend elders by not bowing when you meet in Korea.

Korean people consider other’s feeling all the time. “Think of others, more than yourself!” This is s kind of rule in Korea culture. Before you say something, you must think a thousand times in your mind how they would feel and think. If you say something directly even if speaking directly is true, people would think that you don’t care about others. Also, we avoid talking about financial difficulties, refusing to answer questions and sexual jokes. However, Americans can assert their opinions freely. They respect and listen even if someone insists different opinion. Americans think all men are equal and any person’s opinion is as valid as another’s.

Finally, I want to about a difference of keeping time. In Korea, arriving a little bit in an appointment is acceptable. However, It is unconsidered by not to keep time in an appointment. The time is money and worth for Americans. Sometimes, Korean people would be late over than 30 minutes. This is called as “Korean time!”

Culture sometimes changes rapidly or slowly. Some culture has been adopted from foreign countries. We can have many chances to experience other cultures and places unlike any people could experience in the past. This is important to know, to understand and experience what is different, what is valuable and how to accept a foreign culture.