What do Foreigners Find Difficult About Life in Korea?
Last week I was interviewed about culture shock in Korea. It was a tough question because I like many other foreigners prefer to answer this question to Korean people I can feel comfortable to be open about my feelings with.
I guess one area that is hard for foreigners is trying to understand why people in Korea do things, but don’t explain the details. One of the biggest problem areas is that in business and social relationships western people usually define things very clearly. For example, is that if you rent a house in my country you might sign a many page document that outlines everything such as who pays to fix things and what the landlord must repair. In contrast and in my experience in Korea, the contract document doesn’t seem to talk about this so much because it is expected that both people will talk about problems and negotiate a solution together. This is one reason that many foreigners feel they lose their minds when trying to solve problems; they don’t understand how things work in Korea. So many times I’ve gone crazy because I’ve felt that my hands were tied and I had no power; after learning how things worked, then I’ve calmed down. And I think one reason for this is also that foreigners can’t usually speak enough Korean to easily find solutions and answers.
So what’s the lesson in all this? Well, if you’re dealing with foreigners then it is a good idea to explain how things work. If you’re doing business you should define what the expectations are for both parties. In this way, things might go smoothly.
Choose the number that is closest in meaning to the word/phrase in the reading
|
Culture shock |
A |
1 |
Define, explain what must happen |
|
To be open |
B |
2 |
Get angry, lose control over emotions |
|
Outline |
C |
3 |
Feeling that you can do nothing, that you have no control. |
|
Lose one’s mind |
D |
4 |
A feeling of discomfort about because of surprise and misunderstanding about a new situation |
|
How things work |
E |
5 |
Show what you think, show one’s feelings |
|
Hands are tied |
F |
6 |
Two groups of people or companies in a negotiation. |
|
To deal with |
G |
7 |
Negotiate. To cope with. |
|
Both parties |
H |
8 |
Go well without problem |
|
To go smoothly |
I |
9 |
How things should be done. What makes things operate. |
A=4, B=5, C=1, D=2, E=9, F=3, G=7, H=8, I=8
1. Have you ever experienced culture shock? How could you help someone who has just come to live in Korea so that they could overcome culture shock?
2. Do you think it is easy to be open with everyone? Why or why not? For example, you may not want to say openly what you think about someone to them.
3. Can you outline the differences between Korean and another culture you know?
4. What causes you to lose your mind?
5. What can a foreigner learn about Korea to make their life work well?
6. Do you ever feel that your hands are tied about something?
7. Tell about a time you had to deal with a difficult situation.
8. Who are the parties in the negotiations with North Korea? Do you feel that things could go smoothly in the negotiations? Why or why not?
Some example sentences
When I went back home after many years in Korea, I had reverse culture shock because I would bow to people to say bye.
In a marriage it is important for both parties (husband and wife) to be open (honest) about everything.
“Today I’m going to outline (explain) what changes must be made to improve the service we give to customers.”
The traffic during the Lunar New Year holiday makes me lose my mind.
“Welcome to our company, let me show you how things work around here.”
I really want to change my cable internet company, but my hands are tied because I signed a contract for one year and so I can’t change.
People who come from hot climates find it hard to deal with the cold icy winter.
People hope that when they arrange a dinner party that things will go smoothly, for example that the food will be good and the restaurant is well organized.
ECK Education
