Today’s post comes from Andrew of the Good Honest Dollar blog. He is not from, or in, or writing about China, but is in and writing about Korea which inherited a lot of culture from China. I asked him to join us because I value his writing. He did not let me down with this excellent perspective on social position in Korea.
Andrew and friends at Cheonghwangbong peak, the highest peak of the Songnisan mountain range in the central part of South Korea.
First a note from Andrew:
To all readers of Luke’s Blog,
It is an honor and a privilege for me to contribute toward Luke’s group writing project about China.
In fact, I have not actually been to China. I have, however, spent the past four years teaching English in a rural area in the central part of South Korea, a country which shares a large number of similarities with China with respect to its cultural and historical background.
Bio: I am from Melbourne, Australia, where I studied and worked for seven years as a Certified Practising Accountant (CPA). I came to Korea in August 2005 as an English as a Second Language Teacher (ESL teacher), and have worked in a rural area in the central region of South Korea since then.
My passions: reading, writing (blogging), bushwalking, studying Korean, and cricket.
It’s your position that counts
Today I would like to share with you what I see as one of the most striking features about Korean culture as distinct from western culture – the extent to which social status and position dictate appropriate behavior toward others.
Granted, social status and position do affect the treatment which one receives throughout most of the western world to a certain degree. Indeed, members of the medical or legal professions, for example, tend to receive a significantly greater level of respect than individuals whose occupation reflects a somewhat more humble status.
But in Korea, this is taken to another level altogether, and there is a very strict code which dictates how individual should respond and behave toward others.
In this regard, position means everything, and it is absolutely taboo for an individual of lower rank to show any form of disrespect to someone of higher rank, regardless of the type of treatment which he or she receives in return.
(In the vast majority of cases, rank is determined almost entirely by age, with older Koreans by default assuming a higher rank than their younger counterparts)
As a teacher, for example, I have observed a high degree of reluctance on behalf of younger teachers to enquire about simple matters such as schedule or classroom changes – they wait until they are informed about such matters by older staff. Nor will younger teachers generally question commands or remarks given by their older colleagues.
And in general public, it is common practice to observe Koreans using different language forms according to the status of they are talking to, and some language forms which would be quite acceptable when talking to a younger person are considered to be completely unsuitable when addressing older people.
Personally, I have found that this system has had a marked impact upon my own life in Korea. For one thing, I tend to receive a much greater level of respect from younger Koreans, those say, in their early twenties, than I do from those who are older. More often than not, older Koreans display a great deal of kindness, but this typically has a lot more to do with kindness than it does with any form of respect.
Also, I tend to receive a number of apparently very personal questions upon meeting new people, particularly with respect to age, occupation and country of origin. Such questions do not represent mere curiosity or an attempt to invade my privacy. Instead, those who ask such questions are trying to establish my social position and status, so that they can determine how they should behave toward me.
For me, my time in Korea has easily been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life to-date.
For those who haven’t had the chance to visit the north-east Asian region, I certainly hope that you have the opportunity to do so at some stage.
A thoroughly rewarding experience awaits you.
This is part of a series of guest posts about China.
If you are from China or blog about China, this is a good way to introduce your blog other people with similar interests.
If you normally do not blog about China and you have something you want to say about China that would not fit well on your site, this is a great opportunity to get your idea out to others who are interested in China.
If you are not sure if your idea would fit, ask. I am a very nice guy, and I will not hurt you, no matter how far out there your question is.
Related posts:
Hi Andrew, It certainly does sound quite different from here in the West. I would guess that in the U.S., things would be even more different than in England or Australia (?), where there’s a history of royalty, feudalism, etc. How do you see the comparative strengths and weaknesses of these cultures in terms of attention to status?
Mark suggested this related article: http://www.hrcapitalist.com/2009/03/how-your-national-origin-impacts-your-performance.html
It addresses Brad’s question of the relative Power Distance Indexes of various countries, including Korea, US, and Australia.
Brad,
Arguably the biggest strength of the modern Korean workplace is that it seems to foster a keen sense of loyalty, and employees, who tend to see themselves as contributors to a team more so than as individuals, tend to feel a great sense of belonging.
In turn, this also seems to foster a strong sense of teamwork and the majority of employees seem to work together in a very cohesive manner.
Also, at a broader society level, the Korean system seems to have fostered a very peaceful society, and indeed there is very little in the way of violent crime in this country.
One the minus side, the system is not particularly flexible. As those of a lower rank do not typically feel endowed with the freedom to challenge the system, this may smother some of the potential for new perspectives and different approaches toward tackling problems.
In addition promotion based around age rather than merit may not only be extremely frustrating for younger people, it may mean that those who receive promotions to higher levels are not always those who are the best suited to fill the requirements of such roles.
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Andrew, thanks for sharing those further observations. In the U.S., there was once a greater sense of loyalty and permanence within companies. There do seem to be advantages and disadvantages to the Korean and model and ours. Maybe it’s a good thing we have both systems – competition is healthy.
Exactly right, Brad.
There is no one economic system which works best all of the time, and the observance of different systems across different countries allows us to observe and understand the advantages and disadvantages of each.
Korean culture is much more structured than ours here in America. In the service I lived over there for a year and was struck by the deference shown to the elders. Much different than here. Sad in a way that we seem to have lost that respect in the states.