A Cultural Umbrella

Today was a busy day! Not only did I have to give a 3 minute speech in Korean during my Korean language class, I also gave a teaching workshop on time management to my fellow ETAs. In short, I am so pumped for the weekend... oh wait, my final exam is on Wednesday... never mind :(.

But I shall take a break from studying to do an entry. Before getting to the big stuff, here is a picture of my Korean homework so you can see the characters:

We wrote a letter to a friend in America. I wrote to my only Korean friend, in hopes he would be able to read it ^^

Also, for your further enjoyment, here is a picture of my lunch today:

라면, or ramen

Why did I have a bowl of ramen, delicious as it may be, you ask? Um, maybe because lunch in the cafeteria today was rice, kimchi (spicy pickled cabbage), seaweed, fish with full bones, and seaweed soup. No. Thank. You. However, my ramen was scrumptious. Almost as scrumptious as the ramen I had at this 24hr restaurant the other day. It was 치즈라면, or cheese ramen. So, I order it (in Korean, yay!) and I can see into the kitchen area. I look up a few minutes later, and the lady legit unwraps a Kraft single and puts it on top of my ramen...
Did I complain? ABSOLUTELY NOT. Do you know how hard it is to find cheese in Korea, let alone cheese on delicious ramen?? It was soooo good. Exhibit B:

Ramen... with a piece of cheese on it ^^

I have just gushed a bit, but in reality it has been extremely hard for me to eat here in Korea. I am a picky eater; anyone who knows me will confirm this. Most of my meals in the US consist of chicken fingers and fries. And although I did find a Popeyes here, those are both fairly scarce. Breakfast here is generally rice, kimchi, seaweed, and fish. I go to the convenience store almost everyday to buy my own breakfast, which kind of stinks because it means I have to spend a lot of money, while the cafeteria meals are free. 

However, can I just say that the snacks here are soooo much better than in the US! While the cookies are generally the dry, hard kind, the chocolate here is much richer. Bags of chips not only have more included, but they are def better quality. Haven't tried any fruity candies yet, but I'll give you updates!! Exhibit C:

우유(milk) and 사탕 (candy). The one in front is like a Snickers and the other is a chestnut jelly candy, I actually don't like it at all.

Anyway, got me all started on food... what I really wanted to talk about is culture. The other day we had a cultural workshop about general pertinent cultural aspects of Korea. I really wanted to share some, as I found it very interesting, and definitely different.


First, there's the concept of "In and out." Koreans are generally described as extremely rude or extremely kind. Seems strange right? That's because much of Korea is split into this binary of "in" and "out." If you are in, or if you have a relationship with a person, you are pretty much set. If you don't know someone, then you are out, and they will literally not even notice you. Koreans on the street will bump into you, cut in front of you in line, etc. However, Korean friends or hosts will go out completely out of their way to make sure you are happy, healthy, and comfortable. Relationships are everything here. If you have a relationship with someone, you are privy to their greatness politeness and generosity. Another way this "in and out" concept happens is through public and private space. Inside the home is sacred, one must wear only socks and clean up after one's self. On the other hand, public space is outside the home and the family unit and is not as important.


Because of this, the initial stage of meeting some is extremely important. Once you exchange cards, phone numbers, a conversation, etc with someone, you transition into their "in" sphere. In Korea, one must always insa (basically greet) someone when they meet them or even see them... every time! You bow and say "Annyeonghaseyo," (Hello). The deepness of the bow depends on the rank of the person as well as if you've already seen them that day. If you see someone more than once a day, a simple head nod will do after the first insa. 


The second aspect of Korea to keep in mind when talking about culture is: homogeneity. Korea is the most homogeneous country in the entire world. 98% of the Korean peninsula is ethnically Korean. The other 2% is mostly made up of Chinese immigrants, with a very small portion of foreigners, generally visiting for a set amount of time to teach English. Their homogeneity is both one of their greatest assets and greatest drawbacks. It's a good thing because there is one language, one culture, and it is easy to convey culture, social norms, and to educate the youth because there is one set system. However, it is a bad thing too because it means that many Koreans struggle with diversity and differences. There is sometimes downright racism and xenophobia.

The homogeneity ties into the third main concept: collectivism. Korea is almost completely opposite in their societal ideology: in the US we value the individual, but here in Korea, the group is valued. Here, a person should never go against the group for individual wants, it is considered extremely rude and selfish. However, decisions are generally come to as a whole group, and the leader (if there was one, say in a business) would never make a decision without consulting the others. The group mentality here is deeply ingrained. It's even built into the language, generally Koreans speak in terms of "we" -> 우리, instead of "I." 


The community driven society also leads to a greater responsibility as a member of a group in representing that group. Saving face is a big deal here, and one must always represent their group well by saving face. You are a reflection of the group as a whole. When someone here does something, it isn't blamed or praised as an individual doing, it's the group that is reflected. This leads to a very roundabout way to ask for things here. You don't want to cause the person you are asking to lose face, nor lose face yourself, so here, people talk around requests and problems. For instance:
"I understand it may be difficult, but if it's possible, and if it isn't an inconvenience, perhaps could I have some money for my classroom?"
And if you need to refuse someone, you can never just say no. You must always say either, "Maybe that would be very difficult..." or "I will definitely think it over and let you know."


Also, the group mentality causes a higher frequency of cheating in classrooms. Here, loyalty is a higher moral than honesty. It's better to be loyal to the group, i.e. the class, and do what's best for them, than to be honest as an individual. So a student will let others cheat off of them because it makes the whole class have better grades. Also, getting good grades is literally drilled into students here. It's better to get in trouble for cheating than to come home with less than an A. 

So, the last main concept I'll cover today is: Sharing is caring! Everything is shared. Koreans must share their space; even though Korea is one-fifth the size of Texas, they have more than double the population of Texas. The USA's population density is 32 people per kilometer. Korea's is 487. So personal space has a totally different meaning here, people get a lot closer. We were literally told to "pop our personal bubbles!" 

Privacy is also a very different concept here. Privacy is only extended outside the unit. Inside the unit, everything is considered shared (goes back to the "in and out"). So, doors are always open in Korean homes. Many children share rooms. Also, knowledge of personal affairs is considered public within the group. However, along with this, comes a higher degree of care and concern. Again, Koreans are very kind, caring, and generous to those inside the group. And to show their kindness, Koreans will try to take care of you! This means everything from buying you things, to feeding you, and more. Since we will be living in a homestay, we were told that we can expect our homestay mothers to do our laundry, cook every meal for us, and generally stay on top of our happiness.


However... something that often shocks foreigners is the Korean tendency of being brutally honest as a sign of their care and concern. Because they care about you, they will comment on when you look tired/sick/fat/have a lot of acne. Or why you don't have a boyfriend. They want you to be happy and healthy, so they will tell you when you don't look very good, and then tell you how to fix it. Some examples:
"Wa (wow), Meghan-ssi (pronounced "shi," means mister, miss), you have a lot of spots on your face today. Did you get enough sleep last night? Tomorrow, I will bring you an ointment."
So that'll be fun. 

So, that's all for today, I know it's a little bit of a text-heavy entry. As I get out into the world and have first-hand experiences of these cultural quirks, I will record them for all you Westerners to marvel at and laugh ^^.


Oh, final note. I'm actually very lucky. For the next year, I can act like a complete fool and have it chalked up to being one of those silly foreigners... muahahahahaha