This summer holiday I went to DongGuan for a tutoring job. I met a Korean called Jam who is a vice president working in a computer factory. He is about 50 years old. We had dinner together one afternoon with his friends and my boss. During the dinner and the next activities, I acted as an interpreter for them. Jam is an intelligent person who learnt Chinese very well and had already mastered some simple but usually used Chinese characters. He had been in DongGuan for about two months.
When we were at table, he acted politely. Before leaving the table, he informed people sitting beside him of his going to leave for a while in case of interrupting them. He reached over with his chopsticks to refill our bowls and would be unhappy if we didn’t accept his kindness. He was very interested in Chinese language and kept talking with me in Chinese. I, however, found out that I was easier to communicate with him in English instead of Chinese, for, to speak frankly, he could not pronounce Chinese correctly. We talked a lot that night, and he told me much about Korea, a country I had known little before.
In Korea, the traditional protocol of meeting each other is bowing as a greeting. The younger generation and the juniors meet the elder and their higher authorities, the former should bow to, greet, and shake hands with the latter to show their respect. Men greet and bow to, and shake hands with each other with their two hands or just the left hand when they meet. However, females, generally speaking, seldom make handshakes with others.
When in Rome, do as Romans do. In Korea, when invited to dinner at the Korean’s, it’s better for you to carry some little gifts, food which is in packets will be better. It’s not suitable to give Korean cigarettes as a gift. Wine is the best present for Korean men but not women, unless you state clearly that the wine is for their husbands. Koreans receive the gift with their two hands, but they will not open the package of the gift right in the guest’s face, which is different from what the westerns do. Korean people like odd numbers much better than even numbers. They would like the package of the gift to be white instead of red, which is a symbol color of luck for Chinese people.
The Korean food is made mostly of many onions, garlic, ginger and hot pepper. If you are resistant to such kinds of food, you can carry some tasty dishes with you. When proposing a toast during the dinner, it is a traditional way in Korea for people to hold the wine bottle with the right hand, and the bottom of it with the left. Before pouring the wine, they will bow to and bless others good luck. Refusing to accept others` toast is said to be impolite, if you can’t drink, you can leave a little in the glass, it’s OK. Another thing you should bear in mind is that you can’t eat up the dish, or you will be thought of not respecting the host. Being a guest, you are not allowed to wander about in the host’s house, for the host won’t show you the full view of his house.
Korean people respect the old and love the young. In their daily life, the younger generation can’t have dinner with the old, let alone walking abreast. Korean people won’t smoke when they stand before the elder, and they will not ask for a light from their seniors unless they are specially allowed to. On children’s Day, Korean people hold magnificent ceremony activities with almost each family taking part in to show their high thinking of children.
In social occasions, men and women must be separated. In public, women have to follow men’s steps. Unlike what the Westerns do; Korean always says “gentlemen and ladies” instead of “ladies and gentlemen”. When chatting, Korean men don’t talk about the topics such as politics, economics and the formal and legal wife, but they would like to ask others about their personal life.
Korea is a country whose people love their country very much. According to the request of the government, the citizen must respect the national flag, the national anthem and the national flower deeply. Not only the radio station broadcasts the national anthem in a certain time, but before the performance starts, the theatre will also broadcasts it. It is required that all the audience and the spectators stand up when the national anthem broadcasted to show their respect and honor to the country.
I have been very busy recently and haven’t emailed with Jam for a long time, so certainly what I know about Korea doesn’t include all aspects of the culture of Korea. What I know is just a drop in the bucket. I know that I have a long way to go. I will contact Jam as often as possible to learn from him more about the culture. Not only the Korean culture but also other countries` are welcome. In order to make myself be a person of intellectual breadth, I will learn from the people all over the world.
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