Every couple of weeks, I have some type of cultural lesson for my students. It's just a little 5-minute bit about some difference between their culture and mine, and it ranges from how to greet someone (shaking hands, not bowing) to national sports around the word to elementary school life for Americans.
Last week, we had a very interesting culture lesson...and it's not just useful for Korean students...I think it's useful for anyone that comes to Korea, any Korean that visits the US, and anyone trying to understand Koreans around them.
The topic was (as the title states) collectivism versus individualism. Along with my co-teacher, we explained to the students many different points about this major cultural difference.
Firstly, we talked about 'our' vs. 'my'. In Korea, people refer to people/things as 'our'...'our mother', 'our friend', 'our food', etc. In America, we refer to those things as 'my'...'my mother', 'my sister', etc.
In the same way, a major community item is food. If you see a Korean meal, you can see that they all eat collectively and together. Each person doesn't have their own plate and eat their own meal like back home. It's all in the middle and shared together. Even at Western restaurants in Korea, Koreans order together and share together. Along the same lines, when you're eating a bag of chips or a snack, Korean culture is that you share with the people around you. When I was at the hagwon a few years ago, I literally saw a student bring in a bag of chips, share with everyone around him, and have just a couple to eat for himself...but that's normal. Korean culture is about sharing and give and take. I usually like this idea...except for when I'm really hungry and just want to eat my whole snack on my own!
Secondly, we discussed personal space. Contrary to what I was taught back in elementary school myself, Koreans have little or no personal space. Whereas in America, we are all about our personal bubble and keeping a safe distance, these things don't seem to be a concern here. Koreans claim it's because there are so many people in such a small area, so it's impossible to have personal bubbles.
Along with that point, we talked about public space. Koreans, with their 'our' thinking, feel that space is everyone's. Any foreigner that visits/lives in Korea can tell you of a situation whereas people in public spaces (subways, busses, sidewalks, stores, etc) have bumped into them without saying sorry or cut in front of them in line. Those are little things that drive foreigners in Korea nuts, but I think by understanding that the intentions of the Korean people are not negative ones, it can help foreigners in Korea to keep their cool a little better. My co-teacher explained to the students that in American (Western) cultures, when we bump into someone or need to closely pass through a crowd, we would say to each person 'excuse me' or 'I'm sorry'. The students all gasped...seriously! They couldn't believe it. They kind of started giggling...and saying 'I'm sorry' and 'excuse me' to their friends. It was so interesting to see their reaction...as if they had never heard of that concept. But the truth is...they hadn't! Whereas we (as Westerns) do it without a thought, my students had never even thought about doing it!
After we were finished with the culture tips, we let the students ask questions. Some students were very curious about the topic, which made me really happy as a teacher. I was glad to get their minds thinking about other cultures in a new way.
So after this lesson, every day, I notice some part of this culture difference and it makes me even more aware of how it is a true cultural difference that we (as foreigners in this land) must know about. We shouldn't get angry, we should try to understand.
**Editor's Note: These thoughts are mine...they are not fact. And of course, they aren't applicable to every single Korean or every single Westerner. They are a general overview of the culture from my experience here.
