KoreanClass101.com Blog

Time.

Koreans can be terrible about it. I have been stood up more times than I’m happy to admit, but not by dates, but by Koreans. Oh sure, times are changing… but historically, Koreans haven’t faired well with keeping appointments on time.

It’s not their fault. Maybe it’s my fault for being punctual. Maybe I make too big a deal of this. I mean, all other Americans think similarly (only we aren’t as homogeneous as Koreans and thus, many Americans are remorselessly late too). Maybe I never really questioned it until now?

Those of you familiar with Mexican culture will know that MexicoTime is about +1 hour past the time agreed upon. By comparison, KoreaTime is usually +15 minutes past the time stated. Not bad. But there must be a reason, right? It’s not just to make my blood pressure rise, is it?

For many Hispanics, the time that was agreed upon is flexible because people come first, not time. So, if a someone needed a quick favor or a chore needed to be done before heading off to the appointment, most likely the person will be late because these other things come first. It’s quite charming when you look at it that way. He’s not lazy, he’s considerate.

With Koreans, I’m still a bit puzzled. KoreaTime goes beyond this and sometimes just stops altogether - leaving me tapping my foot for an hour - waiting. Cellphones are plentiful, so just give me a call already 누나!

For Americans at least, we like to to think of keeping our appointments and being punctual as being considerate of other people’s time, if for no other reason than the golden rule. When I am stood up, I get the impression that my friend thinks his/her time is more valuable than mine, even though that is not their intention. Although, I must also realize that Americans almost by definition are a little (if not very) egocentric and can have some trouble thinking about others before themselves.

It’s funny because this is the most troubling thing that I deal with. This. I have more stress related to punctuality with my Korean friends than any other aspect. Not the language barrier, now who’s going to foot the bill, not the any other obstacle. It drives me up the wall. 진짜!

Historically, when you look at Korean international business, not only foreigners that expect to be successful have to establish deep personal relationships with chaebol figureheads, but these foreign businesspeople must also expect that the written contract is worth about as much as the paper that the contract is printed on. Why? Because in this context, Koreans value the verbal agreement over what some little sheet of tree pulp says. And yet it comes to great surprise to Westerners when contract signing day comes that Koreans are still trying to negotiate despite an already notarized contract laying in front of them. It fascinates me that this tradition still exists (to an increasingly less degree) given Korea’s influential economic power.

I have now come to possess two different standards. First, I have my normal standard that firmly states that I and others around me should always 1) keep their appointments and 2) show up on time (which for many is 10 minutes earlier than time stated). Second, my other standard is lax and in constant flux. “Maybe we’ll go to 노래방 tonight and maybe we won’t. Oh well”

In any case, it’s just one of those cultural differences that helps to further differentiate our two cultures. Maybe I’m a little too uptight about time, but that’s just how I was raised! Maybe my Korean friend is a little too relaxed about time, but that’s just how he was raised!

Thoughts?

I’m sure you are all aware that 띄어쓰기(spacing) in Korean is just as important as in any other language (with the exception of Japanese and Chinese where spacing isn’t necessary). I’d like to introduce some of the most commonly mentioned examples of the confusion that spacing errors can bring about. ^_^

The first one.

Let’s say you want to write,
“My father is going into the room.”

- father = 아버지
- room = 방
- to go into = 들어가시다 (honorific)

So this becomes

아버지가 방에 들어가십니다.

But

if you change the spacing a little bit and write,

it becomes

“아버지 가방에 들어가십니다.”

(My father is going into the bag.)

Haha.

And here’s another interesting example

Let’s say you want to say “I bought a tree tonight.”

- tree = 나무

- buy (and come) = 사오다

- tonight = 오늘밤

So this is correctly written in Korean as ”

오늘밤 나무 사왔어.”

But if you make a mistake in spacing and write

오늘밤 나 무 사왔어.

It means “I bought some radish tonight.”

And if you write

오늘 밤나무 사왔어.

It means “I bought a chestnut tree.”

These are only some very common examples, and I believe you will experience a lot of spacing-related funny mistakes as you keep studying Korean. But no matter how many mistakes you make and no matter how many times you get corrected on spacing, don’t despair 띄어쓰기 is often a headache for Korean people too And if you want to get some instant help from an automated robot on the internet, you can go to the Naver LAB page here. http://s.lab.naver.com/autospacing/

Thanks for reading!

I am going to try to get Stephanie to post about her trip experiences. Here are some of her thoughts about teaching English in Korea: 

So, after I got out of the hospital (the surgery went great, actually, the IV hurt more than the surgery itself) I went back to teaching little kids at the elementary school. They all stared at me like I belonged in a zoo and when I spoke korean they looked at me as if I was like a talking zoo exhibit. They all find it rather amazing that I understand anything at all. It’s really different how they all go “우와” when i say something in Korean. When our exchange students speak English, no one here (in America) is really that amazed at their “wonderous ability” to say hi and where’s the bathroom and I’m hungry.
 
So I had my first “class” with “John” who is 10, I think, and “Shell”, two students that I tutor. I had Shell, who is 8, change her name to Shelby because I explained to her that Shell might be a little weird. I could see how a name like Shell would be pretty in Korean, like 나비 or something but I have a Hmung friend whose name is Honey and her sister’s name is Butterfly and her other sister’s name is Angel (which is a normal name, but next to her sibling’s it’s kinda weird), and when you hear your teacher call someone ‘Honey’ it’s a lttle weird. So there was my American culture lesson. I also gave them some vocab words including ‘weird’ and ‘cool’ and ‘kind of’, because since those are the words I pretty much say the most, I thought it would be important for them to know.
 
Halfway through the lesson, this moped man came in (helmet and all) and delivered 김밥 and ramen. It was like exactly how the delivery guys in 궁  looked like!! I thought it was just some random thing incorporated into the drama… “Anywho” that’s pretty much the only cool thing that happened during my lesson. I also taught a few other people and sat in with some lessons that my aunt taught. What I noticed most among the kids was that they were all super shy. Like, they would say stuff but they would either whisper it loudly or whisper it in my aunt’s ear. What one of my students did was stare at the table while he was talking to me, and I thought that was weird too. I noticed that the kids who are not shy usually learn the best, or are better at English, maybe because they get more practice, or I never hear the full capabilities of the shy ones. My first lesson with the kids is usally just a “don’t be shy, lets just chat” lesson.

So, that is all for now!

Drinking.

Look at that - I didn’t even have to add the word “alcohol” and you knew what I meant. So why is it such a taboo in America when compared to some other countries?

A relatively small group of emigrants from England bound for America calling themselves the Puritans yearned for religious freedom. They set up in the New England area and proclaimed that their society would become a beacon of light for the world to see. Some time into the 17th century their power declined but their influence has remained in the prevalent thought of Americans ever since. It is because of these persecuted Brits that Americans are so squeamish with alcohol consumption in general. And nudity. Thanks guys.

This isn’t to say that what the Puritans taught was bad in any way - their strong convictions influenced countless American reformations centuries later. But it has left a giggling in every five-year-old when they see a grown man jogging without a shirt in the park ever since.

So, as many well know, Korea is heavily influenced by Confucianist thought. Modern day Korean business meetings take place both in the office and in the restaurant with more importance on the latter. Drinking culture permitted the spread of free thoughts and ideas without the usual beating-around-the-bush that is the norm even today in Korea. Drinking with friends, colleagues, and potential clients all play a huge role in how the well-oiled 13th-largest-economy-in-the-world machine works. So what if you don’t drink?

Korea can become a lonely place. Gone is the Land of the Morning Calm. Here is the Land of the Eternal Silence. What is a non-drinker to do?

Suggestions include finding the same type of close-knit group in the office or church that share your same beliefs. More importantly, ensure that your group of friends is the type of friends that can still have a good time despite drinking. Shocking! Koreans of this caliber exist - but you will have to work to find them. I liken it to finding other vegans/vegetarians - they exist but not in large quantities.

I have seen some guides that suggest that one should lie when pressured to drink; suggesting that one should claim that they are pregnant and the like. I would almost offer the opposite. Korea is changing so rapidly that surely exists a group of like-minded individuals who abstain from drinking - and not always for extreme reasons. In America, it’s considered a bit impolite to inquire the reason behind alcohol abstinence, but among Koreans, I might suggest that one be honest and open about their reasons. Koreans don’t drink to get drunk necessarily; rather they drink to feel close and connected to a person. Newsflash - it’s actually possible without the booze.

Having said that, if you want to maintain a pleasant drinking atmosphere and do not have any objections to drinking a small amount, it is considered polite to accept the first drink offered. After that, your explanation of an alcohol-free evening generally goes over smoother.

Koreans can easily be the most loyal group of people you might ever meet. If you don’t buy into the drinking culture, don’t fret. It’s still possible to maintain lifelong friendships without Jinro footing the bill.

Thoughts?

Stephanie has been in Korea about a week and a half now. Before she left she dislocated her knee. It popped back in but left behind a lot of swelling and a loss of function. She didn’t appear to have torn any ligaments and x-rays didn’t show anything other than the obvious soft tissue swelling. Her pain was decreasing as her range of motion was increasing up until she left and we all felt comfortable sending her.

One of the sponsors for the school where she is teaching is a medical doctor who is the owner of a local private hospital/clinic. We sent her to the clinic for an MRI to rule out any significant internal derangement of her knee. Stephanie called us and asked why they were doing blood work and more x-rays at the same time. We just reassured her and told her to not argue…

The next day the head of the clinic spoke with us regarding the MRI findings. He said that it didn’t show much more than the x-rays but that there was some cartilage that was loose in the joint capsule and he recommended surgery to clean it up. In fact, he was prepared to operate in two hours!

Stephanie was stressed out about surgery but was reassured when they gave her the option of a local anesthetic. She consented when they told her that yes, she could video tape the operation if she wanted. (As it was, the surgeon emailed us about 50 photos from the arthroscopic procedure.) The surgeon said that the surgery would only take about 20 minutes; it took 40. He also said that she only be staying over night and would be walking around the next day.

As it turned out, she spent the next four days in the hospital, two days letting the knee drain and two more concentrating on rehab. She loved it! I know, you’re thinking, “What? How could she love it? She was stuck in a hospital for five days!” Yes, but she was treated like a queen. She was probably the most popular patient there. She had t.v. (of course) internet (만원 for her stay) and one roommate.

She got out of the hospital today (퇴원) and will get right back into the routine that she never got into in the first place. So far it has been an adventure for her (and her parents..).