Anywhere you go, some cultures in a certain country may baffle you. The same is true for those who visit South Korea. While some short-term visitors struggle to understand Korean culture, even some foreigners who stayed long in Korea find some cultural factors still weird.
If you are planning to stay in Korea for a while, you would want to be well aware of some Korean cultures. I'm going to bring up four unique cultures, which are tricky to fully understand even for long-term inhabitants.
1. Quickly, Quickly! (Ppalli Ppalli)
Korean people are well-known to be impatient in the aspect of time. They don't like waiting for a long time but love completing anything as quickly as possible.
Many Korean expatriates complain that public offices in their cities do business at a very slow pace compared to Korea. They praise the speedy process of public service in South Korea because almost everything can be done within a few days, while things get done in a few weeks or one month at the fastest in many other countries.
In addition to that, Korean people can't stand waiting for a long time for their food to be delivered. Some people even make calls to the restaurant to hurry them if the food they ordered doesn't arrive in about thirty minutes.
Before Saemaeul Movement(the new community movement) - set up by one of the former presidents, Mr Park Jeong-hee - enlightened Korean people, they had gotten by on primary industry, during which they were slow and lazy on everything.
Then what changed them into the way they are now? Some experts argue that the culture has been cultivated over decades of the transition history of Korea since the Korean War.
Going through industrialisation and some political turbulence, Korean people were pushed to do things fast with the "Quickly Quickly" attitude and under the "Let's make a good living" slogan. Plus, the aftermath of the Korean War had implanted survival instinct into their parents' minds, which has rubbed off on the new generation.
The combination of these is reckoned to have made Korea the way it is now.
2. Let's eat out one day! (Bab Hanbeon Meokja!)
Taking the words verbatim may be the last thing you want to do because it has various meanings and is used in varied situations. There are two ways to use this expression.
1. "It was good to meet you. I'm afraid I gotta go now."
Let's say you ran into one of your acquaintances who is not that close to you. You guys are saying: "How have you been?", "Wow, good to see you again!". After some time of catching up with each other, you want to leave them. Then you can just say: "Let's have lunch or dinner sometime." to say goodbye politely.
That doesn't have to mean it literally. You don't have to arrange some time with them. If they were close and caring to you, they would actively suggest meeting you for a specific day, not just say: "Let's go to dinner(or lunch) one day".
2. "I'm up for meeting you, but you might have to suggest first."
Even if they are close friends to you, you might not want to suggest meeting up for lunch or dinner first. Then you can just say the expression, "Let's eat out one day(Bab Hanbeon Meokja!)".
This also can mean you are up for meeting them one day but not so enthusiastic about it. So, you shift the initiative over to the person. Simply put, "not now but one day if you suggest first".
Korean people tend to say things a bit ambiguously because being direct is considered quite rude. Even if they don't have an intention of doing that thing, they would just say empty but nice words to make things smooth between you and them.
It would help if you tried to read the nuance and their initiative when they say such a thing.
3. Money gifts for weddings
A wedding ceremony is reckoned to be the most significant event in Korean culture. On that account, so much physical, mental, and financial effort is put into the process of a wedding.
Because many Korean people think a wedding is the most special event in their lives, they tend to make their wedding as big and luxurious as possible. It matters how many guests they have for a wedding. So does how good the venue is.
How they look to other people matters to Koreans, so this wedding culture, which is financially demanding, puts heavy pressure on soon-to-weds.
As a sign of celebrating the wedding, any guest should give money gifts to the newlyweds. Collecting the money gifts from guests helps the newlyweds finance their complimentary lunch buffet, which is not "complimentary" to the guests in the end.
This culture causes awkward situations which make you question yourself: "then, how much do I have to give them?". Korean people end up creating standards where you should give a money gift according to how close you are to them.
It would be safe for you to give them at least 50,000 won(appx. 50 dollars) if you are not close to them.
4. This is on the house! (Service, Sseo-bi-sseu)
You may have to pay more for side dishes or even water in your country. So, many tourists get surprised when they eat at a restaurant in South Korea because they don't get charged for side dishes and water.
When you have a meal in Korea, side dishes, basically, are served along with the main dish you ordered. Korean people think side dishes are part of the main dish, and you can even ask for more when you finish them.
That's not all. You would probably hear the expression often: "SSeo-bi-sseu", which means "It's on the house". Sometimes, some owners - sajangnim in Korean - throw in some food you didn't order just out of sheer favour. If you visit restaurants or food stalls where middle-aged or older people work as owners, you might have some chances of getting the "SSeo-bi-sseu". Only when you don't ask for it before the owner suggests it.
Try to say hello in Korean - Annyeong Haseyo - with a smiling face and say Masisseoyo - delicious. They may feel appreciated and find it cute for you to say in an unnatural Korean accent. Then there will come the SSeo-bi-sseu for you.
What else do you want to know about Korean culture? Comment below, and I will write another post for your curiosity.
WORDS BY
Minsu Kim - koreaonthescreen@gmail.com
@walkitecture
@koreaonthescreen
@walkitecture_
@koreaonthescreen
