So I’m sure that I’ll have more to add to this list, but
here’s a list of some of the cultural differences that I’ve noticed here
so far. These are all things that I have noticed repeatedly and
constantly, not one-time occurrences.
Sidewalk Etiquette:
1. People walk slow. Now, part of this is that I’m a really fast walker. My school in the US is HUGE and I’m used to having to literally sprint between classes to make it to my classroom in the allotted 15 minutes. I get really impatient walking behind people here.
2. People take up the entire sidewalk. Especially the couples. I don’t know if the couples or the giant groups of at least 6 or more Koreans. If I walk with more than one person, I’m aware of my surrounding and will get in a single file line so people can pass us. No one does that here. And on top of that, it’s the people who spread themselves out to take up the entire sidewalk that usually walk the slowest. ㅠㅠ
3. “Excuse me”s and “sorry”s are rare. I think this is a difference between me being from a small town and Seoul being a huge metropolitan area. You’re going to bump into people and people are going to bump into you, so no one really apologizes for it. Some people won’t even move out of the way if you’re on a collision course, they’ll just barrel right into you.
4. At the slightest hint of rain everyone pulls out their umbrellas. I usually only use my umbrella if it’s really coming down. Today I was out walking around and it was barely sprinkling, I maybe felt a drop or two here and there but not anything most Americans would justify pulling out their umbrella for, but almost everyone on the street had their umbrellas open. (Which, is annoying for a fast walker like me because these take up even more space on the sidewalk so it’s harder to dart around the slow people.)
Interacting with Koreans:
5. If you don’t look Korean, people will speak to you in English (and usually be amazed if you use Korean). I used to get upset about this because I’m here in Korea to study Korean and my goal is to become fluent, something I can’t do if everyone refuses to speak to me in Korean. To me, I viewed it as racist and discriminatory, like people are assuming that because I’m white I only speak English. I find it very annoying when people assume that I can’t speak Korean. However, I’ve had several Korean and Chinese friends tell me that it is considered polite to speak to a foreigner in English, so I’m more forgiving now.
6. If you don’t look Korean, people will stare at you. It happens. It made me uncomfortable the first day, but it literally happens so much that I barely notice it anymore. Recently I’ve gotten the courage to stare back at people, or smile and wave at them. They usually always smile and wave back when you do so.
7. No foreigner/minority protection laws. People and business are allowed to discriminate against you. This doesn’t happen a lot, but it does happen and when it does, there’s really nothing you can do about it. (Ex: #1 There are times when I walk into the store and the person working will greet the Koreans, but won’t greet me. This has happened when I walked in after Koreans and saw them greet the Koreans but just stare at me. This has happened when i walked in and saw them stare at me and then a few minutes later greet Koreans walking in. It’s not accidental, it’s definitely purposeful because I’m not Korean. Ex: #2 many of the clubs at my university do not allow foreigners to join, even if the foreigners can speak Korean. These are both very minute examples that I could brush off, but they still hurt.)
8. At my university - and I want to stress this because I’m sure it’s not like this at all Korean universities, just at the one I attend - Koreans don’t want to be friends with foreign students. Even in the Korean and International Student Club at my school, the Koreans aren’t really interested in being friends with anyone who’s not Korean. In class and at events, the Korean students will segregate themselves from the international students whenever possible. Maybe the Korean students get uncomfortable because of speaking English with the International students, but as I said, I speak Korean. In fact, I am a Korean major, and they still won’t talk to me in Korean. Many of them I try to get to talk to me in Korean and they always switch back to English. And it’s not because I’m not good enough in Korean. I have a Korean friend who does not speak English well and we speak exclusively in Korean together. My Korean is at a comfortable conversation level and many Koreans still refuse to speak to me in Korean or English. In my school’s club, it seems like many of the Korean students want to party with the International students and get drunk with them so that they can hook up with them and then afterwards never talk to them and never have a relationship with them (DISCLAIMER: not everyone’s like this, but a much more significant portion than I expected.)
9. Being approached by drunk (much) older men to go drink with them (and presumably more). This has never ever happened to me in the US. I’m sure it happens in clubs and bars at the US, which I have never been too. But here’s a fun thing: I’ve never been to clubs or bars here in Korea either! There’s a park by my house where when my friends and I try to sit there to relax or people watch, we will always get approached by old men. We even had one man try to tell my roommate and I that “고추 주세요” meant “go away.” This was after I told him I spoke Korean. (So you know, that means “give me pepper.” But 고추 can also refer to penis… so I think he was trying to get us to say “give me the D” in Korean. Not cool, man.)
So those are just a few things that I’ve noticed since being here. I’m sure I’ll think of more to post later! Also, I do not mean for this post to be extremely negative. I have had some negative experiences Korea, but I still love it here. I feel like I’m always posting very positive things, which is why I kind of shifted the focus on this post. I do want other people considering coming to study in Korea to have a realistic view of what to expect. ^.^
Sidewalk Etiquette:
1. People walk slow. Now, part of this is that I’m a really fast walker. My school in the US is HUGE and I’m used to having to literally sprint between classes to make it to my classroom in the allotted 15 minutes. I get really impatient walking behind people here.
2. People take up the entire sidewalk. Especially the couples. I don’t know if the couples or the giant groups of at least 6 or more Koreans. If I walk with more than one person, I’m aware of my surrounding and will get in a single file line so people can pass us. No one does that here. And on top of that, it’s the people who spread themselves out to take up the entire sidewalk that usually walk the slowest. ㅠㅠ
3. “Excuse me”s and “sorry”s are rare. I think this is a difference between me being from a small town and Seoul being a huge metropolitan area. You’re going to bump into people and people are going to bump into you, so no one really apologizes for it. Some people won’t even move out of the way if you’re on a collision course, they’ll just barrel right into you.
4. At the slightest hint of rain everyone pulls out their umbrellas. I usually only use my umbrella if it’s really coming down. Today I was out walking around and it was barely sprinkling, I maybe felt a drop or two here and there but not anything most Americans would justify pulling out their umbrella for, but almost everyone on the street had their umbrellas open. (Which, is annoying for a fast walker like me because these take up even more space on the sidewalk so it’s harder to dart around the slow people.)
Interacting with Koreans:
5. If you don’t look Korean, people will speak to you in English (and usually be amazed if you use Korean). I used to get upset about this because I’m here in Korea to study Korean and my goal is to become fluent, something I can’t do if everyone refuses to speak to me in Korean. To me, I viewed it as racist and discriminatory, like people are assuming that because I’m white I only speak English. I find it very annoying when people assume that I can’t speak Korean. However, I’ve had several Korean and Chinese friends tell me that it is considered polite to speak to a foreigner in English, so I’m more forgiving now.
6. If you don’t look Korean, people will stare at you. It happens. It made me uncomfortable the first day, but it literally happens so much that I barely notice it anymore. Recently I’ve gotten the courage to stare back at people, or smile and wave at them. They usually always smile and wave back when you do so.
7. No foreigner/minority protection laws. People and business are allowed to discriminate against you. This doesn’t happen a lot, but it does happen and when it does, there’s really nothing you can do about it. (Ex: #1 There are times when I walk into the store and the person working will greet the Koreans, but won’t greet me. This has happened when I walked in after Koreans and saw them greet the Koreans but just stare at me. This has happened when i walked in and saw them stare at me and then a few minutes later greet Koreans walking in. It’s not accidental, it’s definitely purposeful because I’m not Korean. Ex: #2 many of the clubs at my university do not allow foreigners to join, even if the foreigners can speak Korean. These are both very minute examples that I could brush off, but they still hurt.)
8. At my university - and I want to stress this because I’m sure it’s not like this at all Korean universities, just at the one I attend - Koreans don’t want to be friends with foreign students. Even in the Korean and International Student Club at my school, the Koreans aren’t really interested in being friends with anyone who’s not Korean. In class and at events, the Korean students will segregate themselves from the international students whenever possible. Maybe the Korean students get uncomfortable because of speaking English with the International students, but as I said, I speak Korean. In fact, I am a Korean major, and they still won’t talk to me in Korean. Many of them I try to get to talk to me in Korean and they always switch back to English. And it’s not because I’m not good enough in Korean. I have a Korean friend who does not speak English well and we speak exclusively in Korean together. My Korean is at a comfortable conversation level and many Koreans still refuse to speak to me in Korean or English. In my school’s club, it seems like many of the Korean students want to party with the International students and get drunk with them so that they can hook up with them and then afterwards never talk to them and never have a relationship with them (DISCLAIMER: not everyone’s like this, but a much more significant portion than I expected.)
9. Being approached by drunk (much) older men to go drink with them (and presumably more). This has never ever happened to me in the US. I’m sure it happens in clubs and bars at the US, which I have never been too. But here’s a fun thing: I’ve never been to clubs or bars here in Korea either! There’s a park by my house where when my friends and I try to sit there to relax or people watch, we will always get approached by old men. We even had one man try to tell my roommate and I that “고추 주세요” meant “go away.” This was after I told him I spoke Korean. (So you know, that means “give me pepper.” But 고추 can also refer to penis… so I think he was trying to get us to say “give me the D” in Korean. Not cool, man.)
So those are just a few things that I’ve noticed since being here. I’m sure I’ll think of more to post later! Also, I do not mean for this post to be extremely negative. I have had some negative experiences Korea, but I still love it here. I feel like I’m always posting very positive things, which is why I kind of shifted the focus on this post. I do want other people considering coming to study in Korea to have a realistic view of what to expect. ^.^
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