105 Learning Journal #2

In Korea, politeness and respect are crucial aspects of society. When speaking to somebody older, one must use formal speech (honorifics) by utilizing special nouns or verb endings. Honorifics are often used towards relatives, an older person, customer, employer, teacher, or the like. While formal speech is an aspect I highly admire about Hangeul, I find it difficult to get "closer" and more comfortable to somebody of higher status because of it. Using honorifics automatically places a barrier between people and dictates the kind of relationship they will have (at least initially). 

It seems that body language isn't widely used when speaking Korean. However, one must obviously still consider their body language or body motions when speaking to another individual. Some acts I was taught to avoid are crossing my legs, leaning against something, pointing at somebody, and waving somebody over with my palm facing up. While the language structures might differ between Korean and English, I believe the appropriate body languages are quite similar between the two cultures. 

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