Sixth Cultural Post: Attitudes about Time in the Target Culture
In the Korean society, work is the most important thing in life. Students intensively work in High School ad College to be able to enter in one of the few "재벌" (Chaebol), which are the conglomerates like Samsung that dominates the country. Adults work overtime most of the time and students study minimum 12 hours a day. This stressful life-style can be embodied by the popular phrase "빨리 빨리" which means "Quick Quick". Every time someone is about to get late or not working fast enough someone would say this phrase. In fact, being late in Korea is extremely disrespectful and late Koreans can be ashamed. For this reasons, the pressure to be on time is always present and it will be extremely rare to see a Korean late to an appointment.
This culture can be seen in many aspect of the Korean life. For example, restaurants have a call button at each table so that patrons can summon the wait staff at a moment’s notice. Shopping malls are everywhere, including underground walkways, so that customers can buy clothes and shoes while they are on the go. Many stores stay open till 5 or 6 am. Street food is available round the clock, too.
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