Cultural Post 4

[James Jang]

This week, I went to a boba store with some of my Korean friends and had a chat. One of the things we talked about was the social culture of Korea. Nowadays, apparently the younger generation of Koreans are becoming more and more disrespectful and ill-mannered. However, that is in the lens of Korean Americans. The cultural difference between Koreans and Korean Americans is getting larger. One example is that Koreans don't open the door for the person behind them, it's just normalized not to. I thought that was very interesting because in the United States, we are always keen on having good manners. It's normalized to open the door for someone behind you. Another example is that Koreans don't say excuse me when trying to get through tight spaces or when bumping into someone. This is due to a large population on small land (50 million people in land that is smaller than Virginia). Here, we once again say excuse me, sorry, and thank you in order to be well-mannered. I just thought this was an interesting conversation that was brought up in our tea time.

[Henry Mitchell]

It is definitely interesting to see how different Koreans and Korean Americans can be. From what I have seen, this difference can extend to much more than just manners. I wonder if the gap will widen with time. 

[Logan Motyka]

Again it is really interesting to see the differences in behavior, even with the same shared heritage there are many differences. The differences between Korean and Korean Americans could lead to confusion and or debate but it is nice to hear your personal experience. Have you noticed this with other cultures too?