Figuring Foreigners Out is a very interesting article. I partially agree with the content and against some of the ideas mentioned. The topics which have been discussed in the passage are: individualism/collectivist; nonverbal communication; monochronic/polychronic; internal/external. The main idea behind all these topics is that the cultural differences between people are causing misunderstand through communication in an underlying way. This article reminds people that there are people which have belief other than yours and suggests that people should be aware the differences during communication with people from other cultural background. Two of the ideas presented in the article conflicts my own belief which is about monochromic/polychromic and internal/external. As far as I am concerned, the standpoint of time is different foe each people no matter which culture he/she is in. Take myself for example, I have always feel like time is not limited and people should do things spontaneously and should not be constrained by plans and order. However, my father is the total opposite, even though we are all in the same culture. Besides, the conception about internal and external mostly depends on age and experience, especially in Chinese culture. The young people commonly do not believe in ‘fate’ or ‘destiny’ while the elders would state everything is all planned out.
I have used the comparative cultural tool to compare Korean, Chinese, US’s cultural in those six aspects. The result surprises me. Comparing to Chinese, Koreans are less likely take risks which shows in uncertainty avoidance category. In other categories, Chinese and South Korean have mostly the same values. Comparing South Korea and the United State, except for the power distance, others are all opposite —individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, longterm orientation, and indulgence. Knowing this comparison, I would be able to understand Korean culture relatively to Chinese and American culture.
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