Journal #3

[Sarah Kwon]

For South Korea, the Hofstede dimensions were 60 in power distance, 18 in individualism, 39 in masculinity, 85 in uncertainty avoidance, 100 in long term orientation, and 29 in indulgence. I thought the dimensions were mostly true according to my experiences in South Korea. I especially thought the individualism and masculinity were true. When I went to Korea, I encountered a culture shock of how feminine the guys were. Unlike in America, where guys tend to shy away from femininity, guys in South Korea seemed to embrace it. If a guy was walking down the street wearing a pink shirt and had make up on, most people would see him as being fashionable and trendy. Additionally, I find it true that South Korea has a very collectivist mindset. When a person would be praised for their work, a lot of times their family would also be praised. I find this to also be relevant in my life right now especially when I was applying to universities my senior year of high school. Whenever I got accepted to a good school, my parents would be complimented for raising me up and allowing me to get accepted into the university instead of the praise being on all of me.