SDLC 105 - Learning Journal #5

When I first moved to the U.S. from Korea, I definitely experienced some culture shock. In the U.S., people often address others (friends, employees, and even acquaintances) by their first name. In Korea, people only address friends in the same age group by their first name. Addressing people who are older in age by their first name is considered very disrespectful in Korea and in many Asian cultures. When I started attending elementary school in the U.S., I heard one of my friends greet the bus driver by her first name. I was so shocked and thought she would get in trouble. However, I quickly grew accustomed to the American/Western culture, and realized that people often call someone by their first name or use a title, such as Ms., Mr., Mrs., etc. But even with the use of a title, I think the way people address others in the U.S. is somewhat more personable than in Korea, because in Korea, students call their school teacher, "Teacher," whereas in the U.S., we use titles such as "Mr./Ms./Dr./Professor." 

The "Culture Shock" video also mentioned some points that I personally experienced when I was younger. I realized that in the U.S., familiarity and closeness are expressed differently. In addition to cultural differences, I think this is due to differences in living styles as well as life styles. In the U.S. there is a lot more open land, and many homes are single homes with a private yard/land. In Korea, there are few single homes in the city and sub-urban areas, and majority of the population resides in apartment complexes. In the U.S., people seem to express more physical affection during a greeting, but respect each others' personal space and "personal bubble." In Korea, people generally show less physical affection (greeting), but there isn't much of a personal bubble due to overcrowded streets and subway stations. When I last visited Korea, it seemed almost normal that people walked or moved while touching other people's shoulders. 

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