Sixth Cultural Post: Attitudes about Time in the Target Culture
In Korean culture, time seems to be very important, and there is an overall need to be busy and working. For example, high school students in Korea attend school Monday-Saturday (with the exception of two Saturdays off per month) for sixteen hours. After school ends, students then go to “hagwon” or after school in order to learn more. In Korean culture, every hour is prioritized, and it is expected that everyone should be doing something productive. Furthermore, in Korean work culture, it is normal to work overtime, giving more insight to the concept of Koreans prioritizing the concept of doing over the concept of resting. In my personal experience, growing up in a town that had a large population of Korean immigrants, overworking oneself seemed to be normal. Children would be sent to after schools and enrolled in multiple activities in order to boost their resumes and chances to get into good colleges. Parents would work longer than eight hours a day. Overall, Korean culture attempts to combine productivity and time.
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