SDLC 110 Cultural Post #8:
Eighth Cultural Post: Reflect upon what you have learned from the cultural projects presented in class
It was very enjoyable learning about the cultural topics my classmates presented on this semester. Since many of my classmates chose Korean as the language they wished to study, it was interesting learning about my culture without it being my presentation. Overall, I think I became more knowledgeable about different countries that I never knew about, giving me insight about the values and norms the country strived for. For example, I learned that Korean standards for hiring is very different than the United States’. The Korean round is extremely intensive, with potential employees having to prove themselves by passing multiple rounds of interviews and taking a test that bookstores often have practice books for. In addition, after passing all the rounds, it is still necessary for the individual to work overtime without extra pay for three straight months to prove themselves as hardworking employees. It gave me insight about how this attitude about the job force often spills into other aspects of one’s life in Korea such as academics, friendships, and more. It explained a lot to me about why Koreans often overexert themselves, attempting to compete and overexert themselves to make a point. I also learned that not all countries share basic university norms that we have in the US. In the Czech Republic, it is extremely rare for students to go to their professors during office hours. I thought this shed light on how individuals in the Czech Republic operated. They are very individualistic and do not tend to rely on others. Through learning about little things about how countries acted, I began to slowly understand what they valued, what they despised, and ultimately what they strived to be.
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