SDLC 110: Sixth Cultural Post

[Sequioa Roscoe]

To Koreans, the concept of time is closely related to human communication, especially having an influence on a society’s lifestyle. The time that we use to work and the time that we use to play has increased significantly over time. In the Western culture, we have certain hours of the day when we work, which is usually known as 9am-5pm or “working the 9-5”. However, in the Korean society, students and workers tend to work longer hours, especially high school students who sometimes stay in school from 8am until 10:45pm. Since Korea is presently Westernized, they are more aware about punctuality and the English phrase “The early bird catches the worm”. However, in the traditional Korea, there was no concept of punctuality, so due to the current Western influence, Koreans concept of time has changed. Koreans and those of Western society tend to be past-oriented people, meaning that they “place high regard on the past, the reliving of past events, and cherishing past happenings”.