Job Discussion Forums

[hip-hop boy78]

A brief peruse on the Korean Job Discussion Forum will lead you to at least two threads about English teachers in Korea being beaten senseless by the locals. Why does this kind of thing happen in Korea but rarely, if ever in Japan? Why are Korean people so much more aggressive than Japanese people?

I recently read a book entitled "Korea Unmasked", written by a Korean which I found to be highly informative and interesting. The book gives an eye-opening insight into the character and way of thinking of Koreans and also describes the relationship between Korea, Japan and China. It's written in comic book style which certainly lends it some flavour. I'd highly recommend it to anyone, even if you're not living in Korea.

I've started this thread because after living/teaching in Japan for three years I now find myself teaching kids in Korea. I have to say that I much prefer the way of life, culture and politeness of the Japanese compared to the helter-skelter, rough and tumble way of life here in Korea. But I still can't figure out why Koreans and Japanese are so damn different. In Japan people will just leave you alone and let you be, no hassles whatsoever, but in Korea I constantly feel like I have to be on high alert. You just never know what's coming around the next corner. Life here in the ROK isn't all that bad but I do miss Japan and the little idiosyncracies that made living there worthwhile. That's also a reason why I'm strongly considering returning when my current contract expires next year. Would anyone like to comment on what they feel are the reasons for the differences in character between such close neighbours as Korea and Japan?

[nomadder]

One Korean told me the men are different due to military training. Then there's Anti-Americanism which probably just becomes generalized. They are also 2 very separate cultures. The languages have no connection to one another though you see some similarity in food-maki type things there for example.

Do you see any cultural similarities at all?

[AndyH]

I came to Japan from Korea, where I taught for seven months before saying "enough is enough". I had also served in Korea with the US Marine Corps, training South Korean Marines.
My experience in Korea as a member of the US Military was not 100% positive, but it was a lot better than being there as a civilian English teacher.
Honestly, I really don't know why so many Koreans are aggressive, racist, and willing to screw people over at the first opportunity. Of course, it goes without saying that not everybody I knew there was like that: there were a few very decent Koreans I came to know.
But, compared to my life in Japan, Korea is worlds apart. In my 20+ years as an adult I've lived, worked, and travelled in about 25 countries outside the US, and I've never seen any society that has such a blatantly superior view of themselves as the Koreans. I'd never go back, except possibly to renew a work visa if I had to.

[Gordon]

To the OP, why wouldn't the Japanese and Koreans be different? Australians and Indonesians are different and they live even closer than the Japanese and Koreans?

[TokyoLiz]

Gordon said

[hip-hop boy78]

Gordon,

I would imagine that Koreans and Japanese would have more in common culturally speaking than Indonesians and Australians, regardless of the proximity in distance between the two. Of course Koreans and Japanese are different, and difference is something to be treasured. Variety is the spice of life after all. But I find it interesting that two nations that have interacted with each other for hundreds of years, for good or bad, could be so different in terms of their population's attitude and character. Koreans are fiery, aggressive and somewhat nationalistic. The Japanese are the opposite, at least in public.

Nomadder,

As far as cultural similarities go, Koreans bow just like their Japanese neighbours and certain things like sitting on the floor in restaurants, exchanging business cards and not being able to handle their beer are common occurances here. Salaryman behaviour is also a little similar. Other than that I haven't given it too much thought.

[Glenski]

To echo Tokyo Liz and Gordon, but to use a different metaphor, you are trying to compare Romulans and Vulcans, people with the same ancestry but totally different characteristics.

[wangtesol]

One reason that often comes to my mind, is that Koreans were virtually dispatch slaves of the Japanese and collaborating Koreans for so many decades. That would have some effect on labor management culture.

[sushi]

They have kinda picked themselves up from the ruins of the Korean war in double quiok time. No country has gone from rabble and ruins so quickly to a major economic player the way Korea has. To do that though they had to be willing to be mobilized out of a sense oif nationalistic pride of course to sacrifice and suffer a little bit for the good of the country. By sacrifice and suffer I mean they had to work long hours for little money under inhuman conditions.

That willingness to work hard and sacrifice has kinda given everyone of em a very brutal edge. They went through hell so it`s only second nature for them to be hard and brutal not only on themselves, but also on any Tom Dick or harry foreigener.

You think they treat foreigeners bad you ought to see the way they treat there own kind.

Japan has quality life. They were an industrialized nation long before the Korean and World War11, so they have had a longer time to get the kinks taken out of their life style.

[freddie's friend daniel]

[Speed]

[sushi]

If that was so then it's too bad the unconfrontational behaviour of the Japanese didn't rub off on the Koreans when they were colonising the country.

[hip-hop boy78]

Sushi,

I agree with your last statement. I also find it a pity that Koreans weren't able to pick up the politeness of the Japanese. Although during the period of Japanese colonization, I imagine the Japanese were viewed as anything but polite by Koreans.

I'm not really trying to compare and nit-pick, just find out why they have such different characters and ways of thinking. Perhaps the effect of confucianism which is somewhat prevalent in Korea has something to do with it. I guess that Korea has had a pretty rough and tough history though. Japan is an island whereas Korea is a peninsula country that has been invaded and occupied by Chinese, Mongol, Japanese and Western powers over the last few hundred years. They therefore had to become a tough people in order to survive in such hostile conditions.

[taikibansei]

[JezzaYouBeauty!!]

It is good to see people discussing the differences between Koreans and Japanese. There was someone on these forums somewhere who indicated that they believed Korea was essentially just Japan 'with a twist'. An almight twist if you ask me....

Speed wrote: 'Also, even when Japan was a less affluent country, public demeanor was much less confrontational than it was/is in Korea.'

But weren't Koreans Confucian scholars and the Japanese, Samurai warriors. I don't know how non-confrontational feudal japan was.

Anyhow, it obviously isn't as simplistic as that, is it?

The remarkable economic recoveries post-war, for both countries.....have been just that....remarkable. But also it has been easily identifiable as to why it happened in each country. Good on both of them.

There's a GREAT book called 'The Koreans: Who they are, What they want, Where their future lies.' The author's surname is Breen, I seem to remember. It's worth a look. I've long found Korean history fascinating. I've also liked Irish history, when coincidentally, the Koreans have been coined 'the Irish of Asia.'

Still....I'd rather live in Ireland.