Korean Job Discussion Forums

[venus]

Hey.

There's a book out at the moment called 'The Geography of Thought.'

It covers HOW Asians (in the book the term is used to clasify people from far eastern countries, namely Korea, Japan and China) and Westerners (people whose culture can be traced back to Greek culture - USA, Western Europe, Australia and British Colonies) think differently and WHY.

I don't have time for a lengthy appraisal but the book points out that the differences in the way the two groups perceive the world are not SOLEY due to soical aspects (ie Asian = collective / rice farming culture / Western = lone hunters / fishermen etc with more personal agency / Asians see objects in context with their environment, Westerners seperate object from environment etfc...) but also due to the Physical make up of the brain.

I think EVERY ESL teacher in Korea needs to read this book.

It really opened my mind and made me realize that I often think some Korean practices / cultural practices etc are annoying or even ridiculous and that it is the idea that is different, thus ideas can be changed, so I get frustrated as to why they have such bizzare ideas so often...

And what this book has done for me is to make me realize that it's not just a battle of ideas - their ideas are outmoded / unproductive etc - but that they are just DIFFERENT. Neither of the two groups' ideas are right or wrong, they both TRULY perceive the world in uniquely different ways.

The intriguing part for me is that in a lot of their experiments Asian-American�s / European�s results were practically always in the middle between the Asian and Western results, suggesting that it is more than just societal and environmental factors that affect how different races perceive the world, that there is perhaps an organic explanation too�

It�s just totally got me chilled out these days, like when I think something my co-workers do or say or want me to do is ridiculous, I truly get it now � that to them it is totally reasonable, not just a �different idea� but is more entrenched than that, leaving me more open to co-operation with them.

A must read for anyone wanting to understand the Koreans they interact with and to be more tolerant and understanding.

[kermo]

You're right. It's terrific. It's been discussed in recent months here:
http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=71643&highlight=geography++thought

and here, a couple years ago:
http://eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=30587&view=next

and on another thread started by Ya-Ta Boy which I can't find right now.

[Cheonmunka]

[jdog2050]

[Darkness]

where can i get a copy of this book?

[JeJuJitsu]

[epey82]

And another apologist is born...

But riddle me this--why are there none of these bizare behaviors present in say, SE Asia?

The brains in Southeast Asia must also be different than Koreans' brains, huh?[/quote]

And another idiot speaks...

What are you talking about? It's not about their brains being different. It's about cultural differences. SE Asia has a much different culture than East Asia. Not to mention a history of Western rule (British occupation of India).

I don't think that people understand that culture goes so much deeper than we think. We don't always have to look for a biological explanation for behavioral differences in people.

I really appreciate someone trying to be positive and understanding about the cultural devide and how not to lash out against it. I would love to check out the book.

[SarcasmKills]

Decent book, but rather dry and even preachy at times.

[JeJuJitsu]

[Yu_Bum_suk]

To conduct any sort of test one would have to use Asians adopted into white families. Based on the ones I've met, I doubt the above-stated thesis would hold.

[venus]

[kermo]

[Milwaukiedave]

Venus,

Thanks for the suggested reading. I've never heard of that book before, but I'm definately going to see if I can find it. I'm headed back home in a few months, but I still think it would be a god idea for me to read it. I'm married to a Korean and sometime get frustrated at the differences in the way we think. Maybe it will help me to be a little more understanding and patient (although sometimes I doubt I can be either).

Have you read "The Koreans" by Michael Breen? If you've been here long enough you will totally identify with what he says. I laughed through the whole book.

[hari seldon]

[venus]