Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Samantha]

During February I have to teach a short term culture and etiquitte class to police recruits. The only suggestion I was give was a comparison..."US does x Korea does y", which is so not helpful.

I have 40 hours to fill, broken down into:

1 hr-introduction
13 hrs- textbook
7 hrs- pronunciation/tongue twisters
8 hrs- Cultures/Etiquette and English games
4 hrs- Debates/Discussion topics
2 hrs- Ad-lib game
4 hrs- Presentations/homework

Most of this is very straight forward easy to do, I can figure out to fill in for them. I'd just like some ideas for the 8 hrs of culture/etiquette. Of course if anyone wants to make suggestions for anything beyond the textbook, I'd appreciate it as well. I've never taught an intensive adult/uni type class so any veterans out there with advice I'd appreciate it.

[MarionG]

1. Nothing impolite is meant if something is handed to you by the left hand.
2. Hold the door open for women, especially older women.
3. Never stick your chopsticks/fork into a communal bowl..explain about serving bowls NOT being communal bowls, and about serving utensils.
4. Chew with mouth closed, and quietly.
5. Cover mouth when coughing.
6. Don't spit
7. When you are with person A, and you run into person B, who you know, introduce person A to person B. This is normally not done in Korea, and would be considered impolite not to do in the west.

[Samantha]

[Netz]

Tell them to do everything pretty much exactly the opposite of how they do it now.

It will take about ten minutes to explain, but a lifetime to absorb.

[bluelake]

This is a little of the opposite direction, but still similar. Besides Korean history, I teach a Korean culture class here at the university. The students are mainly kyopos, although I do have some Korean nationals take it. My classes aren't broken down into specific hours; I have the class twice a week for 75 min. each for sixteen weeks. During that time, I have specific subjects we cover each week (general overview, history, language, literature, religion, traditional subjects (food, housing, games, etc.), and so on). You might like to find a copy of the book Ugly Koreans, Ugly Americans (ISBN 89-7512-128-3). It seems like it might be out of print, but you still might find a copy. A lot of it is outdated, but it still can bring up valid points for a class such as yours.

Good luck with it.

[Samantha]

[hari seldon]

[Samantha]

Here's another question that occured to me regarding this...anyone who has had to deal with the police here any suggestions for what you think they should know about culture/etiquette when dealing with foriegners. This can be from any country/culture really in this class, I just focus on the US culture because it's the one I have first hand experience with.

Again thanks for the suggestions keep them coming I don't start the class until the 4th so I have some time to work out the kinks in my lesson plan.

[Bibbitybop]

Boy oh boy, you could teach the entire class relying on how foreigners are treated by the police when they need help or have trouble.

Everyone, post your stories.

Here are some example: The Metropolitician's arrest after calling the police for help and the police's refusal to listen to his side of the story over a drunk ajossi.

My friend who's motorcycle was stolen and was refused help of any sort at 3 different police stations.

[ajuma]

[bluelake]

[Samantha]

[ajuma]

It's in English AND Korean. Great for classes where students have low English reading skills. I DO always read the English part before the discussion so that the students can follow along and get both the pronunciation and intonation.

[MarionG]

Another thing that shouldn't be overlooked is the way negative questions are answered in the west and in Asia:

Example:

Question: Your sister doesn't want to go, does she?
Korean answer: Yes (Yes, I agree with what you say, she does not want to go.)
Western answer: No (No, she does not want to go)

[ernie]

i would focus on useful tips like:

- tipping policy in the west... my advice is to use the sales tax calculation as an easy way to determine the tip, i.e. if the tax is 5%, then you should tip 3 or 4 times that amount, depending on the level of service

- police... an adult student of mine was travelling in the USA, was speeding and got pulled over by the cops... he LIED to the officer about not having a license, then finally admitted it in the end! he was lucky he didn't get cuffed and sent to jail for a night! WTF was he thinking?!

- giving/receiving directions... we have street names, so try to remember the major streets and you will have a hard time getting lost

- miscellaneous:

- we have names for a reason, it's not rude to USE them!
- asking someone's age is rude and unnecessary without a good reason for doing so like putting candles on their birthday cake or filling out official documents
- not introducing someone is akin to denying their existence
- talking to someone on an equal 'friend' level is seen as good manners, not a subversion of the hierarchy
- giving a stranger advice re: weight, is ok as long as you don't mind 1) being criticized in return for things that you might find highly personal, and/or 2) being considered rude, untactful, and nosy
- people should ALWAYS be allowed to exit a place (like a subway car) before you enter... this is elementary 'bag' logic: if you have a bag full of apples that you want to empty and refill with oranges, you don't put the oranges in first and then try to pick out the apples one by one! you dump out the apples and then put the oranges in all at once!