Korean Job Discussion Forums

mistermasan · Joined: 20 Sep 2007 Location: 10+ yrs on Dave's ESL cafe

recently attended 1/2 a training seminar in seoul. they taught us 4 or 5 important korean manners.

one was fascinating. did you that in korea it is considered bad form to ask where someone went to university? well, according to the trainer...it is. as she explained there is a stigma in korea for having attended a non-elite university as those who get into the good schools are "successful" in life and those who didn't aren't.

wow, so 90%+ of the population is stigmatized for not having a "korean ivy: education.

Sneetches.

whatever · Joined: 11 Jun 2006 Location: Korea: More fun than jail.

B.S.

My Korean friends get asked the question all the time when introduced to somebody new. It's standard...

Benicio · Posted: Sat Mar 29, 2008 8:08 pm Post subject:

Whatever is right. They ask it just like they ask "how old are you?".

However, those ones who went to crap college or didn't go at all generally try to avoid the question or change the subject.

mistermasan · Joined: 20 Sep 2007 Location: 10+ yrs on Dave's ESL cafe

call it BS if you want, but an organization that has over 500 branches/francishes finds it salient to point this fact out to their new meat.

Poemer · Joined: 20 Sep 2005 Location: Mullae

Koreans will often only ask that question if they themselves went to a good school and want to show off or if they are relatively certain that the other person did not go to a good school. It is not B.S. When it is asked it is in order to establish the pecking order at work, etc. It is not a casual question in Korea the way it is in the US, Canada etc.

spliff · Joined: 19 Jan 2004 Location: Khon Kaen, Thailand

I love when they ask me...I went to an Ivy league school. Very Happy

JustJohn · Joined: 18 Oct 2007 Location: Your computer screen

No one's ever heard of my school over here but it's well above the top-ranked Korean universities, so if I want to impress someone or whatever I'll just casually drop the ranking. Razz

Carlyles Ghost · Joined: 04 Jul 2007

Unposter · Joined: 04 Jun 2006

My understanding is yes, this is considered rude. It is like asking your social class.

nicholas_chiasson · Joined: 14 Jun 2007 Location: Samcheok

better yet, ask a girl with NO degree and watch her response.did that one!

peppermint · Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2008 4:04 am Post subject:

I knew that, along with it being bad form for women to cross their legs at the knee, (crossing at the ankles is fine though) and a few other obscure points

spliff · Joined: 19 Jan 2004 Location: Khon Kaen, Thailand

When I was teaching adults many girls sat w/ there legs splayed and undergarments in full view. Was that bad?

Newbie · Joined: 07 Feb 2003

I'd like to hear some of the other things they threw your way.

mistermasan · Joined: 20 Sep 2007 Location: 10+ yrs on Dave's ESL cafe

other tidbits:
-don't look koreans in the eye when speaking to them.
-with males it is OK to shake hands/bow but with females maybe it is better to just bow, but this is changing.

cbclark4 · Joined: 20 Aug 2006 Location: Masan

Also bad manners: Where is my end of (severance) contract payment
and my R/T ticket re-imbursement?

I'm going to try it out tomorrow.

When they say I don't know, I'll ask: By the way where did you go to
college?