Korean Job Discussion Forums

[wylies99]

In China, Customer Is Not Always King

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2008/07/116_28278.html

By Sunny Lee
Korea Times Correspondent

BEIJING ― Hong Gil-dong, a typical urban Korean salaryman, plans to visit Beijing for the Olympic Games. This is his first time to the Middle Kingdom. He speaks fluent `ni hao' and he can proudly testify that that's the only Chinese he knows. No problem! He just needs to know a few more things that will make his life easier in the People's Republic.

Firstly, China is a very `productive' country. It's obvious. Look at the number of people it has. And this also means that wherever you go, such as a subway station or McDonald's, you will have to wait in line. Remember, in China, waiting in line is very common. And the line tends to be longer than in Korea.

People in line also tend to keep very little space between them. That is, the man standing behind you may thrust the upper frontal part of his pants against your buttocks. Please, don't take it as a sign of sexual advance. He just wants to make sure nobody cuts in line. It's a survival instinct Chinese people have grown accustomed to while living in a very populous nation.

Secondly, have some change when taking a taxi. Some taxi drivers don't have enough change when you hand over a 100-yuan ($15) bill. He may have to drive past your destination to find a store to get your change.

Also, don't be alarmed when the taxi driver grumbles when you don't have the exact taxi fare to give him. In a capitalist society, the customer is king. You're in a socialist society, however, you're not king. "In a socialist society, everyone is equal. The taxi driver also needs your cooperation," explained Wang Jin, a graduate student at Peking University Law School.

Thirdly, don't take it personally when the cashier at a supermarket throws your change bluffly on the table, instead of giving it to you. Less and less people do this these days. But some places still do. In Korea, this does not happen often as it is considered rude. Not necessarily in China.

Fourthly, don't say to your Chinese host that Chinese people are all brainwashed by the Communist government. It's the surest way to leave China without making any friends.

Fifthly, please remember, in continental China, Taiwan is considered part of China. The majority of Chinese people believe this as strongly as Korean people believe that Dokdo is part of Korea. Period.

Sixthly, don't take your Chinese friends to a Korean church on Sunday. According to Chinese law, Chinese nationals are not allowed to worship in a foreign church in China. It's for foreign passport holders only.

Finally, think twice before you order `local specialty cuisines' in restaurants. They tend to be expensive. More importantly, you may not like them very much when they are delivered to your table. They tend to be exotic foods such as roasted sexual organs of a pig in Guangxi region or the blood of a turtle in Shandong province. This is particularly the case when you venture out of Beijing to visit southern provinces.

Also, learn local wisdom. For example, you will see that people in Beijing cross the street when there is a red light. Follow them, if you can (Don't tell others that I told you this). Otherwise you will be the only one left behind. But don't do this in Hangzhou, a beautiful city in Zhejiang province. As a Chinese friend of mine once reminded me: "Hey, this is not Beijing!"

China is big and diverse. So, be flexible.

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[wylies99]

[Sody]

What's wrong with the article? I don't see anything wrong with giving people advice. It's written by a Korean and has the typical arrogance you would expect but I would say 99% of all Koreans hate everyone so it is to be expected.

[Jeaves]

[ChinaBoy]

It's a lot worse than this article implies.

[wylies99]

[orosee]

Guys, take off your "I hate Korea" shades and realise that this is a satirical, funny article? Maybe not on purpose, but not knowing that makes it even better.

"productive" = "reproductive", hence MANY Chinese

"Fourthly, don't say to your Chinese host that Chinese people are all brainwashed by the Communist government. It's the surest way to leave China without making any friends." - brilliant! dead-pan delivery!

It almost makes me wonder if this was written by a KSL (Korean as a Second Language) teacher in her first year in China!

[cdninkorea]

[Yu_Bum_suk]

When it's necessary to ask Koreans please not to get to upset about outrageous public manners you know it must be a pretty dire situation.

[travelingfool]

I've lived in China. There is nothing wrong with the article. Most of it is true. Taxi drivers never have change for a 100, or so they say. Cashiers do in fact throw your change on the counter and don't even look at you. I like how in Korea they hand it to you with both hands and say thank you. OTOH, in China people usually don't spit or throw things at you if you are a western male walking with a Chinese woman. I think the author is actually making of fun of the typical traveling Korean 'salaryman'.

The author is definitely right though about bad customer service in China. Vietnam is the same way.

[billybrobby]

[mindmetoo]

Zenkimchi wrote about a great experience of some of that top notch Korean service:

http://www.zenkimchi.com/FoodJournal/?p=461

[R-Seoul]

I thought the whole hilarity of the article was that the author may as well be describing Korea, or is everybody else being too subtle about this for me to notice?

[Pyongshin Sangja]

13) Watch out for your Dad at the massage parlour.

[Sody]