Korean Job Discussion Forums

[been_that_done_there]

I have to do a presentation at my school on cultural differences, etiquette and manners.
As this is Dave's, I know I will probably get a lot of sarcastic, useless information, but I know there are some intelligent, helpful people and I would really like to have your input.
If anyone has a complete lesson/presentation they could send me, that would also be great. Please PM me and I will send you my email address.

[GoldMember]

There is a book that takes a lighthearted look at cultural differences called rude koreans rude americans (all foreigners are american!) you could use that for your lesson.

[Silk]

In case no one sends you a completed lesson plan:

Start with talking about how congested Korean cities are compared to cities back west (or wherever) and how people don't have time to say anything when they bump into each other. Add in the effeciency of public transportation, not everyone drives, etc etc. It's a painless way to say there is zero common courtesy.

Let this lead you into "excuse me" and the many many ways westerners use excuse me.

1. If you bump someone
2. If you need to walk very close to get by someone
3. If you need someone to move
4. To begin a conversation with a stranger
5. To ask a question (especially to a teacher/older person)

It works to have two groups of students stand, and one student from each group approach the other, bump, and say excuse me. (of course, the students will want to go crazy and hit eachother, so make some jokes about how it's a classroom, not a K-1 ring, and no one is Cro-cop)

You can also print up a worksheet with times shown with clock faces, and go over 15 past, half past, quarter till, etc. Then do a exercise where some students ask each other the time. Stress that they have to ask "Do you have THE time" and not "Do you have time" and explain the differences.

Assuming you have powerpoint, put a neighborhood map up and practice students saying excuse me and asking directions. Once they warm up, introduce more exact directions like "on the corner of blah and blah"

Finally, wrap it up with a roleplay where students say excuse me, ask the time, then ask directions.

I concluded mine with some "funny" stories of how I would be shopping with a friend and a korean person would bump them with their shopping cart and not say a word, and how in America, you have to have to say excuse me or sorry.

I'll see if I still have my powerpoint on my home computer if you pm me saying how much you love this lesson plan idea.

[wormholes101]

I made a bunch of about 20 powerpoint presentations a couple of years ago. They were mostly based on a book that I bought.

I've uploaded them for you in two separate files, zipped up about 10 ppts in each zip file. Please check the ppts before you use them as there might be errors in them or whatever. For a lot of the files, I used a particular font which you probably don;t have on your computer so you many want to adjust that. Some capital letters might be screwed up too Feel free to use them as you wish or modify them if you want.

You'll need to unzip the files using a program like 7zip which is free and can be downloaded here: http://www.7-zip.org/

Download One
http://www.box.net/shared/9175c2yep0

Download Two
http://www.box.net/shared/1uccx4h359

The presentations were designed to be used over an intercom/broadcast system for elementary school students and be about 2-3 minutes in length each. Obviously you will need to do some talking while showing the slides. To use the ppts, load them up in microsoft office, press F5 and then use the "right direction" button on your key board to go through the animations, slides and effects.

[been_that_done_there]

I would like thank you for your input and the PowerPoint presentations. It really is going to help me a lot.
I appreciate the fact that you took the time to respond with useful and helpful information.

[Captain Corea]

[PRagic]

Please do a search using a few words that target the teaching of cultural differences and let us know what you find. You could even include the words 'PowerPoint', 'presentation,' and 'lesson plan'.

We can work from there.

[wormholes101]

[PRagic]

ANY search (read: any effort)! Try google, yahoo, or mamma.

[seoulsucker]

How old are your students? That can make a HUGE difference in what you cover.

[peppermint]

[bbb0777]

I suppose it depends on how you define 'culture' as opposed to just general differences. So much of this may not be applicable. Hopefully you may find a few useful things. It's kind of a very quick off-the-top-of-my-head sort of list:

Koreans...

give/receive things with two hands

are more fond of many small gifts for various situations

have more respect for the elderly/older people

drive less conservatively (2nd highest traffic deaths per km driven in the OECD)

reliably take off shoes in the house

create buildings which are very tall compared to most western nations

often live with their parents until marriage

seem cleaner to me (brush teeth 3x a day, cleaner houses. etc.)

use hardwood floors, never carpet

work longer hours

feel it's OK to sleep at school/work sometimes

have a higher emphasis on higher education

love all of their foods to be gang raped by chili pepper (haha, seriously though)

don't tip

think blowing nose is rude (especially when eating), while snorting is
more acceptable
are more conservative about cleavage

are less conservative about short skirts

have much lower taxes for alcohol/cigarettes

have school uniforms always

have a university system that's much more based on the university entrance exam than other factors (extracurricular activities, entrance essay, etc.)

are much more conservative about divorce still

seem (I think) more willing to rapidly change their culture/ways of doing things (going from Africa levels to OECD in ~45 years)

when Christian...seem much more dedicated (I'm not religious btw). S. Korea is the 2nd largest source of missionaries in the world after the US now.

Use floor-based heating instead of air-heating

don't mind crowds nearly as much (don't say 'excuse me' as much, etc.)

have a fear of fan death (as opposed to lots of misconceptions in various western nations...but most of them won't be that interesting to students I suspect)

compared to maybe the US only - have substantially lower cost medical care. It also seems higher quality to me, though that's only for basic things.

will have physical fights in congress!

have parents (especially mothers) who exercise much greater control over them. Especially post-graduate, while in the west, most post-university age people are basically free from their parents.

when students, speak less in class

when students, look down/avoid eye contact when in trouble

don't use price discrimination as much (aka - prices in large grocery stores are fairly close to those in 24 hour marts/amusement parks/etc.)

Not that it's a bad idea, but why do you have to specifically do a cultural differences lesson anyway?