Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Ya-ta Boy]

On Wednesday morning I will have a class with 20 adult students who will be going abroad. Eighteen of them will be going to the US, one to Canada and one to England. I've been asked to give a Culture Briefing.

There have been countless threads on this topic but I'm not having any luck finding them with the Search function. Does anyone remember the links?

I'll post what I've thought of so far. If any fellow Yanks have suggestions for additions, I'd appreciate hearing from you. I'd especially appreciate any ideas for specific points to make for the students going to Canada and England.
...........

�Culture Briefing� for the US

Driving:
1. If you want to turn left, get in the left-hand lane; if you want to turn right, get in the right-hand lane.
2. Outside the cities, on the highways, if the speed limit is 55 mph, you can drive 56 or 57 mph without getting a speeding ticket, but if you drive 58 mph, you will be stopped and ticketed.
3. IF you are stopped by a highway patrolman, first, keep your hands visible while he is walking to your car. Address him as �Officer�. He will probably ask to see your drivers license and car registration.
4. Any time you hear a siren, pull over and slow down and be prepared to stop until the ambulance/fire truck/cop car has passed you.
5. Be aware that �road rage� is a problem. If you cut in front of another car, you might upset the other driver. In some states, like Texas, it is legal to carry a gun in the car.
6. Traffic laws are different in each state. Some states allow you to turn right on a red light. Some don�t. Some states allow you to make a U-turn. Some don�t. Check local driving laws.
7. You must stop when you see that a yellow school bus is stopped. Do not pass it from either direction.

Eating:
1. Don�t make any sounds when you eat. This means don�t slurp your noodles. If you are a gum chewer, don�t snap your gum.
2. If you are eating in a group and the pepper is too far away to reach easily, say, �Pass the pepper, please�.
3. A 15% tip is the minimum tip to leave in a restaurant. Normally, you can leave the tip on the table.
4. Attract the waitress� attention by moving your hand and looking at her. Don�t snap your fingers at her or shout.
5. If someone in your class says, �Let�s eat lunch�, they are being friendly but do not expect them to pay for your meal.

Finding Places:
1. The telephone book is your friend. If you want to buy a toaster, hire a repairman, take a trip, etc. look in the Yellow Pages at the back of the telephone book. All businesses have advertisements listed by category. Browse through the Yellow Pages soon after you arrive and get familiar with it.
2. A lot of used furniture and clothes are sold at the Salvation Army.
3. All buildings are numbered. Even numbered buildings will be on one side of the street, all odd numbered buildings will be on the other side. Each block starts with a different number. For example, 104 Main Street will be in one block, 204 will be the next block and 504 will be 4 blocks down the street.
4. There will be a city map in the phone book.
5. If you don�t know a phone number, first look it up in the phone book, but if you can�t find it, you can call the phone company (for a price) and the operator will give you the phone number. Look in the front of the phone book under �Information�.

Making Friends:
1. People are the same everywhere. Most are friendly, some are not.
2. Do not call someone after 9PM unless it is an emergency. We do not think it is �friendly� to call a friend at 11PM for a chat, especially if you are drunk.
3. If you become friendly with someone and he says, �Call me Tom�, he will expect you to say, �Call me Min-Soo�. If you say, �Call me Mr. Kim� Tom will think you do not want to be his friend. A title in front of a name is formal.
4. If someone says, �Let�s have lunch sometime� he is being friendly, but it is not a real invitation. A real invitation will be �Let�s have lunch on Tuesday�.
5. In Korea, �Did you have lunch?� is a friendly greeting. In English, it is a yes-no question. It sounds odd when you know the other person did have lunch. It�s better to ask if they enjoyed their lunch.
6. Class parties, where everyone goes out for dinner and drinks, are not very common. It is quite common for two or three or four classmates to go out for dinner together. You will have to organize it yourself.

Names:
1. If you want your teacher�s help, do not say, �Teacher!� Use his name: �Mr. Smith�.
2. Our names are difficult for you to remember. It is polite to say, �I�m sorry. I have forgotten your first name/family name.�
3. Korean first names are not difficult to pronounce. They are difficult to remember because we are not familiar with them. Don�t feel insulted if someone asks your name several times.

Things you should NOT ask/say:
1. Why aren�t you married?
2. Why don�t you have children?
3. How much money do you make?
4. You need to go on a diet!
5. Don�t talk about politics and religion (in most public situations).
6. Don�t give advice unless asked.

[MarionG]

Some ideas:

Right turn on red is legal in all states....Federal Government vowed to withhold Federal highway funds from any state that didn't make it legal. On number 3 in driving, when you take out your driver's license and proof of insurance, make sure no money is visible, or he might think you are trying to bribe him. That would be a go directly to jail card.

Also CARS DO NOT PASS AS CLOSE TO PEDESTRIANS in the west as they do here. Pedestrians almost always have the right of way. And many cities have laws which forbid you to sound your horn except in the case of an emergency.

But before you do all the driving stuff, I'd ask if they will be driving. Probably none will.

More on eating: Don't chew with your mouth open, don't talk with your mouth open when there is food in your mouth...explain that westerners think seeing food in your mouth is disgusting. Also, BIG NO NO ... don't stick your fork, spoon, or knife into a serving bowl. Explain about serving utensils, the sharing of viruses etc.

I actually think you've covered most of the important bases in the US,,,but I'd be prepared to answer questions on some of the words you've used...I only know 2 or 3 Koreans who would understand "odd" and "even" numbers. They understand them in Korean, but wouldn't have a clue what those words mean in English.

Good luck!

[bejarano-korea]

I think issues of politesse need to be addressed to any Korean student going to England. They need to to say please and thank you and especially if someone opens a door for them or gives them right of way on the pavement.

Also, more than likely they will be subject to racist abuse if they wander around any smallish town or city after 9pm, especially when the pubs/nightclubs shut around 2am. No town in the UK is like a Rio favela but most towns can be very violent places - especially at night.

If they go out at night, make sure there is a local accompanying them.

[browneyedgirl]

[Juregen]

Try also to make an overview on daily expenses

What a restaurant visit costs, movie theater, shopping ...

[huffdaddy]

Nice list Ya-Ta.

[PGF]

When driving, always use a turn signal when changing lanes.

When parking, unless you are a female, do it in under 30 seconds.

NEVER EVER try to put food in someone elses mouth with your utensils.

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Seriously, I've had a LOT of students who went abroad to live. Only one was a university student. The rest were HS or MS kids.

I always stressed to the males that it's not okay to wear a Mickey Mouse shirt in the states after age 5. I encouraged jeans, hoodies and whatever else the kids are wearing these days.

Uni boys should also stay away from mickey mouse shirts

[crazy tigger]

cover you mouth when coughing!

It is not considere polite to ask a woman her age

How about some street savvy advice? As was said they may well experience racism in England. Maybe warn them it's not often safeto wander around onyourown afterdark, check with locals when they get somewhere about areas tolive in, some areas are best avoided

[Ya-ta Boy]

Some really good ideas here, guys. Keep 'em comin'.

If it helps...the YOUNGEST of my students going is about 27.

[MarionG]

Also, now that I think about it, on most freeways, not passing through a city, the the speed limit is 65 or 70 mph, not 55.

[xtchr]

Don't kick your shoes off and then stick your feet on the furniture if you are in a public place/at someone else's house. i.e keep your feet shod and on the floor, e.g don't sit crosslegged on a chair at a restaurant and then touch your foot or cradle one in your hand. (I see this one in Korea all the time).

[bassexpander]

I tried to never called after 10pm in the USA. Between 9 and 10pm is OK.

[huffdaddy]

[bassexpander]

[crazy tigger]

It's not common to pick at other peoples food unless it's offered to you

It's not acceptable in a supermarket to block an entire aisle while you stop and look at something for 5 minutes