Korean Job Discussion Forums

[tomato]

Are people born cooperative, individualistic, or competitiveness?
Let's look at what we have seen in our host culture and then maybe we can decide.

cooperation

Of course, you've noticed that the family name comes first, not the given name. We can infer, then, that family is more important in Korea whereas the individual is more important in our society.

Cooperativeness even plays a greater role in personnel decisions. An American employer's primary question is usually "How qualified is the applicant do the job?" whereas a Korean employer's primary question might be "How well can the applicant fit in?"

individualism

My greatest peeve is having English-speaking Koreans quote-helping me-unquote while I am trying to prove that I can survive on the Korean language only.

I have to give a point-by-point explanation of how English-speaking Koreans are impeding my language learning, how they are infantilizing me, and how they are insulting me.

I ask such persons, "How would you like it if someone in my country spoke to you in Korean?" They say, "I would appreciate it." Apparently, they think that a host country citizen is helping a foreigner by speaking in the foreigner's own language.

Does this mean that Koreans are indoctrinated with cooperativeness? Or does this mean that Westerners are indoctrinated with individualism?

I'm not sure. The children in my English class play concentration card games. Some children cheer when another player finds a match and groan when another player misses a match. So some children are cooperative. Some children do it the other way around. So some children are competitive. Some children protest when other players try to help them. So some children are individualistic.

competitiveness

I hear some of you saying, "You're introducing competitive games into the classroom. So you're part of their environment."

Maybe so. But I see the kids competing in ways which I had not planned. I teach English Braille, using a small flannelboard and round dots. I write a Braille word on the board and ask for a volunteer to show each letter on the flannelboard. There is often a competition over who can show the letter with the largest number of dots.

Another of my activities is the gossip chain. John makes a statement, such as "I like dogs." Then Bill, who is sitting next to John, says, "John said he likes dogs." Then Karen, who is sitting next to Bill, says, "Bill said John said he likes dogs." In one class today, two of the kids fought over the last chair in the classroom, apparently because each one wanted to say the longest sentence.

At the end of the class, all the kids fought their way through the doorway, only to go to another classroom.

Korean society is more competitive than it used to be, thanks to the cutthroat activities of Samsung, Hyondai, Daewoo, and LG. What were Korean kids like before Korea industrialized? I don't know. I wasn't here that long ago.

[Yesterday]

Do you think that you are thinking too much about thinking? - but good thinking anyway - now you have me thinking.....

Cooperation

You could say that Korean people are more co-operative and then totally prove it wrong by watching traffic/footpath habits and lines?? at subway trains/buses etc

Individualism

The language - some Korean people just DO NOT WANT YOU to speak their language - I have noticed whenever i am talking korean - many people try to PRETEND that they DO NOT UNDERSTAND although it is THEIR OWN language - however speak English - and some Korean people UNDERSTAND QUITE WELL - and then go off and misinterpret everything you have said ??

Competitiveness

With every Korean mother and father telling their kids they HAVE TO be Doctors or Lawyers - it is not surpising to see the competitive attitudes pushed on them from their parents - ask the kids want they REALLY want to be - 70% of your students will answer "I want to be a soccer player".

[jaderedux]

[Horangi Munshin]

[quote="jaderedux"]

[Ya-ta Boy]

I'd like to speak about one aspect of this topic. I feel really sorry for some of my Korean friends because of the excessive and unnecessary competitiveness in this society.

One situation riles me around grade time. Although I don't give grades to our students, I am in the same office with the Korean teachers who do. They tell me that they are told exactly how many A's, B's etc. they have to give. A few weeks ago one of them popped over the divider and asked which of two students I thought deserved the A (because their scores were exactly the same).

Another needless exercise in competitiveness: the number of new lawyers is determined by law (I guess) so there is not a passing score on the bar exam. It isn't how much law you know, it is having 1/10 of a point more than the other guy.

I guess I'm missing something, because I thought education was about mastering the material, not accumulating more points than someone else. Foolish me.

[Gwangjuboy]

[quote="Horangi Munshin"][quote="jaderedux"]

[ryleeys]

Yeah, I have the problem that when I speak their language, nobody understands me, so I switch to my language and nobody understands me...

And my mom was always pushing me to be one thing and my dad nearly killed me for not being a computer programmer...

And hell, I'll walk faster then comfortable just to be in front of someone on the sidewalk...

I actually took a class one time where everyone's grade was dependent on how much land you controlled in a negotiating game. I had two allies and we were on our way to screwing everyone and taking A's for ourselves. Then I screwed one of my allies and knocked them down to an F just so I could move up to an A+...


So, what country am I from?

[jaderedux]