Korean Job Discussion Forums

[nicwr2002]

Those of you who have lived here for a while or have studied Korean culture I hope you can answer this question for me. How do you feel when coworkers don't address you as teacher, but only call your first name? My wife gets really angry at other Koreans, even people we know when they don't call me Nick Teacher/쌤 or Nick 형. Should I correct the coworker about it or even feel bad that he/she didn't use the suffix title when addressing me? Again, my wife says that, to her, it is extremely rude for people not to use the suffix to me. Any of you have a similar situation?

[drcrazy]

[le-paul]

i think a lot if koreans try to accommodate us based in their beliefs about our (western) customs.

Ive been called 'foreigner' enough times in the past to be offended by that, but not by the use of my name.

[schwa]

I'm completely comfortable being addressed by first name only, be it by students or colleagues. I encourage it. I prefer being respected just as me.

Which flies against Korean convention, which doesnt concern me as an older teacher.

But younger teachers might be well advised to insist on at least "-sem" or "-teacher" when addressed by students, or risk disrespect.

[Fox]

[Kepler]

The rules change when you're dealing with English names.

"Many Koreans use English nicknames for international business purposes, in the belief that Korean names are impossible for anyone other than Koreans to remember..... In Korea, one would never address a person one just met by their given name. However, the English nicknames are considered more acceptable to use. So, depending on the context, it may be acceptable to say 'Hi, John' but not 'Hi, Jeong-won.'

"That said, a foreign businessperson who learns how to correctly address someone in Korean will make a good impression. This is done by combining the surname with the job title and then adding the honorific suffix 'nim.' "
-from the book Korea: The Impossible Country

[candy bar]

[jvalmer]

I personally insist they add a Mr., or teacher/saem, when students talk to me.

Also, I think that adults should know better, and shouldn't call you by your first name if they don't know you well. And definitely not if they are obviously younger than you. However, I think a lot of Koreans are confused, and don't realize that Mr./Mrs./Ms is often used as a sign of respect. Of course a lot of it depends on generation, and region, among us westerners.

However, Korean students are probably even more confused, because often they'll go to a hagwon and their foreign hagwon instructor will insist they call them by their first name. But then they might encounter a foreign teacher in their schools insisting that they be addressed with a Mr, or teacher. Since in Korean the rules are usually followed universally once they hit mid-elementary, and Korean teachers would come down hard on them if it's broken. Then they watch western TV shows and it all depends on the speakers involved, so they might be confused as to why some random foreign teacher gets angry at them for calling them by name.

[nicwr2002]

Thanks for the replies! I used to never even think about that until my wife got upset with her friends for not calling me 형 or 형부. It didn't really bother me until she kept telling me it was rude and that they (Koreans) should know better. I agree with most of you that it's not meant to be rude. I guess I'll just take it on a case by case basis.

[Hokie21]

My students refer to me as "Hokie teacher" or just "teacher" 99% of the time, if they say "Hokie" I don't correct them...I don't really care. My coworkers and I are all on a first name basis. I don't call my Korean teachers, "Sally Teacher" I call her Sally. They in turn call me "Hokie."

[wooden nickels]

[Who's Your Daddy?]

[yodanole]

A tempest in a teapot ....

[candy bar]

[le-paul]