Cultural Differences

Please keep in mind that this post is in no way a criticism of Korea or the United States. I absolutely love both of my "homes". There are differences between the States and Korea that I find interesting, and I am only making observations.

:-)

In the United States, depending on where you are, it's an every man for himself mentality. In some places of the country (the south, small towns), it's much different, but in the majority of places (in my mind), people pretty much fend for themselves. No one really reaches out to help each other.

In Korea, it's a very community-oriented culture. People always want to take care of each other, even to the point of telling them what to do.

The other day, at a restaurant, we were given our food and began eating. The waitress left to go get napkins or something, and when she came back she observed that we were all happily eating. Instead of putting the napkins down and walking away, she turned the plates in front of each person to make sure the food was acceptably close to the eater.

A small action, but the implications were endless.

I have had someone walk me through a grocery store and point out the kind of food I should buy. It wasn't a good bargain; it wasn't the best of the bunch from what I could see. I was told I had to get it because it was healthy...

Again, a small action, but the implications are there...

I have had students at my school hold my arm and physically drag me in the direction they think I should be walking... Not where I want to go, but where they think I should go...

That is actually pretty funny... :-) I like my students! But still -- the implications...

However, there are some circumstances where the community-oriented mindset apparantley doesn't apply. For example, if an elevator arrives, there is no rule... people push and shove in a battle to see who will win -- the people getting off or the people getting on. I have literally seen physical pushing to try to get onto / off of an elevator.

Also, if you're walking down a sidewalk, there's a huge battle. Even if the sidewalk is big enough to fit four people across comfortably, it can sometimes be a game of chicken. And, no way is either person going to move! It's interesting...

What's really interesting to me is that the United States is so not community-oriented... There is a huge sense of every man for himself. No waitress would ever turn a plate to make it better for the diner, and no person would tell another adult that they don't know what he or she should eat. However, there are definite rules for the "small stuff" like elevators and sidewalks. The person on the elevator has right of way, and you try to walk on the right side of the sidewalk... And, you move out of the way of people...

It's interesting -- there is never a moment where I don't feel taken care of in Korea. I always feel like people are looking out for my best interests and being considerate. On a public blog, I can't go into the details, but suffice it to say that I am taken care of in EVERY aspect of life in Korea. It's a little overwhelming at times, but very sweet. If this is the hardest thing to get used to in Korea, then this is the life.