Though Koreans have transitioned greatly into Western society, the traditional ways of thinking in many areas are still practiced. Koreans have a great respect for the family and hierarchy. Extended families (i.e., parents living with middle-aged married “children” and their grandchildren) are still commonplace, although this is rapidly changing. Among the older generation, the father is the primary wage earner, while the mother stays at home. Due to changing social mores and economic pressures, the necessity for families to have double incomes is rapidly growing in Korea. Although fathers are the primary income earners, in the majority of cases, salaries are entrusted to their wives and most day-to-day consumption decisions are at the discretion of the female spouse. US companies may wish to take into consideration these traditional family roles when marketing to Korean consumers.
The heavy drinking of the Korean alcohol, Soju, beer, scotch, or other liquor is commonplace in establishing a personal, business relationship. Also commonplace is the "no-rae-bang" where a group of businesspeople go to an establishment to drink and sing along to a video machine playing music. As most no-rae-bang machines come equipped with songs in English, a businessperson may want to be prepared to sing at least one song in order to gain social favor with their Korean counterpart. Although not as common as the no-rae-bang, businessmen should also be aware of “room salons” where Korean women serve food and drink to their patrons.
Even though there are incremental changes in Korean attitudes and women are making progress, women professionals at the highest levels are still very rare. In Korean companies, the majority of working women, many with top university degrees, are still relegated to secretarial jobs, accounting or educational work. Many qualified women welcome the opportunity to work as a professional with a foreign company whose attitudes toward gender equality and professional respect and responsibility prevail.
About Korean
Most Koreans have three names. These names usually follow the Chinese pattern of a surname followed by two given names. In a Korean household, all brothers and sisters have the same last name and a common given name; the only distinguishing mark is the remaining given name. In addressing Koreans, foreigners should observe the use of surnames (e.g., Mr. Kim; Ms. Lee), using formal titles if possible (e.g. Dr. Yoo; Director Song). The most common last names are Kim, Lee, and Park. In the use of formal titles as appropriate, one should always be familiar with the complete name, including the two given names, for identification purposes, as there may be several Mr. Park's or Dr. Lee's in the same company and even the same work space.
Things to know doing business with Korean
Korean people think about business very seriously. they love being the investors and they love to create new technologies very day. there are a lot of young adult who train to be technicians when they grow up. korea became one of the fastest developed country in the world. korea is where it is today because of their working hard.
An important point to keep in mind concerns the nature of reaching an agreement with a Korean firm. Westerners attach great importance to a written contract that specifies each detail of the business relationship. Koreans, on the other hand, value a contract as a loosely structured consensus statement that broadly defines what has been negotiated, but leaves sufficient room to permit flexibility and adjustment. The Korean Government has attempted to address this dual perception by formulating "model" contracts for licensing technology and other arrangements. Both parties must be assured that the obligations spelled out in a negotiated contract are fully understood.
3 comments:
That is a really interesting and informative commentary on Korean life. It is interesting to watch a nation try to maintain its culture, while at the same time adapt to the so called "western" way of life. I never really thought about being a business man, but if I ever become one, I guess Korea will not be a focal point for me. It sounds interesting, but any potential clients I might have I would certainly lose once they heard me sing.
Anyway, I really enjoyed reading about Korea in your blog. I'll see you on Thursday.
Interesting perspectives on Korean life. I think it is interesting to note that although there is a general western culture there is no uniform western culture. But it is interesting to hear more about Korea, especially since it gave me added insight about the experiences of a friend of mine.
While I was reading your blog, it made me smile for two reasons. One, my best friend is half Taiwanese and half Chinese. She was born in the US, but her parents came here during the war. I have watched and listened to her struggle with her parents for over 15 years through high school and college. Her fighting against their Old traditional ways of thinking and them fighting against her Western rebelliousness. It is a constant battle that will go on forever, I think. They do not understand her independence and she does not understand their controlling over protectiveness. In an effort to define herself, they marginalize and discredit her motives. Not the best environment to be creative within-
Speaking of which, that is what else made me smile while reading this. Having another perspective, like yours, helps to see that although there are language barriers, community exists everywhere. We are all humans and attributes like acceptance, freedom and expression are needs we all have in trying to figure out who we are and where we are comfortable.
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