Culture and Concerns South Korea is a country with a very rich culture and is very different from our own culture here in the United States. One of the aspects of South Korean culture that stand out the most is its hierarchical structure. This section will explain how the different cultural frameworks and concepts apply to South Korean culture. The first is the sociology framework. Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck described culture as having 6 different dimensions: time, space, activity, relationships among people, relations to nature, and basic human nature. We will discuss four of the dimensions that we found to be most important and relevant to South Korean culture. We will also explore Hofstede’s psychology frameworks of power distance,
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The time orientation in South Korean culture is a mixture of past and future depending on which aspect of culture you observe. South Korean culture is very much past oriented when we look at how they worship their ancestors and how highly they value and strictly uphold tradition. South Korean children are raised on the notion that they can never repay their debts to their parents, which is likely the reason behind the popularity of ancestral worship (South Korea - Languagae, Culture, Customs and Etiquette, 2010). The fact that the culture is hierarchical is an example of past time orientation in itself. Korean society has traditionally been hierarchical, likely stemming from the fact that, historically, Korean government was a monarchy—they have social classes including nobility and the elite (Kenna & Lacy, 1995). However, …show more content…
South Korean people would be considered as group-oriented, or collectivistic, and hierarchical. Koreans are much more comfortable in a group setting and do not like to stand out. They are also more comfortable speaking to people they know which causes them to be very in-group oriented. If we return to the example of office space, with the more open setup, there is greater flow of information and communication, representing how Koreans prefer to operate collectively (Walker, Walker, & Schmitz, 2003). In regards to relationship, hierarchy is used as a basis for determining how to interact with people. As is inherent in hierarchical structures, there exists an element of high power distance. Many gestures, like bowing, are very important when interacting with superiors. If a person perceived to be lower in the hierarchy of an organization, does not bow when greeting some of a higher level, it can be interpreted as disrespect or even as an insult. Again, if we take the open office arrangement as an example, the setup makes it easier to monitor and manage employees so, in this sense, this may also be a reflection upon the hierarchical structure of South Korean
The time orientation in South Korean culture is a mixture of past and future depending on which aspect of culture you observe. South Korean culture is very much past oriented when we look at how they worship their ancestors and how highly they value and strictly uphold tradition. South Korean children are raised on the notion that they can never repay their debts to their parents, which is likely the reason behind the popularity of ancestral worship (South Korea - Languagae, Culture, Customs and Etiquette, 2010). The fact that the culture is hierarchical is an example of past time orientation in itself. Korean society has traditionally been hierarchical, likely stemming from the fact that, historically, Korean government was a monarchy—they have social classes including nobility and the elite (Kenna & Lacy, 1995). However, …show more content…
South Korean people would be considered as group-oriented, or collectivistic, and hierarchical. Koreans are much more comfortable in a group setting and do not like to stand out. They are also more comfortable speaking to people they know which causes them to be very in-group oriented. If we return to the example of office space, with the more open setup, there is greater flow of information and communication, representing how Koreans prefer to operate collectively (Walker, Walker, & Schmitz, 2003). In regards to relationship, hierarchy is used as a basis for determining how to interact with people. As is inherent in hierarchical structures, there exists an element of high power distance. Many gestures, like bowing, are very important when interacting with superiors. If a person perceived to be lower in the hierarchy of an organization, does not bow when greeting some of a higher level, it can be interpreted as disrespect or even as an insult. Again, if we take the open office arrangement as an example, the setup makes it easier to monitor and manage employees so, in this sense, this may also be a reflection upon the hierarchical structure of South Korean