Learning to Think Korean: A Guide to Living and Working in Korea (The Interact Series)

271 Pages·2001·0.7 MB·English

by  Robert, L. Kohls

Learning to
Think Korean
The InterAct Series
Other books in the series:
AU CONTRAIRE!: FIGURING OUT THE FRENCH
BORDER CROSSINGS: AMERICAN INTERACTIONS WITH ISRAELIS
BUENOS VECINOS
A COMMON CORE: THAIS AND AMERICANS
ENCOUNTERING THE CHINESE
EXPLORING THE GREEK MOSAIC
A FAIR GO FOR ALL: AUSTRALIAN/AMERICAN INTERACTIONS
FROM DA TO YES: UNDERSTANDING THE EAST EUROPEANS
FROM NYET TO DA: UNDERSTANDING THE RUSSIANS
GERMANY: UNRAVELING AN ENIGMA
GOOD NEIGHBORS: COMMUNICATING WITH THE MEXICANS
INTO AFRICA
SPAIN IS DIFFERENT
UNDERSTANDING ARABS: A GUIDE FOR WESTERNERS
WITH RESPECT TO THE JAPANESE
Learning to
Think Korean
A Guide to Living
and Working in Korea
L. Robert Kohls
First published by Intercultural Press. For information contact:
Intercultural Press Nicholas Brealey Publishing
PO Box 700 36 John Street
Yarmouth, ME 04096 USA London, WC1N 2AT, UK
001-207-846-5168 44-207-430-0224
Fax: [phone] Fax: [phone]
www.interculturalpress.com www.nbrealey-books.com
© 2001 by L. Robert Kohls
Production and cover design by Patty J. Topel
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced
in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the
publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in criti-
cal articles or reviews.
Printed in the United States of America
05 04 03 02 01 1 2 3 4 5
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Kohls, L. Robert.
Learning to think Korean: a guide to living and working in
Korea / L. Robert Kohls.
p. cm.—(The InterAct Series)
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 1-877864-87-0
1. Korea (South) 2. National characteristics, Korean.
I. Title. II. Series.
DS902.K516 2001
306'.095195—dc21 2001039213
Dedication
This book is dedicated to
the people of Korea
who taught me not only
all I know about Korea,
but also much about
my own country, America,
and about Life,
and about who I am.
This Page Intentionally Left Blank
Table of Contents
Foreword: My Love Affair with Korea ix
Acknowledgments xv
1. Some Facts about Korea 1
2. Critical Incidents 7
3. Influence of Asian Religious and
Ethical Systems 29
4. Korean Values—Then and Now 45
5. Barriers to Thinking Korean 73
6. Korea: People-Oriented and
Group-Centered 81
7. Status and Behavior 101
8. Relationships: Ingroups and Outgroups 123
9. Paths to Success, Korean Style 139
10. Negotiating with Koreans 151
11. Managing a Korean Office 161
12. Personnel Issues 179
vii
viii
13. Challenges Facing Korea 193
Afterword 203
Appendices
Appendix A: Korean Chronology 207
Appendix B: Traditional Symbols 209
Appendix C: Traditional Social Customs 217
Appendix D: Aspects of Korean Culture Worth
Exploring 229
Appendix E: Aspects of American Culture Worth
Explaining to Koreans 233
Bibliography 237
About the Author 251
Foreword: My Love Affair with Korea
Not too long ago, I celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of my
love affair with Korea. Long before most Americans* had
even heard of Korea, it was in my blood and a regular part of
my daily thoughts.
When I graduated from high school, I was fortunate enough
to have had an uncle who decided that the best gift he could
give me, before I went off to university, was to let me have a
profound personal experience with Asia, so he sent me off to
spend a couple of years in Japan and Korea at his expense.
I have not been the same since. That experience literally
changed my life, and although I could not know it at the
time, it set the course of my future and prepared me for a
profession that did not even exist at the time—preparing
*
Although I am well aware that the United States is only one of
the many countries that share the two continents of the Ameri-
cas, I have elected to follow the convention of referring to the
citizens of the United States as “Americans.” I have decided to
do this because it is such a well-established convention and
because we do not have a simple, satisfactory alternative. I
humbly ask the citizens of Canada, Mexico, and all of the Cen-
tral and South American countries to allow me to refer simply
to Americans in this book.
ix