Seoul City’s classes teach Korea’s unique social, organizational culture

June Acuna from the Philippines has been working at an ink cartridge factory in Seongsudong, eastern Seoul, for two and a half years.

Still, he has to guess the hidden meaning of what his boss or Korean colleagues say to him, and is often offended by direct commands from superiors.

“I am here to learn Korean ways at work and appropriate ways to deal with them,” said Acuna at the fifth lecture on the Whys and Hows of Korean Ways last Thursday at Seoul Global Culture and Tourism Center in Myeong-dong in central Seoul.

The class, conducted by Isabelle Min, a communicator and coach in cross-cultural issues, asked participants the questions that foreign employees in Korea may have thought about the most ― Why is a title so important in Korea? Why don’t they ask questions at work but instead prefer discussing difficult issues after work while drinking? Why don’t they bring their spouses to company parties? 

Have you ever been annoyed by a pointy elbow in your side or a blatant shove without even a glance let alone a bowing Korean head in apology somewhere in a crowded shopping center or on the subway? Curious about why parking lot attendants guide you while waving their hands like they are singing along to “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star?”