Let's Learn KOREAN

Trivia #21 : Don't Do This While You're In Korea

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1. Don't refuse to drinks.

For Koreans, when they are drinking glass and they saw an empty glass, they are obligated to fill it specially if they are younger than the person they are drinking with. So to give you a tip, if you don't want to drink many, just leave your glass half empty.

2. Don't leave the chopsticks upright.

Don't leave the chopsticks upright in a bowl or rice, because for Koreans it is really rude and offensive. It should be avoided because it resembles the incense in a bowl of sand that you can see in the Korean funerals. This clearly signifies death, so try to avoid doing this especially in Korea.

3. Don't seat in reserve seating.

Elders are very respected for Koreans. So it is very disrespectful to seat to the elders reserve seating especially in public transportations. Even if there are no elders, most of the reserved seats in the subway were always vacant to show the respect to them.

4. Don't write names using red inks.

In Koreans, writing a name with a red ink means that you want that person to die or signifies death. So to avoid this rudeness, you should only write in black or other pen color and avoid the red one.

5. Don't talk very loud.

Koreans are all anout respect so you should avoid talking talkinh especially in the subways and trains. You should lower your voice when you talk someone in subway to show respect to everyone inside.

6. Don't take your shoes in.

It is normal for Koreans to remove their shoes when they are inside of a restaurants and even in their own house. So to avoid being rude, you should take off your shoes when you visit a house in Korea to show the sign of respect.

7. Avoid too much eye contact to elders.

Greeting in Korea is different to Western countries. Instead of a handshake or a kiss, a simple bow would show our respect especially with the elders. The older the elder, the deeper the bow. You should also avoid eye contact when you're bowing. Just look in the ground.

8. Don't give and receive with one hand.

Another Korean culture is that they give and receive anything with two hands. It is very rude for someone to receive a drink with just one hand, or even take your food with one hand. So you should know by now that giving and receiving with one hand only is a sign of disrespect with Koreans.

9. Don't wear revealing clothes for woman.

Koreans were not liberated unlike some countries, that's why avoid wearing revealing clothes especially for women. It is okay to wear shorts and sleeveless as long it is not revealing and showing a lot of skin, because sone people will judge you.

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That's all for today!
See you in my next class.