Cultural Diversity in South Korea

South Korea is a country in East Asia. It lies in the south of the Korean peninsula. “The country is bordered by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) to the north, the East Sea (Sea of Japan) to the east, the East China Sea to the south, and the Yellow Sea to the west”. South Korea’s geographical location is not perfect. Although it is mountainous, but it is surrounded by the sea on three sides, with many bays and ports. After WWII and several decades, this remote and poor country with a weak industrial base has gradually become an important economy in the world.

The main ethnic group in South Korea is the Han ethnic group, which belongs to the east Asian type of race. South Korea is deeply influenced by Chinese and Japanese culture. This influence can be seen in Confucianism, which established many of the traditions of modern Korea. These traditions include a moral code of conduct in social life and respect for the elderly and families. On formal communication occasions, Koreans all adopt the handshake as the greeting etiquette. They are particular about using both hands or using their right hand alone when shaking hands. When a junior or a subordinate shakes hands with a senior or a superior, the junior or a subordinate must first shake hands with the right hand and then place his left hand lightly on the right hand of the senior or superior. South Koreans do this in order to show their special respect for each other. South Koreans also believe in sincerity and loyalty and follow a certain code of conduct when meeting, eating, praying, and even celebrating.

South Korea is culturally very different from the United States, even though they are both capitalist countries. Compared to the United States that South Korea is a high-context culture. “High-context cultures tend to have a long shared history. Usually, they are relationship-oriented societies where networks of connections are passed on from generation to generation, generating more shared context among community members”. Koreans' communication is very euphemistic, not directly expressing their intentions, unlike Americans in the process of communication will go straight to the point. In America, personality is important. Everyone wants to be different in some way from everyone they know. Whether through the style of clothing, hair, makeup, or behavior, everyone likes to be different. However, in Korean culture, there seems to be less emphasis on individuality and more on conformity. South Korea is far less ethnically diverse than the United States, as we all know that the United States is a country of racial diversity. Since there are no different ethnic groups in South Korea, this makes South Korea a unified cultural nation. In terms of food, there are some key differences in the ingredients and recipes of South Korean food compared to American food. As with any typical Oriental food, South Korea is based on rice, while the United States is known for its bread. South Korean food tends to have more flavor than American food because it usually has more seasoning. Seafood is a common Korean food because South Korea is surrounded by the sea. On the other hand, American food uses more meat because compared to the size of South Korea, the United States is a vast continent.

In the terms of religious belief, South Korea is a country where Christianity, Buddhism, Confucianism, Islam, and other major religions coexist peacefully with shamanism. According to 2015 statistics, 44 percent of South Koreans are religious. Buddhism and Confucianism have had the greatest impact on South Korean life, with more than half of the country’s listed cultural heritage linked to them. The religion with the largest number of followers in South Korea is Buddhism. Buddhism was introduced from China in The Three Kingdoms period. It was regarded as the state religion in the Korean era. Buddhism was mainly believed by the upper class at the beginning, and then gradually spread to the people. As Confucianism became the state religion in North Korea, the strength of Buddhism gradually weakened, temples moved to the mountains, and the power of Buddhism in society was also shrinking. However, Buddhism is still an important religion in South Korea, and Buddhists celebrate Sakyamuni's birthday by holding roadside lighting ceremonies on the eighth day of the fourth month of the lunar calendar. Confucianism has had the greatest influence on the way of Koreans think. In The Three Kingdoms period, Confucianism was introduced from China not in the form of religion but in the form of teaching students. In South Korea, Confucianism has three main meanings. First, Confucianism helped to keep important Korean social customs alive today, such as the sacrificial culture. Secondly, Confucianism also had a great influence on the formation of the unique value consciousness of Korean people, and Korean society also put great emphasis on “propriety”. Thirdly, Confucianism left a lost cultural heritage, such as Changde Palace, Jongmiao, and so on.

South Korea is a neighbor of China and is also influenced by Confucian culture. But what has had a profound impact on South Korea’s business culture is its longstanding foreign policy. South Korea's land area is small and has less population, it is often threatened by other neighboring powers' countries. To survive in such an environment, they had to ally themselves with some powered counties. South Koreans are competitive in business; They usually don’t like to come second and sometimes see compromise as a failure. Therefore, it is often necessary to convince them that a win-win is the goal of the business. South Korean society is a group-oriented cultural group in which solidarity trumps individualism. This cultural mindset influences certain behaviors, and those who remain collectivist are often praised.

Culture is a big concept. Generally speaking, culture is a social phenomenon, which is the product of people’s long-term creation. At the same time, it is also a historical phenomenon and the accumulation of social history. Each country has its own unique culture, which forms cultural diversity. Cultural diversity brings many benefits to businesses. Cultural diversity can increase creativity, and another benefit of it in workplaces is increased creativity among teams and the ability to provide more diverse solutions to specific problems. In this age of technology and globalization, many companies are trying to succeed in the cultural diversity of the workplace. Having a more diverse workforce can have some very positive benefits.

References

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