Whether you are looking to stay overnight in Seoul in the middle of a layover or planning to work or study in Korea, it is extremely helpful for the foreigner to learn some of the basics of Korean etiquette and customs to help make your stay as pleasant as possible for both the foreigner and the locals. Being a responsible visitor who takes the time to learn about a host nation's local customs and etiquette will almost always impress the locals and may even earn their respect and gratitude. The most important concept that shapes Korean customs and etiquette is the Korean concept of respect.
It's All About Respect
If there is at least one key concept the visitor should know before visiting Korea, it is how the concept of respect dominates many aspects of Korean culture and society. In fact, just having an idea of how Koreans view this concept will help prevent 95% of any issues a visitor to Korea might face during the course of their visit.
The first thing to understand about respect in Korea is to take a brief look at Korea's historical roots. Korea is a modern Confucianist, hierarchal nation, and respect plays a key role in how individuals in Korea relate to and view one another. The single most important factor that determines who will respect whom and how much respect should be shown, is age. Seniority in Korea comes with great privileges and status. The older a person is, the more respect will be shown to that individual. It is common to hear the Korean rebuke, "cheol-up-seoh," meaning immature or childish, directed at an individual who has just displayed disrespectful behavior in the presence of elders. Therefore, it is imperative for foreign visitors to show respect to people who obviously look to be much older than themselves.
After age, the next important factor is the relative position and public title of a person in society. Much respect is shown for the leaders of society such as the current president and other high-ranking politicians, as well as the educators and teachers of students. While much esteem is usually placed on doctors and lawyers, teachers enjoy a status unmatched in other parts of the world. In fact, the Korean word for teacher ("sun-saeng-nim") is often used to address others whose perceived social status or relative age is much higher than themselves.
Finally, within families, rank and status is determined by the position within the family itself. This is usually calculated simply by the age or the position one is borne into. Within a nuclear family, the father is the head of the family, followed by the mother. The children are ranked according to the dates of their birth. The firstborn child would come third, followed by younger siblings. It can be trickier to separate the status of two similarly aged cousins from their respective parents in large, extended families. For example, a child who is physically older than a younger cousin, is still considered the "elder" of the grandchildren, even if the child's parents are younger or of a lesser position than the cousins' parents.
Rule of Thumb: Seniority Entitles Respect
It is then much easier to understand how Koreans interact with one another when one understands the Korean concept of respect. Once you take into account the social status of the people you see interacting, it will no longer puzzle you when you see a younger person deferring to an elder. The younger person is acknowledging that the elder is of a higher social rank and is thus showing respect. It can be said that much of this comes naturally for Koreans, and it may be hard for the non-Korean to grasp at first. However, remembering the rule of thumb that seniority entitles respect in Korea can help prevent any possible embarrassing moments for the culture-conscious visitor.
Read on about the differences between formal dining etiquette in Korea and casual dining etiquette in Korea.
