Lauren Caldwell

C&T 598
Dr. Cho and Annette Jardon
6/26/17
Cross Cultural Awareness

1. When the behavior in culture A is identified by an observer from culture B as being

the same as in his/her own culture, but actually has a very different meaning.
I would not necessarily consider this a behavior, but when I think of things that are the

same in Korean and American cultures, but meaning completely different things, the first

thing that comes to mind for me is Konglish words. For instance, the word for dress in

Konglish is onepiece, which is also a term in English, but it is usually used to refer to a

bathing suit. Little differences like that seem small, but could cause some confusion.
2. When different behaviors in culture A and B actually have the same meaning.
One big thing that is different in Korean and American culture that means close to the

same thing is bowing and handshakes. They are both used in business settings as a

greeting and a show of respect, but I feel like they also have slightly different

connotations. I think bowing is a little bit more of a submissive act, especially when you

think about how you bow lower to somebody who is higher up than you. Whereas, I feel

like a handshake is more to show that you can hold your own. A good handshake is

usually one that is firm and unyielding. A bow is also used everywhere, not just in the

workplace, whereas handshakes are used almost exclusively in the workplace.

3. When the behaviors in cultures A and B have the same meaning, but are distributed

differently in time and space.

One thing in Korean and American cultures that have the same meaning, but are

distributed differently in time and space is the way we eat our meals. Traditionally, at

restaurants Americans eat meals in courses, with a salad coming first, then a main dish,

with a drink the whole time and few side dishes. Whereas in my experience in Korea, at a
 restaurant you usually get all your food together, including many side dishes, and then the

drink comes later. I have been told that this is because Koreans think that drinking after

the meal helps to digest it better, whereas in America, we drink during the meal, for the

same reason.
4. When members of one culture assume the way they do things is the correct way

(ethnocentrism).
One thing I have noticed during my time in Korea where one culture assumes that their

way of doing things is the correct way is how Americans have a very individualistic way

of looking at things, whereas Korean culture is much more focused on conformity. A

good example of this lies in school dress codes. In Korea, both public and private schools

have uniforms that they require their students to wear. Whereas in America, schools

usually have a fairly loose dress code, which is often not even enforced, so students have

the freedom to wear almost anything they want to school. For the most part, the only

schools in America that have uniforms are religiously affiliated private schools.
5. When members of culture A assume that culture B is uniform (stereotyping).
One example of a stereotype that many Americans believe is people of Asian descent are

good at academics. It is true that Korean culture pushes students very hard, but that does

not mean that all Koreans are good at academics. We see this firsthand, with how the girls

who get lower scores get put in the English Business High School because nobody thinks

they can get into college. But that does not make those girls any less Korean.