Cultural Mistakes to Avoid in Korea

Sitting in elderly seats in subways

You are in the subway and you see all the seats being taken apart from the ones at the far end which are reserved for the elderly or women who are pregnant. Even if they are unoccupied I would suggest you leave them empty unless you want a big scolding from an elderly. I remember in a subway once a young woman was sitting on the elderly seats because there were no more seats available. Soon enough an old man comes in and even though there were plenty of other elderly seats available she got scolded (very badly) and was forced to stand up. Trust me, you wouldn’t want to piss off an ahjumma or ahjussi in Korea. It’s not a pleasant experience so do your best to avoid it…

Sticking your chopsticks in your rice

Especially when eating with other people, avoid sticking your chopsticks into your rice. In traditional Asian culture (not just Korean), people usually stick incense sticks upright in a bowl of sand at funerals for ancestor worship and it is believed to be food for the spirits. Sticking your chopsticks in a bowl of rice reminds people of that. Are you trying to say your friends at the table are already dead? Of course this is not a fact, more of a superstition. But avoid doing it in case you get a big scolding or uncomfortable looks from your friends and family.

Refusing a soju shot with an ahjussi/ahjumma

So you are in a restaurant with someone much older than you and he or she offers you a shot of Soju or Korean beer with him or her. In Korea this is not a gesture of trying to get you totally wasted, but it’s a sort ritual of respect and friendship. If you do not drink alcohol whatsoever, replace it with water or any soft drink. Rather than the beverage itself, the ritual is seen as most important. Refusing the shot however can be very offending to Koreans as it may look as though you don’t want to be their friend!

Facing an elder whilst doing a shot

Once accepting the ritual you will have to drink whatever is in your shot glass whether it may be Soju, beer, water etc. When drinking with a senior or an elder make sure you turn your head or back away from anyone higher rank than you as a sign of respect. This ritual is very common when dining out with your work colleagues. Anyone older than you or higher up the ladder should be treated differentially, and a gesture to express that is by turning your head or back away from them.

You’ve done it! Now on to the next 20 work colleagues…

Writing names in red ink

You are writing a birthday card, and the nearest pen you can reach is the red ink pen. The receiving person opens up the card and instead of seeing a happy reaction, the birthday gal (if Korean) will most probably be in shock or offended. Why? There are many superstitions here in Korea, and one of them is writing a person’s name in red ink. By doing that it means they will die soon or you want them to die. This is because a long time ago the names of the deceased were written in red on registers, gravestones and plaques to ward off evil spirits. You can try this out when you write a letter to your ex-lover

Blowing your nose at the dinner table

Let’s be honest. Seeing someone at the dinner table blowing their nose is not a pleasant sight right? Especially when they catch a bad cold and it makes a weird gooey noise, it’s enough to put you off from your own food. It also displays poor hygiene as after blowing your nose your hands will be full of germs! When eating with people, it’s best to excuse yourself to the bathroom so that you can handle your business and then wash your hands straight after. Of course, maybe amongst close friends I’m sure they won’t mind.

Receiving with one hand

In Korea this is seen as very important in terms of receiving and giving. Using one hand (especially if it’s with your left hand) is considered to be rude so try and get in a habit of always using both hands to give or receive things. There was an incident with Bill Gates when he shook Korea’s President, Park Geun Hye’s hand with one hand (bad idea) while his left hand was inside his pocket (terrible idea). Anyways it caused him to be heavily criticized by the people and the media and is now being labelled as rude and disrespectful. The ‘two hands’ culture is only important between the interaction of two people for example giving someone a gift, or even pouring someone some water.

Wearing shoes at someone’s home

For obvious reasons wearing shoes inside someone’s home is very unhygienic. Koreans spend a lot of time cleaning their floors because the Korean lifestyle is usually centred around the floor. Usually dining tables are very low to the ground as traditionally dinner is eaten by sitting on the floor. Even today, most people sleep on the floor, so it is important to keep it hygienic and clean. In Korean houses or apartments the entrance is usually lower than the rest of the home. This design allows for all dirty, wet things to be left in the entrance so that the house stays clean.

Eating first at the dinner table

Do you have times where you are so hungry the only thing you can think of is sitting down and start munching down your food? In Korea, unless you are eating with your closest friends, you should not even pick up your chopsticks unless the oldest person at the table picks up his or hers. The oldest person at the tables must eat first and then you are able to start eating. Respect to elders has always been a very strict and important tradition in Korea. Therefore, if you are extremely hungry, I’m afraid you’re going to have to be a little patient until the oldest person lift up their chopsticks.

Pouring water for yourself only whilst eating with your friends or family

Yes, that’s right. Pouring water for yourself only will look as though you only care about yourself and think less of others. Before pouring yourself a drink, check everyone’s cups and if they need refilling pour water for them first. Remember to pour water for the oldest one at the table first before others. If you do that, the Koreans will be very impressed and you would make a very good impression of yourself. If you get enough brownie points from the Koreans I’m sure they would want to take you out for dinner next time. Their treat of course.

Not setting up utensils

From a very young age, Korean parents teach and discipline their children dinner etiquettes and traditional customs. This includes them preparing the table before dinner which involves setting up chopsticks, spoons, bowls, side dishes, napkins, pouring water in every cup etc. As foreigners, Koreans don’t really expect you to already know all of the traditional customs, but this is again another chance to make a good impression as well as to become more culturally enriched.