Table of Contents
Preface 7
Travel Notes 10
The Korean Language 12
Romanization and Pronouncing Korean Words 14
Introduction 17
1 The Distinctive Character and Personality of Koreans 33
2 Love for the Korean Nation 34
3 Korea's National Slogan, "Let's Work Hard" 36
4 The Confucian Concept of Harmony 37
5 Korea's Shame Culture 40
6 Rank Has Its Privileges 43
7 The Importance of Respect and Dignity in Korean Culture 45
8 The Importance of Social Standing 46
9 Korea's Power Culture 48
10 Education in Korea 50
11 Cultivating Friendships 53
12 The "Someone You Know" Factor 55
13 Family and Clan in Korean Society 57
14 The Importance of the Korean Family 59
15 The Status of Women in Korea 61
16 Collective Responsibility 63
17 Peace of Mind 65
18 Emotions Bubbling Under the Surface 67
19 Cosmic Forces in Nature and Within the Body 68
20 How Koreans View Foreigners 70
21 Religion in Korea 72
22 The Role of Etiquette in Korea Today 74
23 Family Names 75
24 Given Names 79
25 Age and Etiquette 81
26 Bow or Shake Hands? 82
27 Body Language 84
28 "Yes" and "No" in Korea 86
29 Apologizing Saves the Day 87
30 Red-carpet Hospitality 88
33 Tipping and Money in Korea 90
32 Dining Etiquette 91
33 Drinking Etiquette 95
34 Home Invitations 99
35 Sitting On the Floor 101
36 Korean Spas 103
37 Korean Culture 105
38 Electronic Etiquette 106
39 Wedding Celebrations 108
40 Starting Life and Starting Over Parties 111
41 The Special Role of Gift Giving 114
42 The Skill of Bargaining 117
43 Clothing Matters! 118
44 The Importance of Color 119
45 Finding Places on Nameless Streets 120
46 Free-for-all in the Streets 122
47 When in Doubt 123
48 Cultural Aspects of Korea's Business Etiquette 124
49 The Government as Big Brother 126
50 Bureaucratic Authoritarianism 128
51 Business Takes a Military Approach 130
52 Korean-style Management 132
53 Women in the Workplace 135
54 Dealing with Factions 136
55 Saving Face in Business 138
56 The Importance of Respect 140
57 Beware of Criticizing People in Public 142
58 Groupism as Morality 143
59 Korean? Gyopo? American? 144
60 Check Your Assumptions 146
61 The Indispensable Go-betweens 148
62 Letters of Introduction 150
63 Technology and Business 151
64 Business Meeting Etiquette 152
65 Negotiating in Korea 154
66 Contracts in Korea 159
67 Professional Hospitality 161
68 Singing Your Way to Success 163
69 Greeting Rituals 165
70 Korea Into the 21st Century 167
71 Industries of the Future 170
72 Connectivity 172
73 Continuing Democratization and Political Conflict 174
74 Fighting Corruption in a Changing Business Culture 175
75 North Korea 177
Useful Expressions 179
Selected Vocabulary 182
Glossary of IT Terms 185
Index 186
Photo Credits 191
