I agree the post in broad strokes, but my response to modern day may not be a popular. Even though people often say the high-context nature of Korean society is respect and etiquette (예의) oriented, that is just a dictionary mistranslation to be nice. The hierarchy, militarism, power distance, and ascribed culture mean that the acculturation is much closer to obeisance than true respect. In English, if one says "respect your elders," it typically implies "you should... for some reason" because everyone knows "respect is earned" in the democratic and meritocratic sense. That is not the case in Korean grammar and every day colloquial context. Children are corrected to the honorific grammar out of necessity, out of demand, out of obeisance, just as in the military you don't ask "why am I doing these pushups?": because you were told to. So, I challenge the idea that college kids using "older brother" is a true honorific, but rather as a required social convention and obligation, because to not do so makes one a potential social outcast: and social proof is one of the most protected things in all societies. That is not to say that Korea doesn't have a great depth of potential respect, as all those who have studied Korean culture, language, history, and Confucianism know. Yet if one anywhere replaces the respect-worthy, with the vulgar, or the 美 with the 惡. then we should not be surprised when we see a multitude of contradictions within that society, and misunderstandings. Korea has changes a lot in the last 20 to 40 years most certainly... and they do eat less kimchi. We should have more wholesome things like kimchi in our daily habits, not less, which applies to far more than fermented vegetables: 콩 심은데 콩나고, 팥 심은데 팥난다.
Awesome and insightful feedback Chris. I'm looking forward to writing a series in the future on modern Korea and researching and bringing in some of your insights in order to compare the changes from 2012-2013.
I agree the post in broad strokes, but my response to modern day may not be a popular. Even though people often say the high-context nature of Korean society is respect and etiquette (예의) oriented, that is just a dictionary mistranslation to be nice. The hierarchy, militarism, power distance, and ascribed culture mean that the acculturation is much closer to obeisance than true respect. In English, if one says "respect your elders," it typically implies "you should... for some reason" because everyone knows "respect is earned" in the democratic and meritocratic sense. That is not the case in Korean grammar and every day colloquial context. Children are corrected to the honorific grammar out of necessity, out of demand, out of obeisance, just as in the military you don't ask "why am I doing these pushups?": because you were told to. So, I challenge the idea that college kids using "older brother" is a true honorific, but rather as a required social convention and obligation, because to not do so makes one a potential social outcast: and social proof is one of the most protected things in all societies. That is not to say that Korea doesn't have a great depth of potential respect, as all those who have studied Korean culture, language, history, and Confucianism know. Yet if one anywhere replaces the respect-worthy, with the vulgar, or the 美 with the 惡. then we should not be surprised when we see a multitude of contradictions within that society, and misunderstandings. Korea has changes a lot in the last 20 to 40 years most certainly... and they do eat less kimchi. We should have more wholesome things like kimchi in our daily habits, not less, which applies to far more than fermented vegetables: 콩 심은데 콩나고, 팥 심은데 팥난다.
Awesome and insightful feedback Chris. I'm looking forward to writing a series in the future on modern Korea and researching and bringing in some of your insights in order to compare the changes from 2012-2013.