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Korean Culture: Understanding No.

Hobbes · 2005-03-30 13:37:17

Like most Asian cultures, Koreans do not like to upset people by saying no. Instead a Korean will generally give you an answer which translates to a "maybe/no" to a westerner. They do not say no directly (although it can happen). It can be sometimes hard to spot that a Korean is telling you No. This confusion can be…

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30-03-2005 2:37pm

#1

Hobbes

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Like most Asian cultures, Koreans do not like to upset people by saying no.

Instead a Korean will generally give you an answer which translates to a "maybe/no" to a westerner. They do not say no directly (although it can happen).

It can be sometimes hard to spot that a Korean is telling you No.

This confusion can be translated into frustration as a Korean continues to give you excuses to why something cannot be done instead of just saying no.

Similar issue is where a Korean does not want to talk about a subject. Instead of saying none of your business they will change the subject.

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#2 30-03-2005 11:54pm
Lantis

Closed Accounts Posts: 259 ✭✭

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I love the roundabout ways you tend to get things such as that from Asian cultures. I've lost my mind a few times in cross-cultural things such as that.

But thanks for the culture notes, they're always interesting.

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