Concept Application Blog

Fun Fact: Korean Actor Ken Jeong is a certified physician

For my cultural reporter blog I choose to go more in depth and learn about the Korean culture. My main route of doing this was to interview my friend from back home to get and better understanding of her culture. I did not, However know how I would go about doing this and I am glad this blog was assigned to help me get a better focus on where to begin with my report.

            The concept I would like to apply to my research is how culture influences communication. I understand this is a broad topic to cover however I choose it because I would like to cover more than a simple concept. I want to go in depth and learn more about social norms of the Korean culture. One major area of this concept I plan to focus on is the Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck Value orientations. This perspective asks five questions of the cultural group and each question can be broken down into even more specific components. The five questions are; “What is human nature? What is the relationship between humans and nature? What is the relationship between humans? What is the preferred personality? and What is the orientation toward time?” (Martin & Nakayama, 2012, p.101). Preferred personality and orientation toward time are the two areas that can be furthered expanded to learn more about a culture.

A preferred form of activity is one question that influences culture. I am curious to know what most Koreans here in the states and especially in Korea do for fun and what is considered socially acceptable activities to the majority or the country.

Another serious area to address is the orientation to time. In some contexts countries value time very greatly and spend it fast at work. While other countries find it more important to conserve goods and do not value spending extended periods of time working. I have heard that in Korea and other Asian countries that they have much longer work days and weeks in comparison to the United States. I would like to find out firsthand what they consider the most important use of their time.

Lastly, Hofstede Value Orientations is an in depth concept I would like to address. This goes beyond the surface of learning a new culture and gets more into how people of a culture communicate depending on situations. Hofstede value Orientations analyzes “power distance, femininity versus masculinity, ways of dealing with uncertainty, and long term versus short-term orientation to life” (Martin & Nakayama, 2012, p.108). From these perspectives, I feel that I would get a more interpretive view of the Korean culture.

References:

Martin, J.N., & Nakayama, T. (2013). Intercultural communication in contexts. (6 ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

[Ken Jeong]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lp1ejfKCyy1qjmquzo1_500.jpg

Korean Culture: International and Domestic

         Upon starting this reporter project I was given some feedback on which cultures I could possibly research. The one I found most appealing to do research on was that of the Korean culture. I chose this 

ethnicity because having a Korean friend through school I had fun learning about different norms of her culture. So for my blog I decided I would research the Korean culture.

Flag of South Korea

            The first way I plan to do this is to research their history. I know already that there has been controversy between North and South Korea. I would like to first understand the history of the culture before moving forward as to gain a better understanding of the background before proceeding into present culture and possible interviews. I will research the history first off by Internet resources. Of course in my interviews I will ask about personal experiences and opinions on past and present events and how the were interpreted for Korean culture.

            A quick history and info lesson about South Korea: South Korea became its own country in 1948. Although they became independent from North Korean conflicts continued between the two countries well after this time. South Korea has approximately 48.8 million people with 99% of citizens speaking Korean. Religions range from 22.8% Buddhist, 29.2% Christian and 46.5% with no religious preference. (Szczepanski, K. )

            I intended to look not only at American Koreans but also to understand those abroad in South Korea. I hope to do this in the interview with my friend who is Korean as she visits South Korea regularly and has many ties to the culture both here in America and in South Korea. In this I hope to bring to light Korean culture in comparison to American and possibly even report details I can about North and South Korean relations. Maybe if I get lucky I can even get a translated interview with her family in South Korea, we’ll see!

            One definition of culture is shared language, beliefs, and values (Martin & Nakayama, 2012). I think Koreans definitely fit this description because they are one of many groups with similar and contrasting traditions and backgrounds. The great thing about interviewing this group is that there is a wide range of diversity from those well adapted to western society and those that may be foreign to American cultures.

            I plan to do most of my contact through Skype or from face to face interviews. As far As I can’t tell I don’t see any ethical implications other than that I am asking someone to relay parts of their personal life and culture that they may not have expressed previously.

I really like my choice for my cultural reporter project because it’s a culture very different from my own but one that a have close access to in order to gain a better understanding and appreciation.

           

Korean women in traditional hanbok performance 

References:

Flag of South Korea [Photograph]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ commons/0/09/Flag_of_South_Korea.svg

Martin, J.N. & Nakayme, T.K. (2012) Intercultural Communication in Contexts (6th ed.) Boston, MA: McGraw Hill

Szczepanski, K. (n.d.). South Korea facts and history. Retrieved February 8, 2013, from

About.com website: http://asianhistory.about.com/od/southkorea/p/South-Korea-Facts-And-History.htm

Cultural Identity Blog- Kaitlin Hunt