Etiquette in some Eastern Asian countries

[sunlit_music]

http://www.vietnam-culture.com/

http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/japan-country-profiles.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etiquette_in_Japan

http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/cambodia.html

Actually, Kwintessential is a great site for etiquette in different countries in general. :D So go look!

ETA: Some of the information on the site about Korean etiqutte is outdated, as Daniel has pointed out. So some of the info on the site may not be up to date. Sorry, everyone... 

Comments

[baeraad.livejournal.com]

I looked up South Korea. There seems to be good news and bad news for me. Good news, gifts are apparently a big deal for Koreans, so if they start giving you stuff, then that means something. Bad news, apparently it's really important to always give someone gifts of the same value that they give you, because otherwise you insult them.

Now I'm nervous about what the cookie/candy exchange ratio might be... ^_^;;

Still, a Korean who's been in Sweden for over a year must surely know by now that if it's one thing Swedes suck at, it's etiquette? ^_^;

[sunlit-music.livejournal.com]

I guess that must mean she really likes you then. :)

Hope you become friends (and something more) with Jin ha!

[baeraad.livejournal.com]

I just realised something else, curse and confound it all. >_<

I shared my lunch with her last week. She hadn't brought anything to eat and we had to work all day, so I gave her half my sandwiches. From my decidedly Swedish perspective, that wasn't a gift, it was just practicality - there was a problem, and I solved it. But according to that site, Koreans take pride in making sure that they give as much as they receive.

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK. She isn't giving me stuff because she likes me, she's giving me stuff because I made her feel indebted. So much for the ole Daniel charm. >_<

And now I've probably made it even worse by those stupid cookies, because now she probably feels like I'm trying to push her down by showing that I can give more than she can. Aaaaarrrrrgggghh.

[sunlit-music.livejournal.com]

She might interpret your actions of sharing cookies as polite and generous. How she sees your actions depends on how traditional a Korean person she is (as there are people from different cultures our age who can be traditional, or not traditional at all).

And you never know. She might still actually like you very much.

[baeraad.livejournal.com]

True. Maybe I shouldn't immediately assume the worst.

[baeraad.livejournal.com]

I asked. She said that no, those rules technically exist but they're considered really old-fashioned and these days Korea is really pretty much like Sweden.

So she didn't see me as rude and trying to lord it over her. But now I'm afraid that she instead sees me as That Guy Who's Got Strange Idea About What Korea Is Like. I guess that's slightly better, at least... ^_^;;

[sunlit-music.livejournal.com]

I'm real glad to hear that. :) Sounds like she really likes you after all.