Mandeep Ballagan

Professor Gonzalez-Bueno
C&T 491
27 June 2016
Cross Cultural Awareness

1. When the behavior in culture A is identified by an observer from culture B as being the same as in
his/her own culture, but actually has a very different meaning
One prominent behavior that I noticed right away was the beckoning motion. In America we
beckon people with our palm facing upwards while waving our fingers inwards. In Korea people
do that same beckoning but they do it to get the attention of dogs, not people. If you were to
beckon people in Korea like how we do in America it would be considered extremely rude.
Koreans beckon people with their palm facing downwards while waving their fingers inward.
2. When different behaviors in culture A and B actually have the same meaning
In America we wave or shake hands to greet people, and in Korea people bow to each other
when they are greeting each other. The greeting behaviors are different but they both have the
same exact meaning. However, there is one notable difference. In Korea, the angle and depth of
the bow depends on who you are greeting. If you are greeting someone that is extremely
important or someone that is higher on the hierarchy than you are then you bow deeper to them
compared to the small bow you do to colleagues.
3. When the behaviors in cultures A and B have the same meaning, but are distributed differently in
time and space

Many Koreans believe that American food is too salty. They think that all of the food has too
much salt on it. However, many things in Korea are very sweet. The sauce on the pizza is
sweet, the garlic bread is also sweet, and the pickles are extremely sweet. Both Americans and
Koreans like to have these sweet things, but they think that American food is too salty, and we
think that their food is too sweet.
4. When members of one culture assume the way they do things is the correct way (ethnocentrism)
In America there is not really a hierarchy where you talk to and greet people differently based on
their age and their social status/position. Many people in America think that having freedom and
not being bound by social position/status is the right way. They might think that people in Korea
are putting too much emphasis on age/status and that those people can take advantage of
people just because they are older or are higher up on the social hierarchy. However, people in
Korea do this out of respect and out of how they have been running their country for a long time.
There is a large emphasis on respect to the elderly and to professionals, such as teachers.
5. When members of culture A assume that culture B is uniform (stereotyping)
One thing that I have noticed is that many Koreans think that all Americans are blonde haired and
blue eyed. A lot of them dont know that America is made up of many different types of people
from many different countries. I have been asked many times where I am from, even at Kyunghwa
where all the teachers and students know I am from Kansas, and when I tell them I was born in
America they seem very surprised.