Professional Documents
Culture Documents
do business. One of them, Kibun, which roughly translates (in the context of business) to
stability and balance in work and personal life. Koreans not only strive to maintain their own
Kibun, but also to avoid disturbing others’. Kibun focuses on the way others feel—consequently,
people in South Korea (both higher-ups and subordinates) tend to evaluate their words and
actions in relation to how they would affect the other’s Kibun. Although South Koreans tend to
be very careful and understanding of each other’s’ Kibun, many misunderstandings can arise
with relation to foreigners do due a possible clash of cultures. People in South Korea tend to be
very mindful of body language and tone of voice. While tone of voice and enunciation or certain
words or phrases in English do not affect our understanding of them, the meanings of Korean
phrases can differ vastly based on the tone of voice and pitch one uses.
One other aspect of Korean culture that affects business is Inhwa. Inhwa refers to the
maintaining of harmony between higher-ups and those who are more subordinate and was
derived from Confucius beliefs. It stresses that even in times of disagreement, a person respond
politely and show loyalty to higher-ups. The main purpose of Inhwa is to preserve a harmonious
work environment and foster positive feeling between coworkers. Here in the U.S., however, we
believe in the right to express our opinions freely regardless of how another person feels.
Obviously, some employees in the U.S. are more considerate than others, but overall, our
business culture promotes freely voicing opinions and getting our points across in the most direct
way possible.
Ayesha Jilani
govern human relationships, which are as follows: Justice and righteousness should mark the
relations between sovereign and subject, there should be proper rapport between father and son,
separation of function between husband and wife, the younger should give precedence to the
elder, and that faith and trust should reign over relationships between friends. These values
further emphasize the general principle of business culture in South Korea—that loyalty to one’s
Social considerations in South Korea also stem primarily from its culture and values.
Korea, as a nation, has a high power-distance and hierarchical system. Whether in a business
environment or between family members, the concept of elders being in more powerful positions
respect to their superiors by standing when they enter a room, bowing to them in greeting, as
well as through other forms. People in South Korea, at work and elsewhere, rarely call each other
by their first names. Instead, they refer to one another by their title. For example, in school,
younger students refer to older students as brothers and sisters (female to female: “unni”, female
to male: “oppa”, male to male: “hyung”, male to female: “noona”) and upperclassmen
(“sunbaenim”/ “sunbae”). In a professional environment, the titles are more formal—rather than
referring to one another as brothers and sisters, they use miss and mister (by adding “-ssi” to
one’s name).
relationships with your business partner. It’s also helpful to have a mutual friend, as that helps
Ayesha Jilani
South Korean culture, relationships (friendships as well as professional relationships) are viewed
just a business relationship. Breach of trust or dissolution of relationships is highly looked down
upon in South Korea, whereas in the U.S., it’s understood that most business relationships are
very short-lived. In addition to these aspects of Korea’s business culture, gift-giving and
In terms of economic growth, South Korea has come far. It ranks as the 11th largest
economy in the world and the 4th largest in Asia. As of this year, it has been recorded that Korea
has the 13th highest GDP. The South Korean economy consists of public and private enterprises,
making it a mixed economy. Its GDP per capita is 202% of the world’s average, which—in
addition to some issues with political stability—has made even basic economic reform nearly
impossible.
etc.) and business as large as these sometimes fester corrupt practices. Although South Korea has
elsewhere—is completely safe from corruption, regardless of what precautions they may take.
Last year, a major corruption scandal broke out regarding the former president of South
much better than under its previous president. However, South Korea seems to be in a bit of a
rough spot as an ally of the U.S., who has increasingly tense relations with its neighbor, North
Korea. While South Korea tends to be in good (or, at least, decent) standing with both the U.S.
In conclusion, I think that doing business in South Korea could be a hit or miss. As far as
business culture and values are concerned, I think that South Korea would be a great country to
do business in. Additionally, South Korea’s economic growth over the past few decades is
astonishing, and there is so much more potential for growing businesses—both local and
international.
The downsides, however, include the risk of corruption spreading throughout companies,
as well as the potentially volatile situation between the U.S. and North Korea. It’s uncertain what
will become of South Korea with the heightening tensions between the two nations.
After weighing the pros and cons of doing business in South Korea, I feel that the
benefits outweigh the risks (overall) and that it would be wise to do business in Korea. The
potential of the firm doing business would open many new possibilities and most likely do the
http://www.jimsjournal.org/21%20Choong%20Y.%20Lee.pdf
http://www.businesskorea.co.kr/english/news/industry/19695-friendly-business-
environment-south-korea-ranked-fourth-doing-business-2018
https://www.business-anti-corruption.com/country-profiles/south-korea