CULTURE AND TRADITIONS

SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN

KOREA AND JAPAN

Optilingo (n.d) conducted an overview regarding the culture and traditions in Korea.
Optilingo is actually a website built for people who want to learn new languages as it will guide
them from the very first on how to learn a new language. But why would they make an article
regarding the culture of the country if their website was mainly for learning new languages?
According to Optilingo (n.d) itself, language exists to help communicate ideas and reflect culture
which therefore goes together with the culture. Thus, by studying it, you’ll get a better
understanding of the reasons behind your lessons. Plus, by engaging with the culture, you’ll be
exposed to many more language opportunities (Optilingo, n.d).
 
Globalization Partners International：GPI has conducted research on Japanese culture
and traditions. GPI often assists customers in the design, development, and deployment of
multilingual websites, and has developed a set of globalization tools to help you achieve the
goals of multilingual website localization projects. As an international partner of globalization,
understanding the culture of each country is the most important thing, and the author, Panicker
(2017) published this research on Japanese culture through this website for people to learn about
it through this diversified website Japanese culture.
 
Japan and South Korea are both countries located in Northeast Asia. Although South
Korea is a developed country, the mine resources in the country are still scarcer. Like Japan, it
relies on imports. It is precisely because of the influence of such a geographical environment that
the culture of Japan and South Korea have similarities, and this similarity is actually brought to
these two countries by China. Since China during the feudal dynasty was one of the most
powerful countries in the Asian world, small countries like Japan and South Korea took the
initiative to establish friendship with China in order to seek asylum from China in order to
stabilize the foundation of the country. Later, due to the different developments of the two
countries, the cultures of the two countries are also different. 
 
 To begin with, due to the geographic proximity to each-other and the constant interaction
of trade and conflict with China, both Korea and Japan have similarities in their culture.
According to Morishita (n.d), Japan had been influenced by China through their culture,
language, writing system, military tactics, and technology and meanwhile for Korea, they were
influenced by Ming dynasty Chinese migrants that relocated to Joseon along with Confucian
missionaries from various places through the merchant trader routes. This has been proven in
both articles where according to Panicker (2017), the early Japanese was heavily influenced by
China. He said that during the Edo era, closing its doors to all relationships with the outside
world, Japan had been exercised with a strict isolationist policy made by China. Even when
Japanese reversed this practice and started to adopt cultural practices from all over the world
after the fall of that era in 1868, they still mixed it with the culture that was established during
the Edo era which originated from China (Panicker,2017). As for Korea, China is one of their
neighboring countries and this connection gives backgrounds into the history of its traditions.
Through their Korean language itself, Chinese characters and sounds have had a great influence
in it (Optilingo, n.d). 

In addition, other similarities that both Korean and Japanese culture have been through
their languages as mentioned in the previous paragraph. As it being said in the article itself, the
language structure, grammar, and vocabulary in Korean language are similar to Japanese
(Optilingo, n.d). As both countries are influenced by Chinese culture due to their geographic
proximity, this has proven that both of them share similarities in their language too. Regarding
Korean language, their Korean words which are called as Hanja, are actually borrowed from
Chinese characters even though Hangul, Korean Letters, are purely Korean (Optilingo, n.d). As
for the Japanese language, according to Panicker (2017), old Japanese, or known as “Kanbun”,
also originated from China and in the early 8th century, the earliest Japanese text, primarily was
written in ancient Chinese characters and it is known as “Kojiki”. Therefore, both articles really
show that Korean and Japanese language are similar with each other as both of them are
influenced by Chinese culture.

 
 Moreover, both Korea and Japanese societies are known for sharing the same
philosophical and ethical Chinese principle known as Confucianism. According to Optilingo
(n.d), Confucianism is a philosophy that was developed from the teachings of the Chinese
philosopher Confucius and this school of thoughts are very prevalent in Korean culture. Social
values are the core of Confucianism where it is a recipe for maintaining healthy human
relationships and respecting the hierarchy between people. As for the other article regarding
Japanese culture, this kind of information hasn’t been included in the article which considers the
article as incomplete or not enough information for readers. Therefore, to support this idea, I
have gained a few additional information regarding this whereby according to Morishita (n.d),
based on the shared distant ancestry and influence of Buddhist and Confucian values, one of the
biggest similarities between Korean and Japanese cultures is their prioritization of an age-based
ranking system that permeates every social interaction as it is known as an inherent part of both
nations’ languages. 

The last similarities between Korean and Japanese culture that I gain from my research
regarding this topic is similarities in their education as both cultures emphasize high testing scores
which brings results in high-pressure schooling. According to Optilingo (n.d), in Korean society,
having a good education is crucial which consequently make Koreans very well-educated.
Starting from primary schools, parents often push their children to get into top schools. The
students also start studying English at primary school. Koreans put a lot of attention on excellent
high-school education unlike in the United States. High schoolers in South Korea put a lot of
effort in constantly studying for university entrance exams (Optilingo, n.d). If their child gets into
a top university, Korean parents will be the happiest. Same goes for Japan, however, the article
that I used to review doesn’t include this crucial information in it which considered the article as
incomplete and not suitable for readers who wanted to know more about Japan in detail. Hence, I
found another article to support this idea. According to Phanthanh (2018), many students in Japan
started studying for the high school entrance exams in their second year of junior high school
which means about two years early, they spend their time studying just to get into the high school
they wanted. The author also shares that she remembers her junior high school students that were
never around during the high school entrance exams as they were busy studying their best. Thus,
we can see that both Korea and Japan also have similarities in their education culture.
 Now that we are done with the similarities, next we will move on to the differences in
Korean and Japanese culture and traditions that we have gain from the article that we reviewed.

To begin with, according to Panicker (2017), traditional family units in Japan are called
“Kazoku” or a couple of parents and their children. Traditionally, they often live with their
elderly parents. But, as Japan has modernized recently, three generation household numbers have
fallen in favor of more modern arrangements. On the other hand, for Korean people, they believe
in a hierarchical structure where children must obey their parents by helping them and always
show respect to the elders. As most Korean people are practicing Confucianism, these religious
teachings have a deep influence on Korean lives as they believe in duty, loyalty, and sincerity
(Nour, 2017). That is why most of their children live with their parents after they become adults
as they believe it is their duty to take care of their parents.
 
Furthermore, both countries have differences in their celebrations that they both celebrate
every year. As for Japan, the largest holiday is New Year’s celebration. During spring and
summer, the Japanese people will celebrate for the gods of the land and sea or Matsuri (Panicker,
2017). Each town in that country would hold its own Matsuri and are widely attended by all of
the people. As for Korea, festivals have great importance in Korean life and are hugely
appreciated. They have two New Year Celebrations which are Lunar New Year and the Western
Calendar New Year. According to Optilingo (n.d), on both celebrations, the Korean people will
put the names of ancestors onto a board. Then, all the family members will present their
offerings and bow to deceased relatives. Next, they will burn the names as a sign they remember
and appreciate about their happy memories together when they were still alive. Korean people
also will eat traditional soup called Duk Gook with Kimchi on New Year’s Eve.
 
In addition, another difference that we gain from our review is through the religion that
both countries practice. According to Panicker (2017), Shinto and Buddhism are the main
religions that are practiced by Japanese people. Shinto is an original Japanese religion and
Buddhism was the religion that was imported from China in the 6th century. However, in Korea,
Christianity is very popular as their main religion. There are churches everywhere in that
country. In fact, Korea has some of the largest churches compared to other countries. Before
Christianity took place as the main religion in Korea, Buddhism has the older roots or the first
religion the people in Korea practice (Optilingo, n.d).
 
Finally for the last difference, it is in their sports that each country plays. Sports play a
significant role in Japanese culture. For example, Japanese people would play sports such as
Sumo, Judo and Karate which are the traditional Japanese sports (Panicker, 2017). Other than
that, sports like baseball, soccer and rugby have been adopted from other cultures too and played
by some people in Japan. Meanwhile, sports are also very important in Korea. Martial arts are
particularly deep-rooted in Korean culture. According to Optilingo (n.d), ssirŭm which is a belt-
wrestling similar to Japanese sumo and also Tae kwon do, both are originally from Korea.  But
they also adopted and excelled at other sports such as short-track speed skating, football (soccer)
and baseball are some of the most popular sports.

In conclusion, we have learned about the culture of Japan and Korea by studying two
articles. "An Overview of Korean Culture and Traditions" was published on OptiLingo (n.d),
documenting the influence of Chinese on Koreans. Korean cuisine is dominated by rice,
vegetables, and meat. South Korea’s emphasis on table manners, the influence of Chinese
Confucianism on South Korea and its popularity in South Korea, South Korea’s emphasis on
education, Christianity is very popular in South Korea, and Buddhism has a great influence on
South Korea’s daily culture. On the other hand, "Japanese Culture and Tradition", by Vimal
Panicker (2017) emphasizes that modern Japanese is composed of Chinese characters, hiragana,
and katakana. Japanese culture was deeply influenced by China in its early days. Later, Japan
implemented a strict isolationist policy and cultivated a unique Japanese culture. The two major
religions in Japan, Shintoism and Buddhism,

Accounted for the highest proportion, and sports are very important in Japanese culture.
Sumo, judo, and karate are traditional sports in Japan. The Japanese mainly eat fish, and
Japanese culture and traditions represent the fusion of old-world culture and new western
customs. Therefore, both articles contain nearly everything about what people need to know
about those both countries. However, in this review, I proved that there is still some information
that the author of both articles does not include in their article, and this can be improved in the
other article in the future. 
REFERENCES
OptiLingo. (n.d). An Overview of Korean Culture and Traditions. Retrieved from 
https://www.optilingo.com/blog/korean/korean-culture-an-overview/

Nour, M. (2017). South Korea: Culture and Tradition. Retrieved from 

https://www.globalizationpartners.com/2017/10/09/south-korea-culture-and-
tradition/#:~:text=These+traditions+include+the+ethical,would+shake+hands
%2C+Koreans+bow.

Morishita,Y. (n.d). Korean And Japanese Culture. Retrieved from

https://thejapaneseway.com/are-korean-and-japanese-culture-
similar/#Language_8211_Is_Korean_And_Japanese_Similar

Panicker, V. (2017). Japanese Culture and Tradition. Retrieved

from https://www.globalizationpartners.com/2017/12/11/japanese-culture-and-tradition/

Phanthanh, C. (2018). The Japanese education system: Similarities and unique differences to the
Western world. Retrieved from https://gogonihon.com/en/blog/learn-about-the-japanese-
education-system/