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Stereotypes of South Korea

Stereotypes of South Koreans are the impressions and generalization of Koreans with similarities. This is connected to the view from foreigners and the people that resides in this country. The majority of which are untrue, however some preconceptions are true.

Food

A lot of Korean food are known to be fermented and spicy and strong in smell, originating from the representative dish called kimchi. It is made from fermenting cabbage along with a variety of spices mostly including, hot peppers, salt, garlic, but could also contain fruits and fermented fish and shrimp. People in this country consume this dish almost daily due to the functionality of the fermented cabbage dish which offers a lot of nutritional benefits. This includes anti-obesity effect caused by capsaicin, B12, fiber, anti-tumor effects, and improvement in the immune system due to the probiotics from fermentation.

Communication

Korean people are known to avoid giving clear answers and instead use "misunderstanding" as an alibi for their lack of understanding. Hierarchy is important in multiple categories of age difference, working environment, and the military rankings. One is to apologize despite being right since they are a lower ranked person. Speaking back to someone who is a higher status than oneself is considered to be impolite. The country is built with this system in order to keep the country in uniform. However, in the modern days the strict rules have lessened.

Hard Workers

The results of Korean students in the OECD international exams are among the best of all competitors. In Korea, 70% of adults between the ages of 25 and 34 are college graduates. Parents enroll their children in after-school private tutoring sessions to provide them additional knowledge known as shadow education. In which, students spend an additional 5 hours a day on studying after school every day. It's estimated that in 2018, families used a total of 17 billion USD on private tutoring.

References

Jarvis Jonathan, et al "Impacts of family structure on shadow education and educational achievement among South Korean youth", ScienceDirect,13 December 2021, https://www-sciencedirect-com.eznvcc.vccs.edu/science/article/pii/S0738059321001826

Mente, Boye "Etiquette guide to Korea", ProQuest Ebook Central,https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.eznvcc.vccs.edu/lib/nvcc/reader.action?docID=714568

Park, Hyunjoon, "Re-Evaluating Education in Japan and Korea", RoutLedge, 2013, https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.eznvcc.vccs.edu/lib/nvcc/reader.action?docID=1207536

"South Korea", World Trade Press, https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.eznvcc.vccs.edu/lib/nvcc/reader.action?docID=536272

Shin Dong-Hwa, and Kalidas Shetty, "Korean Food Systems" CRC Press Taylor & Francis Group, https://www-taylorfrancis-com.eznvcc.vccs.edu/books/edit/10.1201/9781003275732/korean-food-systems-dong-hwa-shin-kalidas-shetty