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Korean Culture. By Sierra Santiago Lora Kordyshevskiy. Korean Community. Comprises of about 0.6% of the US population Or 1.7 million people Is the 5 th largest Asian American subgroup One of the fastest growing immigrant groups. Language and Non-verbal Communication.
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Korean Culture By Sierra Santiago Lora Kordyshevskiy
Korean Community • Comprises of about 0.6% of the US population • Or 1.7 million people • Is the 5th largest Asian American subgroup • One of the fastest growing immigrant groups
Language and Non-verbal Communication • Expressing a concern of others’ lives is considered polite (OK to ask about marriage, salary, age, and the price paid for personal belongings) • “NO” is acceptable • Koreans do not touch strangers, esp opposite sex • Head houses the soul, touching it puts it in jeopardy • Don’t smile and avoid strangers
Language and Non-verbal Communication • Handshakes appropriate between men only • Women do not shake hands • Highly value emotional self-control • May not show they are in pain or ask for pain medication • Ask: “May I get you something for pain?”
Perception of Illness, Disease, Medical Roles, and Responsibilities • Illness and death as a natural part of life (Buddhist/Confucian religion) • Symptoms may be viewed as bad karma • Health may be viewed as finding a harmony between complimentary energies, “yin and yang” • Medical decision is family focused • eldest male is often a spokesperson • Ask patient whom they want to be included in decision making • If possible, engage the whole family in discussion about health/oral care
Perception of Illness, Disease, Medical Roles, and Responsibilities • Patient may trust that family will make the best decision for them • Informed consent may be new to the patient • If first time signing, explain the purpose of it
Cultural Preferences of Treatment of Illness • Young women prefer female doctors • Ask if they have a preference
Authority Perception • Interpersonal dependency • Hierarchical • Use indirect speech to someone in authority • “It is somewhat cold today” • Direct speech to someone with lower status • “Please, close the door” • Collectivistic • call non-family members by family terms like grandfather, grandmother, uncle, aunt • Use of plural possessive form, our country vs. my country, our house vs. my house
Socioeconomic Status • Exhibit highest levels of educational achievement • 34% of persons 25yo and older have bachelor’s degree • 1/3 have small business • Typical for newly arriving families to start small business from money saved from labor • Language barrier and culture unfamiliarity prevent them from finding an occupation in the mainstream society • 1/5 engage in professional work • Family yearly income: • Mean $73,895 • Median $70,000
Perception of Human Relations • Belief that interdependence among family members is more important than independence. Welfare of the family is more important than that of individual members. • accept that all people need help from others many times in their lives. Example: young children, elderly, or sick family members • Parents support their children until completion of schooling. Independence is expected after schooling. • Cooperation rather than competition.
Perception of Time • Koreans are considered monochronic. • A monochronic time system means that things are done one at a time and time is segmented into precise, small units. Under this system time is scheduled, arranged and managed. • Thus, time is limited and evolving
Perception of Activity • Doing versus Being
Influence of Activity and Time Orientation • Communication • Learning • Teaching
Suggestions for Approaching this Culture as Dental Patients Cultural differences: depends on age, ethnic group, generation, migration wave, and time away from Korea. Understanding Norms About Eye Contact and Body Language • • Do not expect sustained direct eye contact. When you first meet your patient he or she may frequently look at you when you are not looking to become more comfortable. • • Handshakes are appropriate between men; women do not shake hands. Respect is shown to authority figures by giving a gentle bow. Understanding Personal Space • Your patient may highly value emotional self-control. • May not show pain or ask for pain medications. • Respect of your patient’s desire to keep emotions in control.
REFERENCES: • http://www.andrews.edu/~tidwell/bsad560/NonVerbal.html • http://books.google.com/books?id=H4CsWDEi52IC&pg=PA10&lpg=PA10&dq=a.%09Differences+in+languages+and+non-verbal+communication+patterns+and+korean+culture&source=bl&ots=tDUcgcS6ud&sig=9ZMBdvqoG4CedIY0WZywL30onok&hl=en&sa=X&ei=HM2LUZ_hCYS7igKbwoBg&ved=0CDoQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=a.%09Differences%20in%20languages%20and%20non-verbal%20communication%20patterns%20and%20korean%20culture&f=false • http://kurdishkoreanfriendshipbridge.blogspot.com/2011/02/value-of-korean-family.html • http://www.grin.com/en/e-book/104380/differences-in-communication-styles-between-cultures • http://depts.washington.edu/pfes/PDFs/KoreanCultureClue.pdf • http://www.visualphotos.com/image/2x3916484/female_doctor_portrait • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_American • http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/11755_Jackson_K_Entries.pdf • http://www.calstatela.edu/centers/ckaks/publication_info/Korean_pop.pdf • http://www.eidohealthcare.com/ • http://www.webstockpro.com/Blend/BLD062861.Korean-businessman-looking-at-laptop-Photo/