Learning to Think Korean: A Guide to Living and Working in Korea

by L. Robert Kohls

Kohls shares a feast of Korean culture: a ricebowl of history and tradition complimented by an array of spicy tidbits that capture the reader's attention like a mouthful of kimchi. Based on personal experience, he provides critical incidents that explore the more puzzling aspects of Korean culture. Kohls explores Korean values - traditional values, value changes over the past forty years and projected values for the early decades of the twenty-first century. He is equally insightful when it comes to discussing the cultural patterns and practices of the workplace. He takes on management style, personal issues, networking and "pull" negotiating style, persistence, key Korean business relations and more. To a greater extent than most other Asisan countries, Korea adheres to the traditional collectivist and Confucian traits of harmony, hierarchy, ingroups/outgroups, status, and proper behavior. According to Kohls, these traits plus the more Westernized values of the younger generations and the veneer of modern urban savvy surface in surprising combinations in personal and workplace relationships - often where they are least expected.

Genres: Nonfiction, Cultural

228 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2001

Reviews

[Staci · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is really a 3.5 star book, the only reason it's not a full four stars is because it's quite dated. It would be very interesting to see what changes would be made in an updated version of this book, especially since Hallyu and Hallyu 2.0. For example, in the "Status and Behavior" chapter he talks about the (troublesomely low) Status of Women in Korea but, since the book was published in 2001, he obviously doesn't mention the unprecedented election (and impeachment) of their first woman president, Park Guen Hye, and what effect that may have had or may represent in the future in Korea. Likewise, the section in the "Paths to Success, Korean Style" chapter where he talks about bribes would probably need an update once the effects of the 2016 anti-graft Kim Young-ran Act can be fully seen. Also, depressingly, the bibliography is rather extensive but extremely outdated -- given that the book was published in 2001, it's not too surprising that nothing in the bibliography is more recent than 1999 but even then a lot of the books are published in the 1960s-1980s. It's hard to know, since a lot of the more recent books focused on Korea focus on Hallyu and K-pop as opposed to Korean culture but it's not clear just how much has changed in Korean culture since the publishing of this book. For example, in Chapter 4, "Korean Values--Then and Now", Kohls details South Korean Core Values prior to and following 1965 (that year is not a hard and fast date, Kohls just says that values began to shift around 1960-1965). While some would be clear, even with just a basic knowledge of modern Korea (like the shift to materialism, competition, and change and progress) others may or may not have shifted but simply do not come up in the current literature (e.g. individualism, informality, directness, etc.). However, despite how dated it is this is possibly the best book on how to get along with the differences in Korean culture that I've seen.

[Hannah]

I wanted to read this all the way through, but alas--I had to return it, the font was too old looking, the prose a bit too cumbersome. I wondered how much the ideas he expressed are still true of Korean life and business now... There is a huge mindshift involved in bridging Korean and Western culture described here, one that I'm sure my understanding and experiences barely scratch the surface of.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

It feels pretty dated -- it'd be a kick for the author to write a post-Hallyu-world update -- but there's some surprising useful information explaining some things I often see in dramas, most often by older male business execs or heads of households, that are never addressed in the plots (which is the reason why this book exists I guess).

[Dekota Lancaster · Rating 5 out of 5]

The perfect book for transitioning to working and life in Korea effectively.

[Aelieth 에릿 · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was an interesting point of view on koreans mind and aptitudes towards life.
I enjoyed it.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned many things through this book.

Korean Values
- Smooth relationships are more imporant than efficiency or accuracy. Time constraits and schedule are secondary to interaction.
- Demonstrate sincereity, interest in personal life (identify areas of interest you share), and humble demeanor
- The relationships betwen the parties is mor important than the countract. Commitments based on relationship are more binding than those on paper. (Koreans likely to consider what they signed as binding only so long as all the conditions remain the same as they were at the point of signing.
- Korean language is often purposely vague, the meaning better sensed than articulated. Verbs come at the end of the sentence.
- Repetition is effective in demonstrating and emphasizing key points. (do not rely on logic to back up your position. Rather, repeat your argument in greater detail, emphasizing its advantages). Orally summarize the points of the agreement and follow-up with a written summary distributed to both parties.

[Joe]

I read much of this book prior to a trip to Seoul S. Korea for a graduate course. With the trip over, I don't have a real reason to finish it other than I don't like leaving a book unfinished.

This book is surprisingly interesting, but I have to say, I am the ignorant untraveled American certain to commit cultural faux pas and was a little freaked out a couple times thinking back is this the etiquette I read or was it the exactly opposite.

The person who check us out of the hotel in Seoul got really backed up. I was pulled off the bus because I was not check out of my room. We found the receipt in the piles of paper on his desk showing my checkout. I was friendly and smiling not at all disturbed or put out, but... I Proved Him Wrong. I don't really know if I made him lose face, but he seemed almost mortified and I couldn't fix it.

Anyway, I think the book was helpful, but also made me a little self conscious. Maybe that's a good thing for an American imperialist.

[Alina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was excellent. Even if you don't plan to live in Korea, it is a great read for understanding and appreciating the culture and the country. I think it helped that I read the book while fully immersed in Korean culture (in Busan) so I was able to understand some of the more subtle nuances that Kohls mentions; but, I guess the bottom line is believe what he says. He's really not exaggerating. If you come to Korea, you will see daily examples of everything he talks about.
I gave it 4 instead of 5 stars only because I thought that there was a little too much about being the head of a company in Korea rather than more general work experience. But I suppose it's only fair to accept that this book is about 10 years old and so those jobs were probably the majority for English-speaking folks (rather than the huge numbers of teaching positions of today.)

[Tobias Volker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good analysis of the Korean way of being and can be a life saver for those who need to spend a significant amount of time in Korea. Since reading this book, I have been able to improve my relations with my co-workers and also deal better with some delicate personal situations.

[Jennifer Pool · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I prepared for my move to the ROK, I read this and it provided worthwhile insight to the inner-workings of the Korean culture. It definitely helped me ease some of the cross-cultural frustration that many of my expat friends experienced.

[Daniel · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is interesting, but it's incredibly outdated. It was written by a man who worked in Korea mainly in the years following the war. His cultural observations are telling, but no longer accurate in a place where change happens so fast.