Today we are going to devour
Comprehending the basic understanding of Korea being a high-context cultured country, they always stress on being POLITE (verbal and non-verbal).
1) Bowing. This is the basic way of greeting and showing respect to a person. Actually there are a few types of bowing depending on the situations. We don't really bow in Malaysia. Whenever we meet people, we shake hands or just smile or simply wave (usually with the opposite gender)
2) From the greetings [bowing] to entering the house [don't wear shoes inside the house] to the table etiquette until the drinking [alcohol] culture, being polite should be ON POINT. This starts from setting up the table to never sticking your chopsticks in the rice to having the elderly eat first before you. Unlike Korea, we don't really have strict table etiquette in Malaysia except that some/a lot of us are not allowed to talk/discuss when when are eating/at the dinner table. A lot of parents will say " jangan sembang masa tengah makan - don't talk/chitchat when you are eating " to their kids.
Oh! They turn their head or back away when drinking with someone elderly/of a higher rank/senior as a sign of respect. [Probably you all have seen it a lot in dramas right?] This is quite interesting as we (Muslims) are prohibited from drinking alcohol, we don't have any drinking culture.
3) Speaking politely. This can be reflected in their language that possesses different speech levels unlike English and Bahasa Melayu. They have certain honorific endings according to rankings that should be observed and used when speaking to people. We know that a lot of you learn Korean through dramas and whatnot, HOWEVER, it is IMPORTANT to distinguish between the formal speech and informal speech especially when you are talking to them especially on the first meeting.
4) Hearts! This is a common gestures done by the celebrities and a lot of people are doing this too. Girls.... Prepare to hyperventilate.....
For more information, check out the video down below.
Assalamualaikum Sis Syafiqah & Sis Izzy! The video that you guys shared above was awesome! It is very interesting to know other cultures' body languages or in other words, non-verbal signals. I remembered Dr Yahya used to tell us about a non-verbal miscommunication that he had with his friend. I don't quite remember precisely his story, but if I'm not mistaken, it was about his friend did a gesture (can't remember what) to him, and in his culture, it was actually saying something bad, really bad about one's mother! However, actually, that particular gesture that his friend did was actually a way to greet people in his friend's culture! This shows how important it is for us to learn, or shall I say, OBSERVE other culture's body language in order to AVOID from any misunderstandings in the future:)
ReplyDeleteWaalaikummussalam. Yes! We have heard the story before in his class. That's very true. Non-verbal signs usually connote bigger meanings across cultures even without saying a single word. It doesn't hurt to be aware of these little things and observe the body language at all time. :)
DeleteWow! I just knew about the different ways of bowing ! That is very interesting! The power of body gesture can give different meanings to different people and in different occasions. I only perceived bowing as a form politeness and nothing more.Turns out there's also a way to show that you want to get married to that person by doing the gesture. It contradicts to Malaysian culture , we ususally salaam during the akad nikah with a pillow in front or underneath (for male ) and the women will be silently watching.
ReplyDeleteTo add on, we usually do the heart shaped gesture to show (money) .
ReplyDeleteTo add on, we usually do the heart shaped gesture to show (money) .
ReplyDeleteThank you for dropping a comment on our page! Yes, there are different types of bowing and meanings to each one of them. Actually we never realized about the heart shaped gesture until you told us about it. We Malaysians do it a lot and it means money. Hahaha.
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