Korean labor law: Understanding Cultural Differences at Work Between Korea and the West

Korean labor law: Understanding Cultural Differences at Work Between Korea and the West

?Bongsoo Jung / KangNam Labor Law Firm

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I. Introduction

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While Korea has been making free trade agreements (FTAs) with the United States and the European Union, more and more foreign companies have been establishing branches in Korea. Companies here are hiring more foreign professionals in an effort to enhance their competitiveness in the markets of advanced nations. While working in the same company or workplace, it is very common for disagreements or misunderstanding to arise between Koreans and Westerners due to differences in culture, occupational habits and language. It is very difficult to understand our counterparts if we do not understand the cultural characteristics that have formed over long periods of time, which of course can lead to an atmosphere that is not conducive to business. There are many differences in the way we think and behave at work, such as the kind of hierarchy we are familiar with, the way we relate to each other through linguistic expression, the way we address each other, and the way we express our opinions. I would like to deal with this issue through one tragic case involving culture, and the opinions of some foreigners living and working in Korea.

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II. Culture: the Secret Behind a Plane Crash

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At about 1:42 am on August 6, 1997, a Korean Air passenger plane approached Guam Airport and attempted to land, but because of the low visibility due to stormy weather and pilots’ accumulated tiredness, the plane went off the runaway and crashed into a small hill nearby the airport. This accident resulted in the deaths of 228 of the 254 passengers onboard. As the pilots were trying to land, they could not see the runway due to the poor weather. When the ground proximity alarm sounded at 500 feet (152 meters), the co-pilot suggested gently "Let's give up the landing." When the pilot did not do so, the co-pilot said again, strongly this time "No visibility, give up the landing!" The pilot then gave up trying to land, but it was too late: the plane continued to descend and crashed. If the co-pilot had spoken in a commanding voice instead of a suggestion, the pilot would have understood the emergency situation they were in, and prevented the crash.[1]

After David Greenburg from Delta Air was hired by Korean Air to be a flight safety manager, he discovered the fundamental causes for this tragedy: the complicated ways of expressing oneself in the Korean language and Korea’s vertical hierarchy. His approach was to create a rule for Korean Air pilots: they must speak English. “The official language in Korean Air is English. If you want to continue to work as a Korean Air pilot, you must be able to speak English fluently.” English does not have such strict rules regarding politeness, and emotional authority between positions and ages is not as high as in Korea. In the ‘Power Distance Index,’ which indicates the degree of authority people in higher social positions have over those in lower positions, Korea places among the highest, while the US places among the lowest. Although a pilot and co-pilot work in a situation which requires them to operate a plane together in cooperation, Korean pilots have a very clear vertical hierarchy of superior and subordinate, putting the co-pilot in a position of obedience to the pilot. The pilot can discipline his co-pilot by hitting his hand for minor mistakes, something taken for granted. In addition, this vertical hierarchy includes complicated expressions of language. The superior talks down to the subordinate while the subordinate talks in high forms to the superior. For example, using the lowest form of language includes orders “you will do this”; talking in low form would be “do this”; talking in high form would be “please do this”; talking in the highest form would be “would you please do this?” Under such a strict vertical hierarchy and the required forms of expression, a subordinate cannot simply point out his superior’s mistakes, but must speak indirectly in a way that does not offend the superior.

Since Korean Air began employing Mr. Greenburg, accidents have almost ceased and the company was able to restore confidence, both internally and in terms of how other entities view Korean Air. Mr. Greenburg changed the cultural atmosphere inside the cockpit by insisting on the use of English, hiring more civilian pilots to join an organization made up mostly of former military pilots, and standardizing technical terms and conversational methods. By making adjustments to these organizational cultures, Korean Air has been able to prevent similar plane crashes, and has become an example of air safety for other airlines. On April 10, 2010, a plane with the Polish president, Lech Kaczynski, aboard, crashed while trying to land at a Russian airport in very foggy conditions, killing 97 passengers. One of Poland’s major daily papers, Gazeta Wyborcza, introduced Korean Air and its recent safety history. “During the late 1990s, Korean Air faced a crisis: Air France and Delta Air were requesting the airline leave their alliance, and the American Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) had given it a very poor safety rating. However, Korean Air was able to get through the crisis with the help of safety consultants. The answer was to ‘speak English.’ Korean culture demands such a high form of respect for superiors or seniors that a co-pilot could not address directly the fact that a pilot was making a mistake. But through English communication, the airline was able to work around this strong hierarchical structure rooted in the Korean language ‘trap’.”

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III. Cultural Differences Related to Position and Age

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1. Cultural differences: position

In Korea, addressing someone by their title or position is important. People at work call each other by their job positions, while westerners use first names, or Mr., Mrs., or Ms., plus family names for respect. In western culture, position titles only indicate persons-in-charge, and are not used when addressing that person. Mr. or Mrs. is acceptable regardless of someone’s position, with first names used once two people are on friendly terms. In Korea, title indicates status, so if someone is addressed in a way that is not suitable for his age or position, he or she may be offended and feel they are being talked to as an inferior. Sales employees introduce themselves using a title that is higher than their own, to give themselves authority in the eyes of customers.

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2. Cultural differences: age

In Western culture, people can be friends with whomever they want, while in Korea you can only call someone your friend if he or she is the same age as you. In Western culture, people keep in mind the age difference and give respect where it is due, but nevertheless they are free to befriend anyone they please.

?In the Korean work environment, to be in a higher position than someone older than you is difficult because age is very important. To be young and in a higher position than someone older puts you in a predicament because you are not able to conduct yourself as that person’s senior as they may think there’s nothing to learn from you or you have no authority to lead them because you are younger.?In western cultures, positions in the workplace are more respected than here.

IV. Cultural Differences Related to Behavior

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Here are examples of cultural differences related to behavior that I collected from expatriates living and working in Korea. [2]

1. “In Korea it is polite to decline something that is offered to you and maybe on the 2nd or 3rd time it is offered you accept it. In western culture if something is offered to you and you want it you can gladly accept it the first time it is offered.”

2. “Also in Western culture, the use of “thank you” is much more common than in Korean culture. It is quite common for friends, spouses, and family members in Korea not to say thank you to each other for little gifts, for giving someone something they requested etc., whereas this would be quite rude in Western culture. We even say “thank you” to the salesperson at a store when we buy something, for giving us our change.”??

3. “In Korea when people eat they have to wait for the oldest member to eat first (in family) or the teacher (in school/institute) before they can start eating. In Western culture it doesn’t really matter.”

4. “If a Korean knows you then they’re extremely kind and helpful but if they don’t know you they ignore you like you don’t exist. In Western culture people are relatively friendly even if they don’t know each other: e.g. they’ll greet and start a conversation, etc.”

5. “Saying ‘OK OK OK’ or ‘Yeah yeah yeah’ in English can be extremely rude. In Korea, it just means ‘I really understand or ‘Yes, right away.’ In English it means ‘OK, shut up. I don’t want to hear what you are saying.’”

6. “Koreans cannot confront their superiors directly (for example, when they feel they have been treated unfairly, or the superior is doing something in the wrong way). Westerners usually can, and do.”

7. “In Western culture, a graduate school student can discuss freely, ask questions, and provide opposing opinions about his/her major subjects to his/her academic advisors (professors), but in Korea his/her professors are so authoritarian that the student cannot oppose their opinions, and so generally accepts their opinions unequivocally.”?

8. “A common mistake for Koreans is to say ‘Mr. Shawn’ or ‘Miss Jennifer.’ In English, we don’t use the first name with ‘Mr.’ or ‘Miss etc. We use the family name instead. So, Shawn Stenson would be ‘Mr. Stenson,’ and Jennifer Beal would be ‘Miss Beal’ or ‘Mrs. Beal’ (if she’s married).”

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V. Conclusion

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The cultural differences between Korea and the West are very wide, go very deep, and reach into a huge variety of situations. If employees are unable to come to a cultural understanding of these differences, even in this Global Era, then Koreans and expatriates working together will have to settle for a relationship of ‘close in proximity, but distant in relationship’. When cultural differences are allowed, accepted, and understood, employees can work better, more constructively, and in greater cooperation. With a partnership based on this acceptance, Korean employees can work well with foreign expatriates, improve their own work efficiency and help the company increase its competitiveness with leading companies from around the world.

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[1] Malcolm Gladwell, “Outliers” Chapter 7, page 252, (The Ethnic Theory of Plane Crashes)

[2] Opinions of cultural differences are provided by expatriates who have lived more than two years in Korea. They are: an Italian PhD candidate at Sookmyung Women’s University, a Canadian employee of Daewoo Ship Building Co., an Italian embassy staff member, a South African native English teacher at SDA, and a Polish employee of SBNTECH.?