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Corporate Culture in South Korea

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The Corporate Culture in South Korea

Business in the XXI century is becoming more and more global, international; we find new partners in various, sometimes very exotic parts of the world. It is all possible thanks to the common language (assuming that "everybody" knows English), good and fast transportation and new ways of communication, like for example Internet. We are learning from each other and trying to adjust to new situations, although the differences are often much greater than just a language or a skin color. It gets harder when not only two different countries, but two different civilizations clashes. Then it is easy and highly likely that a lot of misunderstandings will occur, what can be a threat to our potential …show more content…

To make a good first impression it is good to learn few words in Korean, like "Good afternoon, how was your flight?" etc. It is usually hard, but it is also a nice surprise for them and it makes them as happy as when any foreign takes the challenge and tries to say something in Polish. I would suggest though consulting our Korean expression with someone who actually knows Korean first to make sure our guests will understand us and what is more important to avoid offending them or any other awkward situation.

In contacts with Koreans we should rather use simple English, at least at the beginning when we don't know how well they now it. It is better when we speak slowly and clearly, using the basic vocabulary. For some Koreans admitting they can not understand what we are saying would be very embarrassing. When it comes to English language Korean situation is similar to Polish one. Everybody in Korea learns English, but at the end they know it rather poorly and they don't like to use it. Even if someone speaks it fluently, often happens that one has very strange accent which is extremely hard for us to understand. That is because Korean has completely different grammar and pronunciation. The safest solution to the language problem is employing a translator.

Business clothing is no different then in Poland. Men should wear a traditional, dark suit with white shirt and a

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