Thoughts on Cultural Differences

As my time in Korea has continued, I’ve noticed more and more that there are some cultural elements that I have trouble understanding or accepting.  I am certainly NOT the type of person that lives in a different country and tries to tell the people of that country how they SHOULD live or how their culture SHOULD be.  I am, however, definitely the type of person that comes to a new country being observant of the manners, mannerisms, daily conduct, psyche, etc. of the people of that particular country, and I try to adapt (within reason) to that as much as possible. 

In other words, I would consider myself a cultural relativist: I don’t think that one culture is “better” than other cultures.  While I might not agree with everything one culture stands for…or what they do…or how they do it, I acknowledge that it’s just different, but not necessarily better.

Obviously, there are some extreme aspects of some cultures that my moral compass doesn’t allow me to accept in any way.  To give an extreme example, I wouldn't be able to stand any culture that practices slavery.

Coming full circle, there are many aspects of Korean culture that I do understand, and I have tried to adapt to.  However, there are some aspects that I’ve had difficulty understanding.  I’ve realized that the latter aspects I’m referring to aren’t merely cultural, but they are also psychological.  To me, I will never FULLY understand these psychological aspects (I guess what one would refer to as the “cultural psyche” of a people) simply because I wasn’t born and raised here. 

I’ve been aware of this for a while, but there was a specific conversation I had with one of my co-teachers in which I became REALLY aware of it.  My co-teacher and I meet twice a week one-on-one so he can practice his conversational English.  I usually bring in an English-language article with some questions about its content.  The article I brought in this particular day was about how there was a study showing that children in the UK were concerned with their body image and diets and things of that sort.  It said something like 59% of the girls and over 50% of boys surveyed reported being overly concerned with their looks.  These were girls and boys under 12 years old from what I recall.  After reading the article, my co-teacher said, “I don’t agree with this opinion,” which made me momentarily irritated.  I mean, this was a SCIENTIFIC STUDY, not an opinion.  Sure, studies can be slanted and biased in certain ways, but there is an absolute canyon of difference between an “opinion” and a “scientific study”.  I explained that as gently as possible.  Then I asked him what he didn’t agree with.  He said, “I don’t think boys really care about their appearance almost as much as girls do.”  Then we got into a discussion in which he said that girls, by nature, should care more about their appearance than boys.  I‘m paraphrasing here, but I said, “Why do you think that is?”  He said, “That’s just the way nature is.”  That got me thinking about a couple things: 1. I think East Asian cultures are really enveloped in binary relationships.  We definitely are in Western countries due in part to Judeo-Christian beliefs and traditions (e.g. “good vs. evil”), but I feel like it’s a more rigidly and strongly believed here.  Though, I may be wrong.  2.  His point of view is something that I think is wrong, but what makes his point of view OBJECTIVELY wrong?  I don’t know.  His interpretation of truth is different than my interpretation of truth.  Truth is interpretation.  3.  I will never understand his “truth”, and on a larger scale, these “truths” as viewed through the lens of the cultural psyche.

Another example is the Confucian hierarchical system.  Whether at work or in family, it is very important to respect hierarchies in Korea, as it is believed that respecting it in practice will create harmony.  However, from my cultural upbringing, there are some illogical parts to this system.  For example, if I need to ask for a day off, I would need to ask my co-teacher, who then would ask the vice-principal.  It would be a big no-no to go directly to the vice-principal to ask.  Why?  Because I wouldn't be respecting the hierarchy.  Which truth is objectively right?  I guess I know just what works for me.  Maybe I don't...who knows?!

Interestingly enough, I came across this article a while ago, which expresses a lot of the same sentiments that I did in this post.  http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/04/06/my-so-called-opinion/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_php=true&_type=blogs&hp&rref=opinion&_r=2

This is something that I've struggled with, and I know that many of my friends have struggled with.  In a world with a plurality of truth, what is objectively true?