ENGLISH 8

Korean Beliefs and Practices

Koreans believe in sincerity and following protocols while meeting, eating, praying or even
celebrating is very important. Let us have a look at different Korean etiquette in this section of
the article.

Bowing is equivalent to the handshake in Korean culture. Bowing means showing gratitude and
respect to the person you are meeting with. The younger generations have blended the western
culture with their native culture by shaking hands after bowing to each other.

Gifts have remained an integral part of their culture; however, gifts are always given according
to the capacity and affordability of the other person because Koreans firmly believe in
reciprocating. The quantity or numbers also add value to your gifts; seven is considered as a
lucky number so anything in multiples of seven will be accepted heartily. However, they avoid
giving anything that falls in the multiple value of four because Koreans consider four as an
unlucky number. Red, yellow and pink colors denote happiness and prosperity in the Korean
culture. The use of white, black or green colors for wrapping is offensive and must be avoided.

Korean food and drinks add flavor to their traditional lifestyle and rice malt served with kimchi
is their specialty. Cold noodles, bibimbap, bulgogi and dakgalbi are some of the world famous
Korean dishes. However, dining and eating means following a strict protocol. No indoor
farewells, the removal of shoes before entering the house or dining room, and most importantly,
only male hosts will serve the drinks.
Buddhism is the main religion in Korea and its teachings reflect in Korean lifestyle, culture and
arts. Numerous Buddhist statues, monuments and temples have been included in the National
Treasure and Monument list by the government. Yungdrung is major symbol of Korean
Buddhism and it can be seen outside temples and religious places in Korea.

Traditional clothes are the pride of the Korean people. Hanbok is the name given to traditional
Korean attire. It is worn in marriage ceremonies, family functions and traditional festivals. It is
also the official government and national dress in Korea. People of all ages wear it with pride
because it is one of the emblems of their cultural identity.
Knowing and understanding these customs is important because while visiting the country, you
must abide to their rules and customs; otherwise, you might end up in an embarrassing situation
because western practices and customs are totally different from the customs of the Korean
people.
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