YouTuber YongHyeon shared his thoughts on the things you should NOT do in Korea on his YouTube channel Yong Company. YongHyeon thoughtfully shared his thoughts on what is rude in Korea, and although it might seem like common sense when you read through his points, it might not be something you initially thought of due to cultural differences.
1. Don’t make the bus driver give you change
You should not give a ₩10,000 bill to the bus driver when you’re getting on the bus. So, what this means is, ₩10,000 is approximately $10. One ride of the bus or the train in Korea is ₩1250, which is approximately around a dollar. So, if you give a ₩10,000 bill to the bus driver when you’re getting on the bus, the bus driver has to give the change in every single coin he has…
— YongHyeon
2. Do not swear or use informal Korean in front of a new acquaintance
We always talk in a formal language when we just first met. It’s the right behavior to do. It’s really rude to say informal language in the first time you meet that person.
— YongHyeon
He also notes that it’s very cringy hearing foreigners swear casually, especially if you’ve just met for the first time.
3. Girls shouldn’t wear revealing clothing on their upper halves
It’s a really taboo thing to do in Korea if you wear something really revealing on the top. It’s okay to wear short pants or short skirts, but if you wear really revealing stuff on the top you get judged really hard.
— YongHyeon
4. Don’t try to make eye contact while bowing
You should avoid eye contact when you’re bowing. So, to explain this culture, in Eastern culture, whenever you meet the elder you should avoid eye contact to show your respect to the elder.
— YongHyeon
5. Don’t expect restaurants to have forks for you
If you’re trying to learn how to do chopsticks in Korea, it’s way harder to do, and a lot of the foreigners when they first come to Korea don’t know how to use chopsticks, but the thing is, not all the restaurants here have forks. I recommend you guys to either practice how to use the chopsticks or bring your own fork.
— YongHyeon
Did you know about these things already or is this new information to you?
