Category: korean business savvy

————————————————–

Download the Korea Business Etiquette Course in PDF format

————————————————–

*** Visit the related discussion on Korea Business Central.

I received the following two questions last week, and as these aren't the first inquiries I've gotten on the subject, I figure'd I'd post some thoughts on the topic here.

The Questions

#1 – “One of our investment professionals will be traveling to South Korea for a meeting and would like to make a few general opening remarks in Korean; thus, he is looking for someone to assist with crafting the remarks and learning to say them properly. Can you… assist?”

#2 – “[An executive of our company] is going to be giving a presentation in Korea next month at a conference…. He is a keynote for the general session with [a lot of] people. I’d like to open up his presentation with a cultural greeting and 'thank you' to the organization that is hosting him for this event.

Can you help me understand the cultural awareness around such a greeting? Is it appropriate at the beginning or should it go at the end? Can you help with a quick thank you greeting in Korean that I could include in the presentation?”

My Answer

These questions are based on the following assumptions:

1. Speaking in Korean to a Korean audience will contribute to the experience.
2. A greeting to Koreans in English may require input from a cultural expert in order to say the right things.

But it’s really not necessary to over-think this thing. For starters, here’s how I answered question #1:

"You don't generally have to worry much about giving a culturally correct speech in Korea if the same speech would be culturally correct back home. Once you've written what you want to say, I'd be glad to review and make sure that you won't offend anyone with it, but as long as you stay away from political commentary, you're probably OK.

"As for giving the speech in Korean, unless your associate has had some training in the Korean language, I wouldn't recommend it. Just parroting back a bunch of sounds that he's practiced a few times isn't going to sound much like proper Korean and the audience is unlikely to understand it.

"If you feel it's important that your associate's comments be shared in Korean, then prepare a version in Korean and give it to someone (perhaps an interpreter) beforehand to have him/her read it aloud in Korean after your associate shares his message in English. If your audience speaks English well enough to understand without an interpreter, then the need for your associate to speak in Korean is doubly unnecessary."

A very basic greeting like “Anyeong haseyo (Hello)” at the beginning or “Gamsahamnida (Thank you)” at the end is appropriate. The Korean audience will appreciate the effort and this will certainly generate a few smiles in the audience.

However, trying to put together full sentences and paragraphs just based on memorized sounds is not going to result in a speech that anyone will understand. If, as in the case of Question #2, the purpose of the greeting is to express thanks, it’s important that the audience understand what’s being said and for that, an English greeting which is then repeated through a Korean interpreter is the best option. I was in the room once when a Westerner tried to express a long idea in Korean (without learning Korean first) and the audience didn’t understand what he said and this resulted in quite a bit of social discomfort.

As for the second premise, there’s certainly no harm in running the remarks by a consultant after they’re written in order to be absolutely certain nothing inappropriate gets in, but the same rules apply in Korea as elsewhere: avoid crude humor and stay away from political opinions. Korea is not a black box of hidden cultural codes and there is not a uniquely Korean way to give a speech that is distinct from any other way. 

You might, however, review a couple recent business tips I wrote recently, including:

• How Can I Avoid Causing Offense in My Business Communications with Koreans?
• What Are Some Key Points for Using Names and Job Titles Correctly in Korean Business?

The KBC Professional Certification Program also contains a wealth of information about communicating and interacting effectively with Koreans in business.

And as mentioned above, I would be glad to review the content of your speech and provide feedback and suggestions on improving it for a Korean audience.

*** Visit the related discussion on Korea Business Central.

Once again, I have the privilege of sharing feedback from Rich DeBourke, principal consultant at SBF Consulting, about a lesson in the Korean Business Etiquette Guide (back when it was the Business Culture Fundamentals Specialization of the KBC Professional Certification Program). Rich's comments and questions about the materials give me an opportunity to share a richer perspective and deeper insights about the subject matter.

The following are some of his responses to various points in Module 1 of the program; I've also included my own clarifications and answers, where appropriate.

—————-

1. "Even though Koreans will often let this rule slide when working with foreigners, addressing someone with "Mr." in a business setting generally indicates that his rank is very low." – (from the "Main Points" portion of the Korean Business Etiquette Guide.)

Rich: Regarding the use of Mr., I was always told it was okay to start with calling someone Mr. Kim, and then letting them tell me to call them by their Korean name (e.g. Jin Ho) or use initials (e.g. J.H.) or to use an English name. (I’ve met Koreans that use an English name, although they won’t always have it on their business card (and their co-workers don’t know the English name, so it can be confusing).

2. "At least 70% of the Korean population has one of the top seven surnames (which are, in order from most common: Lee, Kim, Park, Jeong, Yoon, Choi, Yoo)" - (from the "Main Points" portion of the Korean Business Etiquette Guide.)

Rich: What do you recommend for the pronunciation for Choi? (Korean version or English).

Steven: This is a tricky one but the correct pronunciation is something close to "Chway", since this is how it's pronounced in Korean. The common English spelling is just weird and it may not communicate well if pronounced as it looks: "Choy"

3. "Your Korean counterpart's business card will almost certainly have an English side." - (from the "Main Points" portion of the Korean Business Etiquette Guide.)

Rich: People at the big companies have English sides, but maybe 5% of people from small and medium companies have Korean only cards – need to cover what to do (being handed the Korean side, I tend to flip the card to see the English side. If it’s not there, I can go back to the Korean side and pronounce out the person's name in Hangul.) Another option is to look at the email address for the name.

Steven: That's a good point about small companies. While non-Koreans will usually meet Koreans having double-sided business cards, some Koreans do not carry cards with English names spelled out. It should be possible to ask them or someone else around who speaks English how to address them.

4. "In social relationship (as opposed to business relationships), Koreans often "lose" their names when they have kids. They are then addressed in relation to their children. (e.g. Min-Ju's mom, or Kyeong-Jin's dad)."  - (from the "Main Points" portion of the Korean Business Etiquette Guide.)

Rich: I thought the Min-Ju’s mom title was only used when people have a relationship through the kids?

Steven: Yes, good catch. The titles used do reflect the basis of the relationship. So, it would generally be necessary to have a relationship with someone through their kids in order to use the So-and-so's Mom/Dad title.

5. "Probably one of the hardest areas for foreigners to grasp when learning Korean is the ways in which the language requires the speaker and listener to understand and express how players fit into the social hierarchy. This is far more complex in Korean than the “tu/usted” concept of Spanish; Korean speakers must be aware of and reflect the relative positions of the speaker, listener and third persons being spoken about at all times." – (from the executive report "Succeed in Korea by Understanding Company Hierarchy", an online resource of the Korean Business Etiquette Guide.)

Rich: It would probably be a good idea to explain the tu/usted distinction for readers not familiar with Spanish.

Steven: In Spanish (as in French, Italian and the other Romance languages) there are two forms of "you". "Usted" is used formally and with people one doesn't have a close relationship with; "tu" is for informal situations with children, close friends, etc.. My point is that Korean has this distinction, too, but then goes way beyond it in in terms of further complexity to reflect the relationships between speaker, listeners and third parties. This is what I mean about hierarchy being built into the Korean language and about how this is reflected in Korean company hierarchy.

6. "Typical large Korean companies stick strictly to a traditional model of promotion… These tendencies are less pronounced today than in the past and not every Korean organization puts as much emphasis on age and structure." – (from the executive report "Succeed in Korea by Understanding Company Hierarchy", an online resource of the Korean Business Etiquette Guide.)

Rich: Traditional companies and managers use the hierarchical way. But are you saying that others use a blend of Korean and Western? I’m not sure any Korean company is completely westernized.

Steven: The leading Korean companies all follow the traditional model strictly. But I've heard about experimentation in some less well-known conglomerates and in smaller companies. For example, I'm told that Kolon is trying to do away with many job titles in their official internal communications. Some smaller Korean firms run by (mainly younger and Western-educated) managers are also adopting flatter and more merit-based systems. It'll be interesting to see if any of these companies become standard setters in Korean business in the future but for now, the traditional corporate structure remains the only defining standard in Korean business.

7. "Foreigners are, by definition, outsiders. Thus, you can expect to be treated at the highest level of respect and care by your Korean counterparts." – (from the executive report "Succeed in Korea by Understanding Company Hierarchy", an online resource of the Korean Business Etiquette Guide.)

Rich: The situation here can become complicated as many foreigners who come to Korea for business come through a local agent. The foreigner is treated with respect, but the local agent is stuck in the Korean hierarchical system. This causes confusion for many Westerners. Also, dinners are confusing when there are three groups (foreigner, agent, customer).

8. "Rank in Korea can be is based on many things, but in business it starts with job position. Age is nearly as important, mainly because job position and age generally go hand-in-hand. And educational level and relative time spent in the company are considerations, too. In addition, the relative standing of different companies can come into play when people from two companies get together." – (from the executive report "Succeed in Korea by Understanding Company Hierarchy", an online resource of the Korean Business Etiquette Guide.)

Rich: What about which university someone attended, such as Seoul National versus Backwater U? Does that impact the level? Harvard people always let you know they went to Harvard, expecting that it gets them more respect and credibility. What about someone with an MBA versus just an engineering degree? What impact does buyer/seller have on the relationship (in Japan, the seller is always lower – Dave Barry’s book, Dave Barry Does Japan has a great chapter on salesmen in Japan where he describes how the salesman starts a visit by apologizing for taking up the customer’s valuable time).

What about when Koreans have two relationships at different levels? I attended a Korean Culture seminar a while back, hosted by the Seoul Global Center and given by a Korean university professor, and she told the story of a Korean teacher whose husband owned a floral shop in a neighborhood that was near to her school. One Saturday, the parents of one of the teacher’s students wandered into the floral shop, not knowing that their child’s teacher’s husband owned the shop. When the parents saw the teacher there working in a floral shop, they became quite flustered and left the shop. The key take-away is that Koreans, once they feel they have a relationship established (teacher is a high level position), anything that goes against that relationship (working in a floral shop is a low level position) causes them to be uncomfortable.

Steven: Interesting and valid insights. The real world is seldom as straightforward as the rules would lead us to believe and these examples show how things can become complex in situations that don't fit "the rules".

In reference to the differences in levels based on backgrounds, such as what university one went to or whether one has a masters or undergraduate degree, this shouldn't affect levels of speech directly. However, though these factors will influence one's career path and thus where one falls in the hierarchy.

I wrote the Business Culture Fundamentals Specialization of the KBC Professional Certification Program to help non-Koreans make sense of Korean business culture and be more effective in Korean business. To date, we've had dozens of students sign up, with many of them having graduated.

But one person who doesn't need to take the course is Rich DeBourke. As a member of Korea Business Central and principal consultant at SBF Consulting, Rich has been working in business for over thirty years and in the Korean market since 1995. He was kind enough to critique and add valuable comments and insights for much of the content in the lessons of the KBC Professional Certification Program.

The following includes selected excerpts from the KBC Professional Certification Program materials, along with Rich's comments and a few of my additional responses.

Visit the related discussion on Korea Business Central.

 ————–

1. "Gifts are generally wrapped and if so, don't open until you leave (or unless they tell you to open it)." – (from the lecture email send to students of the KBC Professional Certification Program)

Rich: Open the gift but don’t try it out. One time I was given a pen by a Japanese guy, and the pen wouldn’t write – embarrassing!

2. "Small souvenirs from home show great consideration to your Korean hosts for a business meeting or when getting together with friends… Example souvenirs… a Disney toy for your counterpart's children if you live anywhere in central Florida… a nicely framed photograph of your city’s skyline with a small metal plate engraved with the company name on the bottom… Some duty-free alcohol" – (from the executive report "Top 10 Gifts to Give in Korea to Make a Great Impression", part of the KBC Professional Certification Program and also available free from the KBC Business Library.)

Rich: What about hats from prestigious universities or famous golf courses, if near the home office?

I think the brought-from-home and wrapped-at-home gifts go over well. A gift that was clearly wrapped in Korea looks too last minute. (We gave a senior guy a Montblanc pen and he clearly couldn't care less, I think in part because he figured out we bought it at the hotel gift shop.)

I’m not sure about the Disney toy – we used to bring Disney videos years ago, but everything is now available in Korea. So bringing something like Mickey Mouse may convey the feeling the giver thinks Korea is a poor country (Koreans are sensitive about that).

I’d recommend a city photo if the client visits your city. I'm not sure about giving a photo of a city he’s never seen (framed golfing pictures are usually well received, though).

On the liquor, it should only be Scotch whisky, and a guide as to what level of whisky for which level of contact would be helpful. Johnnie Walker Blue retails in New Hampshire for $210. A Macallan 30-year retails for much more… A bottle of good rum or vodka doesn’t go over well with Koreans. I generally recommend sticking with whisky. While some Koreans drink bourbon, it’s not as common.

… Chocolates that can be eaten during the meeting have gone over well, but expensive chocolates didn’t. Boxes of common but nice chocolates were appreciated.

… As an isolated situation, a foreigner working for a Korean company and going on a trip should bring back something. Generally it doesn’t have to be a “souvenir”. It can be almost anything that was purchased while on holiday (my wife has bought socks).

3. "You must never arrive at a Korean's home without a gift… It is also accepted practice to stop by the supermarket or convenience store on the way to pick up… juice or fruit." - (from the executive report "Top 10 Gifts to Give in Korea to Make a Great Impression", part of the KBC Professional Certification Program and also available free from the KBC Business Library.)

Rich: Juice? Never seen it done. I’ve seen Koreans give the vitamin drink, but I’m not sure that’s good coming from a Westerner. Fruit should be a gift box (not a bag of apples).

4. "Still, it is better to give a gift when not expected than to not give a gift when one is expected." -(from the lecture email send to students of the KBC Professional Certification Program)

Rich: I can't think of a situation of giving a gift when not expected. Gift-giving is one way (vendor to customer, junior to senior). But what happens if I give a gift to someone who, under Korean cultural rules, should also give me a gift, and they haven’t prepared one? I would embarrass that person – possible? Likely?

Steven: Gift-giving in business isn't always required. In fact, other than social-based gift-giving that is also observed in the workplace (such as for weddings, funerals), there aren't a lot of situations where a gift is absolutely required. Visiting for the first time on business would certainly be expected, but what about the second visit? Or third visit? The obligation goes down… As for gift-giving from vendor to customer, there's surely plenty of that going on, but it's not 100% one-way; vendors should at least try to show gratitude for customer gifts by giving a few back.

Overdoing the gift-giving can also be a bit of a problem. I remember a few months ago my family got together for lunch with a business associate and his family. They brought two rather nice gifts for us, and even promised tickets to a couple of upcoming concerts that they had extras for. I managed to pay for lunch, but that was still not quite enough to "balance accounts". When I met my associate a few days later, I took a Coach handbag for his wife that my wife had bought on a recent trip to the US and set aside to give to someone else. By that time, things had actually gone a bit overboard and it'll be awhile before we need to exchange gifts again.

As for embarrassing a Korean by bringing a gift that's unexpected or where he/she should also have brought a gift, I don't think this is a big issue. The Korean can just make sure to bring something next time (or at least promise to do so).

5. "An invitation to visit is an excellent "gift" to give after your hosts in Korea have shown a great deal of hospitality to you. It is unlikely that the invitee will take you up on the offer and extending invitations that aren't intended to be claimed is a common practice of etiquette amongst Koreans too." - (from the executive report "Top 10 Gifts to Give in Korea to Make a Great Impression", part of the KBC Professional Certification Program and also available free from the KBC Business Library.)

Rich: I think in a business situation, it is very likely that they will be visiting your office, especially if it’s a significant deal. So it is likely they will remember any offer of “come over for Sunday dinner” and will expect to have it happen.

6. "Money is the standard gift at weddings or funerals and one-year birthdays of babies." - (from the executive report "Top 10 Gifts to Give in Korea to Make a Great Impression", part of the KBC Professional Certification Program and also available free from the KBC Business Library.)

Rich: 60 or 70,000 won should be sufficient for a wedding/funeral/one-year birthday gift – sometimes foreigners get invited to a number of these functions, and you don’t have to be that close to be invited (more people equals more money for the couple)…

Weddings versus funerals – Generally, my wife will send money if a friend has had a death, but we only give money for a wedding if we attend, and we decline more invitations then we accept.

Steven: Wedding invitations don't necessarily need to be declined; just not going is often enough. You can apologize later for having had other plans that day, and a gift won't be expected since wedding gifts are usually only given if attending. The exception to this would be if you miss a wedding of someone that you absolutely should have attended.

Also, the standard gift for a one-year birthday would actually be a gold ring. Not just any gold ring though; they sell these one-year birthday rings at any jeweller at various price points.

7. "A gift certificate to a local department store makes a great birthday or friendship gift to someone with whom you have an ongoing relationship."  - (from the executive report "Top 10 Gifts to Give in Korea to Make a Great Impression", part of the KBC Professional Certification Program and also available free from the KBC Business Library.)

Rich: I’d recommend an American Express gift card – it’s upscale but can be used anywhere AMEX is accepted.

8. "On the Death of a Fellow Student's Mother and Figuring Out How Much Condolence Money to Give Him" – (recommended reading for the KBC Professional Certification Program and available in full as a weblog post here on Nojeok Hill)

Rich: The story’s good, but how does it apply to business? If a business acquaintance has a parent pass away, how much should be sent? Possible to put together a table?

Steven: In business, I think about W100,000 would be a good base amount if the recipient is someone with whom you've got a relationship that deserves a gift; it would seldom go lower (and not below W70,000, I don't think). If a business partner or someone close, then a higher amount would be appropriate.

Just hearing about the death of someone's relative at the office isn't enough to have an obligation; you've got to be relatively close, such as in the same department or office, unless it's a small company, in which case you might be obligated regardless. Also, the death of someone's sister is unlikely to require a gift, whereas a parent, spouse or child is a different matter.

If you've been told about the death promptly, it probably means a gift is in order. It's also likely you'll have heard about the death through a third-party so it's fine to ask about the appropriateness of a gift and how much to give. The other person may say you don't need to give anything, but if you do think you should (or would like to), then keep pushing for information. Even if you can't make it to the funeral, you can still ask about the details of the bank account to which gift payments are being collected and send your money there. (Don't ask for a receipt!)

If you hear about a death weeks or months after the fact, it's generally too late to give. It means you weren't expected to give anything.

The following snippet is now part of the ebook Korean Business Etiquette Guide: Take an Essential Step Toward Your Business Goals in Korea! 

Purchase and download on Amazon.

From the extra reading in Chapter 1 of Korean Business Etiquette Guide: Take an Essential Step Toward Your Business Goals in Korea!

"I was recently contacted by an international executive recruiter who is working to fill an executive position in the Korean subsidiary of a multinational company. Here are some answers to his questions about how Korean companies work.

"1. What is the most common job title(s) for someone reporting to the CEO/ Country MD?

"2. To what extent does this vary between companies? Do you know the most typical title for someone at this level at [Company]?

"3. Does the title depend also on age, or is it just dependent on where the person sits within the organisation and who they report to?

"4. To what extent are Koreans usually willing to move for a role with the same job title?"

Get the answers to these questions in Korean Business Etiquette Guide: Take an Essential Step Toward Your Business Goals in Korea! 

Having published my executive report "The Top Ten Gifts to Give in Korea to Make a Great Impression", I get a steady flow of questions asking me for advice in specific gift-giving situations. Here's a question I received recently:

"I am an American businessman meeting with a Korean company Chungbuk and want to bring appropriate gifts for the meeting. We are meeting to finalize the terms of a contract… hopefully. We have met before in the US. I was thinking about giving Godiva chocolate in a brown box with eight truffles. I was also thinking to have a brown ribbon around each box with customized gold printing on it with a personalized message of success. Is this a good idea? If it is, what should the message on the ribbon say? Can I use our company names together or would that be too presumptuous? If not, what would you suggest?

And my answer: