I came across an article today about the fundamental differences between East Asian and Western ways of thinking and how it applies to teaching English and it really got me thinking about my experiences so far in light of cultural differences. The article essentially states that East Asians tend to think in terms of relationships, while Westerners think in terms of objects. This mindset is reflected in how children are raised and consequently in how they learn later and function in society. Because Western English teachers bring a different mindset, they are not as effective as they could be, claims the author. Evidently, our method of grouping things taxonomically—animals or colors, for instance—would not make as much sense to an East Asian, who would tend to group things together based on relationships—cows and grass and milk, perhaps. It’s interesting for me because I have definitely been trying to group things according to the way that makes the most sense to me, and according to this article it might not be the most effective way to help them learn. I will have to look into this further as I learn a little more. I haven’t found much information about teaching elementary school English in Asia yet, but then again, I haven’t looked that hard. An interesting and certainly pertinent topic, to be sure.
In addition to raising questions about my teaching methods, I also got to thinking about the cultural differences I see in living an ordinary rural Korean life. The truth is, I don’t really notice it that much anymore. East/West differences are so hyped up by everyone that I expected a far more drastic change than is apparent to me now. I feel that the Korean approach to life isn’t that different from my own. I haven’t had any incidents with losing face, for example, or blatant lies to keep the peace and ensure social harmony, as my sister warned me about. The atmosphere is different for sure—I talked yesterday about the approach to kids—but it’s not anything I have difficulty understanding. There is much more emphasis on hierarchy here, bordering on ridiculous in my opinion, but that isn’t a totally foreign concept. After all, we have a hierarchical system ourselves and many of us spend a good deal of time brown-nosing superiors. It’s just strange that I hear all these warnings about how fundamentally different Asian people think and I don’t find that we are so dissimilar after all. I was expecting a strict, regimented society with stern relationships between superiors and inferiors. Instead, I find a place where kids are given almost free rein, teachers joke around with the principal, and everyone has a good time. Perhaps I have a really good orientation program to thank for my lack of culture shock at the moment. Or I am just missing out on the intricacies of Korean culture due to my limited language capacity. Or I am in a lax atmosphere, surrounded by kids most of the time who perhaps do not embody the culture as rigidly as adults. Or they are giving me a lot of room for error because I am a foreigner. Or I am just a really tolerant person. I prefer to think it’s the latter. I know I have been complaining a lot lately, but I really am fairly content here. I have a definite place here as an English teacher, friend, and sister and I definitely feel at home. I am learning a lot about reading body language—they say experience is the best teacher, after all—so I actually do pick up a lot of what’s happening at school and at home. More than people are aware of, I expect. I just don’t feel that the way I interact with others is foreign at all, as I expected and dreaded it to be. I’ve even grown used to bowing! Maybe I am missing out on something major here, or maybe I am on the verge of something revolutionary—we aren’t so different after all! Cultural difference be damned!
I was reading a passage in a similar vein in the book about Korea I picked up recently. It’s about twenty years old and some of the information isn’t accurate anymore, but there was a section about honor and saving face that was quite interesting. Basically, the author claims that the system suppresses innovation by discouraging behavior that is not in line with the teaching and examples of elders, so nations like Korea will never truly get ahead. I certainly haven’t experienced enough life in the Korean adult world yet to know, but it seems to me that even with the veneration of elders Koreans are quick enough to grab on to innovation. I believe it boasts the greatest access to modern technology such as internet access, much to the surprise of many Americans. It has grown so quickly in the last fifty years and this has certainly not occurred through sentimental desires to cling to the past and do as the ancestors have done. No, this could only occur through innovation. Perhaps Western values are corrupting Korea. Perhaps it is in the process of discarding the infamous Eastern values seen as such a hurdle to East-West relations. I certainly don’t know.
I come away from all of this hesitant to make sweeping generalizations and just marvel at how similar ways of life can be, when you dig down to the core. It is all about relationships, even though we seem to do our best in the Western world to deny this essential fact at times. In this respect I think it might be beneficial to emulate the East in thinking holistically and in terms of relationships. It’s what I strive to do, for I think an emphasis on objects has dulled life into a weary cycle of material accumulation. Looking and listening and living the best way I know is all I can do, and everywhere I go I am learning more about how I really want to live. It’s all I can ask for, right?