Blog for International Business (MGT - 345 - 1)Kendall College Zhanelya Ydrys
The country I chose is the the land of the morning calm, South Korea. I have been there once (two years ago) and one of the reasons why I chose this country is because I was fascinated and impressed by their rich culture and interesting history. South Korea is also known for the rapid dynamic economic growth and global integration, that was able to perform in a short period of time.
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea, is a sovereign state in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula. The name Korea is derived from the ancient Kingdom of Goguryeo, also known as Koryŏ. Highly urbanized at 92%, South Koreans lead a distinctive urban lifestyle; half of them live in high-rises concentrated in the Seoul Capital Area with 25 million residents and the world's sixth leading global city with the fourth largest economy. South Korea will host the 2018 Winter Olympics.
Official language in South Korea is Korean (Hangul), and it is one of the world’s most ancient and oldest living languages. There are 78 million people all over the world speaking Korean in and outside of South Korea, it is the North Korea and also the People's Republic of China's Yanbian and Changbai. Korean language has different dialects that varies through provinces and districts. For example dialect of the Jeju Island sound so different that sometimes classifies as a separate language, however majority of people and businesses speak standard Seoul dialect.
Fortunately, almost all of Generation X and Y as well, are speaking basic conversational English and can help in case you get lost and asking for directions. While, in all medium and big companies knowledge of English is required, moreover in big cities like the capital Seoul and Busan all street and shops writings are in English. But it is highly recommended to at least learn some basic phrases in Korean, because it will make your travel experience more convenient and enjoyable. Also about doing business in English in Korea is possible, however an interpreter would be useful during meetings with elder partners or board members. Moreover, an interpreter will be able to explain you traditions and etiquette during meetings and negotiations. So, an interpreter would be a nice accompaniment, but if you are confident enough about your language skills and your ability to grasp on the fly as a global leader, then you will be fine on your own.
The most crucial words and phrases you need to know and use in South Korea, the first one is for greeting Hello/Good morning/Good afternoon/Good evening “Annyeonghasimnikka”, greeting is very important for Koreans, so you are expected to greet people that you even don’t know, for example shop assistants or strangers in elevator, second one is Thank you “Gamsa hamnida”, since Korea is all about the manners being thankful is also very important, the last one is Can you speak English? Yeongeo halsu isseumnikka?/ I can’t speak Korean well “Han-guk-mal jal mot-hae-yo”, it is better to let your interlocutor know that you don’t speak Korean from the beginning, because most Koreans think that if you know how to properly say hello and thank you ( and look asian) you must speak Korean, so they start to fluently continue the conversation in Korean. Furthermore, it is very crucial to distinguish whether to use formal or informal appealing, it depends firstly on age of the person you are referring to, then on how close you and another actually are, because friends or people of the same age use informal language with each other.
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