What office workers who do well at work have in common
Koreans are tolerant of drunkenness
Korea is famous for being tolerant of drunkenness. Even bosses who are strict with their subordinates at work are willing to tolerate drunk subordinates who say harsh words and express their emotions harshly during drinking parties.
As can be seen from the saying, “Now, let’s take off our rank badges and drink to our heart’s content,” drinking party strengthens our consciousness by making us forget our rank badges and making people equal drinking companions. Therefore, Koreans accept pouring out their inner thoughts and expressing emotions while drinking as natural and natural.
Of course, when they return to work the day after the drinking party, the temporary sense of self that the drinking party created disappears, so subordinates rarely reveal their true feelings or feelings again. For your information, if you drink too often, your drinking habits may affect public relationships, blurring the boundaries between the two.
Koreans sometimes dislike people who do not express their emotions or feel they are not sincere. A representative example is Korea’s apology culture.
In Korea, crying is actively encouraged when prominent social figures or public officials apologize for causing social controversy. If he doesn't cry, he gets criticized for not sincerely apologizing, and if he fakes crying, he gets criticized even more for acting.
‘Hwabyeong’, a disease unique to Koreans
Some researchers claim that Koreans typically live by suppressing their emotions. It is also said that because of this, they suffer from a disease unique to Koreans called hwabyeong.
In other words, it means that it is very bad for Koreans to be unable to express their emotions. In other words, Koreans are people who naturally express their emotions honestly and actively, so if they are unable to express their emotions, they become ill.
Japanese people are much more reluctant than Koreans to express their emotions. However, Japanese people do not suffer from fire disease. This is because Japanese people are accustomed to living a life of suppressing and repressing their emotions.
Min Seong-gil, Lee Si-hyung, and others pointed out that people suffering from Hwabyeong are mainly elderly, women, and low-educated people. This strongly suggests that hwabyeong is closely related to the inability to express emotions.
Daughters-in-law living in families with a strong feudal culture or people who are socially underprivileged due to low levels of education are unable to freely express their feelings, especially their emotions, and end up suffering from hwabyeong.
Koreans express their emotions honestly and actively if they are not suppressed. Cultural comparison researchers say that Koreans are better at getting angry and letting off steam than not just Japanese people, but also Westerners.
It is not uncommon in Korea for bereaved families to cry loudly and wail at funerals. However, Japanese people are perplexed when they see scenes like this. This is because in Japan, there is almost no crying loudly at funerals and it is good to hold funerals quietly.
The difference between these two countries is compared to the way Korean parents who lost their children during the Sewol Ferry disaster sat on the ground, stamped their feet and cried loudly, and the Japanese parents who lost their children in the accident looked at the camera and tried to smile. You can tell right away by looking at it.
Koreans reveal their feelings honestly and without hesitation in front of people they have a personal relationship with, such as family, relatives, or friends, or people they regard as part of their relationship.
On the other hand, Japanese people have a strong tendency to be reluctant to express their personal feelings to people they know well, such as family or friends.
When Koreans get excited, they fight loudly and quickly make up with laughter, but if a Japanese fights loudly, it can only happen after they have decided not to see each other again.
Korean movies and dramas are also famous for their bold and strong emotional expressions. Characters in Korean movies and dramas frequently show their emotions without hesitation by crying, laughing, or getting explosively angry.
These scenes show that Koreans express their emotions honestly and actively. Koreans who have lived in our culture and value our relationships do not think it is desirable to not express emotions.
This is because not being honest about one's feelings can be considered a rejection of our relationship. Koreans who are active in expressing their emotions treat emotional expression positively.
In other words, they tend not only to be tolerant of emotional expressions, but also to view them favorably. If Koreans disliked expressing emotions, that is, if there was a culture in Korea that was reluctant or disliked the expression of emotions, it would have been difficult for Koreans to express their emotions honestly and actively.