To change it up from my recent Crash Course World History blogs, I wanted to write about something a little bit more current.
At the Mnet Asian Music Awards held in Hong Kong in the beginning of this month, Suho (the leader of South Korean-Chinese boy band Exo) was criticized for being rude to Andy Lau when presenting an award. Suho (in white) and Andy Lau (in black) are known to be some of the greatest celebrities in Hong Kong and China together. Suho was accused of being rude by giving the trophy with one hand while looking elsewhere, not at Andy.
In many Asian countries, including Korea and China, it is basic etiquette to receive and give with both hands, especially to and from those who are older. This comes from the ancient Confucian culture. However, if you observe closely, you can see that Suho has one arm extending the trophy to Andy with a hand under his elbow.
In Korea, the give-and-take-in-two-hands rule has variations. Using one hand to give or take while supporting the arm near the elbow or the armpit is the equivalent of using two hands. This is most seen when a person is pouring a drink into someone else’s cup. Both the bottle and the cup are too small to hold up with both hands. This is when the hold-your-arm-up rule can help out.
There are variations in the bows too. In Korea, generally we aim to make a 90 degree angle. However, in China, it’s a sign of respect to look into the other person’s eyes when bowing. So generally, the Chinese people don’t bow as low as the Koreans.
By criticizing Suho for being rude, people are neglecting the differences in the Korean and Chinese customs. Knowing other countries’ customs will stop this kind of misunderstanding from happening, so I have compiled the top 10 weird customs around the world.
1. In Russia, giving flowers with yellow blooms represent break up. Also, Carnations are for the dead or surviving veterans of a war.
2. In China, giving a clock to someone means you want his or her time to run out (aka to die). Also, anything to do with the number 4 is bad because the pronunciation for number 4 is the same as death.
3. In Egypt, don’t put salt in your food. It is an insult to the host because it means their food needs to be seasoned to taste good.
4. In Venezuela, it is rude to be on time or early because it means that you are too eager, or greedy.
5. In Greece, children throw their lost teeth on their roof. It is thought that this custom will bring them good luck. (We do this in Korea too).
6. In Hungary, don’t clink your wine glasses or swig beer. In 1849, in a war with Austria, the Austrians celebrated killing 13 Hungarian generals by clinking wine and drinking beer. So Hungarians pledged to never clink wine before drinking.
7. In Bolivia, don’t talk about business at a social event, like weddings and dinners. Bolivians believe that dinners are meant for making relationships not deals.
8. In Turkey, it is custom for the host to pay for the meals. Request to split the bill is considered polite, but won’t be accepted. Instead, the guest will suggest a follow up meal. (This, too is the same in Korea).
9. In Korea, you only write the names of the dead in red. The color red symbolizes death, so writing a name means that person is dead. (This is the same in China).
10. In Finland, people prefer to relax and socialize in saunas with others. Family, friends, and even business partners will go to saunas together.
Some customs are the same in many countries, but criticizing different customs is ruder than neglecting each countries’ unique etiquette.
Source:
Middleton, Jackie. “13 Unusual International Customs You Never Knew Existed.” Readers Digest Canada. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Dec. 2014.