South Korea is a very homogenous society with strong traditions. Experiences with foreign nations have historically been negative. Korea has been invaded, annexed, occupied, liberated, and sometimes unwillingly protected, by Japan, China, Russia/The Soviet Union, and the United States over the past few centuries. Koreans tend to see themselves as members of a "race" that has been fighting for it's independence from foreign domination for centuries. This can result in Koreans being overly defensive towards anything they see as a threat to their way of life. This also makes many Koreans easily swayed to any point of view that plays upon nationalism. The South Korean dictatorships (from about 1960 to about 1990), and more recent democratic governments, have all made use of nationalism; the government of North Korea still exists because of it. Korea's surprisingly good performance in the 2002 World Cup brought literally millions of identically clad people out in to the streets of Seoul to celebrate being Korean (photo) with a level of enthusiasm few other nations could (or would want to) muster.

The Korean national identity has a strong thread of "self-reliance," and a mistrust of foreign influences, running through it. North Korea has embraced this identity and made it the underlying ideology of the state. In fact, North Korea isn't so much about Communism as it is about "Koreanism." South Korea has learned to balance these historical tendencies towards isolation with the realities of it's security situation vis-à-vis North Korea, and the economic benefits Koreans enjoy as a modern industrialized country with strong international trading relations. This has resulted in South Korea being, perhaps, the most "foreign" country with paved roads and modern conveniences that a Westerner could visit.

While things are changing quickly, it is still common enough to for foreigners to be at a loss to understand what Koreans are thinking in many situations. When questioned about a particularly odd or irrational-seeming viewpoint, a common answer is "Because I am Korean," which says everything and nothing. Also, Koreans tend to view culture, nationality, language, and race as one-and-the-same and this may result in a genuine inability to grasp the North American concepts of multi-cultural societies, within which individuals are equal. A Korean might, quite accurately, point out that indeed we are not equal and find it strange that we 'pretend' to be.

The teachings of Confucius, which are more closely followed in Korea than anywhere else, prescribe patterns of behavior appropriate for interactions between people of different positions in society, age, and social/familial connection. This can result in any response to a situation that is not "prescribed" being viewed as inappropriate or wrong. You may feel that people respond to a given situation in a way which seems, to Westerners, to be ignoring the nature of the problem or perhaps even exacerbating it; however, if the reaction is consistent with majority-held belief systems, then a Korean will probably view it as rational and appropriate.

While North Americans or Europeans do not generally follow such prescribed patterns of behavior, we do tend to follow prescribed systems of thought (religion, political beliefs, "agendas"), many of which Koreans find quite strange and impractical. Click here to read more about Confucius.

American missionaries have been busy in Korea since the 1950s, and many U.S.-based religious groups were converting Koreans to their creeds as early as the late 19th century. Nowadays, more than a third of South Koreans call themselves 'Christian', which makes Korea the second most 'Christian' country in Asia, after the Philippines. Conservative American Christianity meshes well with Confucianism's rigid rules governing behavior, and this has resulted in Korea being a very socially conservative society, at least on the surface.

Until recently, Korean police officers regularly stopped those young people who were brave enough to make attempts at fashion statements and measured their miniskirts (below) and forcibly cut their hair (above). Both these photos are from 1973. Even nowadays, many older Koreans won't hesitate to publicly chew out young strangers they think are behaving immodestly.

Another aspect of the Korean psyche that Westerners tend to find disturbing is a tendency to view material wealth as a direct indicator of education, general ability, and sometimes even intelligence. This is really quite ironic since South Korea was dirt poor until the 1980s. Don't be surprised if Koreans make negative comments about Africans, Filipinos, Vietnamese, etc, based solely on the amount of money they have. This also results in Koreans over-idealizing Americans and Japanese, and assuming that everybody else in the world does as well.

Do not be surprised if some Koreans are genuinely unable to imagine how you live, think, or what motivates you. This, obviously, results in lots of misunderstandings and occasional arguments. Be patient. A Korean struggling to understand your ideas, while instinctively suspecting you might somehow be tricking him or looking down on him (being that you are from a 'richer' country) will not respond well to sudden outbursts of anger or criticism.

In contrast to all this, Koreans tend to be very loyal to those they count as their friends. During my adult life, some of the people who have demonstrated the most kindness and genuine concern for my welfare have been Koreans I met when I was living in Korea. I count some of my Korean friends among the most reliable, genuinely warm, and well-meaning people I know. Many Koreans are genuinely interested in learning about other cultures and developing a better sense of non-Korean world views, and will actively pursue this whenever they have the chance. You are more likely to be around these sorts of people as they will be in places frequented by foreigners and will probably already have Western friends, through whom you'll meet them.