Monday 24 November 2014

Four Weddings, a Funeral and a Baby Shower - A look at coworker events in the Korean workplace

Four Weddings, a Funeral and a Baby Shower - A look at coworker events in the Korean workplace



“Michael, you should tell the staff” Said the Korean managing director as I handed in my application for leave. “About what? My leave?” I enquired. “No, about your brother’s wedding!” I smiled and politely replied “No we don’t really do that in Australia”. One of the interesting facets of Korean culture and particularly in the corporate world whether dictated by “noonchi” a Korean concept similar to an invisible set of etiquette which should be maintained by staff or out of good manners is the practice of officially announcing and informally inviting other staff members to significant, but very personal, life events.

Korean company intranet freeboards are often filled to the brim with notices of weddings, childbirths and deaths from throughout the company – sometimes involving members who push the boundary of the concept of family relative (like cousins). It is not unusual to log onto a Korean companies intranet and see a stream of notices such as “Jiwon Kim's Father from the Development Team has passed away”, “Assistant Manager Seo from Marketing will be getting Married this Saturday - Congratulations ”, “Kim Ji Yeon Manager from Sales is celebrating her baby’s first birthday this Sunday”. Within these notices are then informal invites with full details of the location and time as those other staff members who are in close relation – maybe from the same team or department will be expected to not only attend the event but also contribute money.

The title of my article is not just a play on the famous movie starring Hugh Grant but an accurate record of the number of events that I attended in my first year as a new graduate working in a medium sized Korean company. Of those 6 events there was only two weddings where I had a direct link to the worker and was genuine in my congratulations / commiserations. The remainder of the events were dictated by the above mentioned noonchi and my duty (burden) as a member of the company to attend the events in a show of support for my fellow co-worker.

I often speak about this practise when I am required to do presentations of cultural difference between Australia and Korea. In particular the attendance of a funeral of a family member of a co-worker while interpreted as good manners from a Korean is likely to be considered rude and insincere from an Australian point of view.

In my own experience it was the father of our HR director who passed away. As a HR team member I was expected to not only attend the event but to also work at the funeral. I was placed at the front of the Korean funeral house where I organised shoes for guests. For background; this funeral house was held in a Korean ondal style building and all guests were required to take their shoes off before entering. When you have a 100 plus people coming and going in a few hours then sorting of the shoes into shoe lockers and then finding them again is a bit like working in a more pungent version of a car valet.

To speak honestly of the experience I wasn’t too happy I was required to work at this event let alone be there. I had only one previous interaction with the HR director and that was during my job interview. Beyond that I never once had a conversation with him but here I was giving my condolences to his family and friends. Now I don’t consider myself a horrible person for saying this (maybe you will) but let’s be honest - I didn’t really care that his father had died. I barely knew the HR director and certainly did not know his father and I felt very conflicted in being at the funeral. In my own heart my presence there seemed very shallow and this fake display of sorrow is something that as an Australian was difficult.

What’s worse is that after I finished my job sorting and handing out shoes for roughly 2 hours I then sat down with staff in the dining area for dinner and genuinely had a good time. Yes, I had fun at a Funeral, but I was just following the lead of my seniors and co-workers who were soon turning the funeral into an all-night drink-a-thon. Maybe it’s what the deceased would have wanted? Maybe he would have hated it? Who knows because neither I nor the some 30 odd co-workers who came that night had ever met the deceased.

Korean funeral houses often have an area for mourning and paying your respects while adjacent or on a separate floor is a dining hall where guests gather to eat and drink and talk with old friends and family. Despite it being a funeral it was actually enjoyable (ok I am a horrible person) to sit down and drink with my co-workers, throughout the night other team members and friends from other departments dropped by and joined us. I was at the funeral from 7pm to 3am drinking and having fun.

It’s something that my Korean friends always chastise me for but the truth is that I enjoyed the atmosphere of the funeral more than I had any Korean wedding – I recognise that it was a funeral of someone who I had no emotional attachment too but still compared to the majority of weddings I had attended it was by far a much better ‘event’. I also spent more time at the funeral which often is held overnight with guests coming and going over a 24 hour period. It seemed much more appropriate for a celebration rather than a funeral and had many aspects which are seriously lacking in the shotgun style; get-in and get-out buffet line Korean wedding hall.

In my current job working for a Korean company I certainly don’t object to the idea of letting the majority Korean staff know that my brother is going to get married soon but I didn’t want to burden them with it. I didn’t want them to feel obliged or pushed into congratulating my brother or worse offering me money to give to my brother, which if an official notice was made by the managing director then some staff might have felt obliged to do.

I wonder sometimes if many Koreans feel the same way themselves in companies – the social and financial burden of these events can sometimes outweigh the positives when it involves someone who they do not have a personal relationship with. There is also the pressure and stress of being placed into those situations with the many watching eyes of the company surely to scrutinize over every single action. The hardest things for me to understand is even if my Korean co-workers held the same view as I did about attending these events, sure enough when it was their turn they also placed notices on the freeboard – maybe out of obligation, or to receive money or because it’s good matters.


Attending co-worker events has both positives and negatives but it would make sense to ensure that, particularly for younger company employees, these events and the burden that comes along with them does not get out of control.

Wednesday 19 November 2014

나는 영어원어민인데 IELTS시험에 만점 받지못했다.

나는 영어원어민인데 IELTS시험에 만점 받지못했다.

최근에 수능 영어 32번 문제 풀어본 미국인의 반응이라는 영상이 한국에서 주목을 받고있다. 나도 이 수능 영어 질문을 읽으면서 당황했다. 한마디로 말하자면 그 질문은 완전 개소리였다. 이 분와 같이 비슷한 경험이 있는 한국에서 거주하는 외국인들이 많을거라고 생각한다. 고등학생들이 보는 수능이였지만 수많은 한국의 젊은이들이 TOEIC이나 IELTS 시험을 치는 거 만큼 그 수준이 다름이 별로 없다.

언제나 내 주변에 영어 배우고 싶은 한국친구들 굉장히 많았었다. 나는 영어원어민으로 가끔식 이 친구들을 도와주려고 했었지만 시간이 지날수록 알게 되었다. 나는 이 친구들의 공부에 도와줄 수 있는 부분이 별로 없다는 거다. 왜냐하면 나에게도 어려운 질문들이기 때문이다. 이 문법 규칙 어떻게 되는거냐; 왜 이 단어 쓰는거냐 ; 왜 이런식으로 말하는거냐 등 같은 질문에 나의 답변은 항상 똑같았었다 – “나도 모르지 그냥 그렇게 하는거야” . 영어원어민이라도 기본적으로 어떤 영어문법이나 규칙은 언어전문 전공아니면 배우지 않는 부분들이 있다.

주변에 TOEIC이나 IELTS때문에 스트레스 받는 친구도 언제나 많았었다. 처음에는 이 친구들이 그냥 오버스럽게 불평하는 거인줄 알았다. 어느날 한번은 한국친구에게 말실수를 했었다. “뭐가 그렇게 어려워? 그냥 니가 공부 열심히 안하는거겠지”. 물론 이 말 한마디 때문에 그 친구와 사이가 순간 안좋아졌지만, 그때 이 친구가 나에게 도전을 냈다. “그럼 너도 한번해봐”. 승부욕이 강한 나는 당연히 이 도전을 거절하지 않았다. 그래서 나도 한번 IELTS쳐봤었다.

시험등록해서 제대로 본게 아니였지만 ‘읽기’부분에 나랑 내친구가 같이 제대로 해봤다. 혼자 도서관에서 IELTS 시험을 40분동안 봤다. 머리 아팠었다. 질문마다 위에 32번 수능 질문처럼 정확하게 설명되어있지 않고, 복잡하게 말하다가 어떻게 보면 시험보는 사람을 속이는 점도 있는 것 같았었다. 입장마다 이해가 다르기 때문에 몇 질문에 딱 하나 맞는 답변이 있는 경우도 몇개 없었다. A도되고 B도되는데; B이나 C이나 할 수 있는데; 이 질문에 A,B,C,D 다 아닌것같은데 – 나도 40분동안 스트레스 받으면서 고민을 많이 했었다. 나는 내 영어실력이 그렇게 쓰레기인가 싶었다. 시험이 끝나자마자 친구한테 했던 말은 “미안하다."였다.
나는 IELTS시험에 만점은 커녕 80프로 점수를 기록했다.

개인적인 생각인데 IELTS이나 TOEIC의 목적은 영어 커뮤니케이션이 아니다. 영어 커뮤니케이선 (시험점수 아닌) 잘하고싶다면 팁을 하나 알려드릴게요 - 미드이나 외국영화; 음악; 음식; 문화 등 집중해라. 시험 준비하는 학생들보다 더 자연스러운 영어실력이 다져질 것이 확실하다. 그렇게 공부하다보면 문화도 접하기 때문에 영어 원어민들과 문화적으로 서로 이해하게 되면서 자연스럽게 말거리도 생기게 된다. 유머코드도 배우면서 같이 농담을 칠 수있고, 그렇게 되면서 친구를 사귀고 더 연습하게 된다. 이런 프로세스가 되면서 영어 커뮤니케이션에 문제가 없어지는거다. 그래야 이런 개소리 같은 시험들도 무시할수 있을거다.

Sunday 16 November 2014

Korea University Korean Language Program Review




Korea University is one of the top 3 universities in Korea; Part of the SKY universities. It is the Red half of the famous Yonsei Korea Games and is based in North Seoul

What foreigners say: Korea University due to it's location has it's own very strong community. Korea university has many exchange programs for regular courses so there is a good international vibe (estimated at 2000 students) on campus and a slight air of superiority.

Cost: Regular program during the mornings is 1,580,000 KRW/Term (200 hour course) roughly 100,000KRW cheaper than Yonsei / Sogang
Afternoon class times are available for 1,220,000KRW which is the cheapest of the big three schools (SKY)

Living: (Requires Student Review Input)

The university is located in the area of Anam Dong which is the base of the CJ international house; because of the large amount of exchange programs and international proffessors at Korea University they have a purpose built dormitory to help house these students.

There are one rooms and goshiwons available in anam-dong but no where near the amount of options available to students in the Sinchon area. In terms of nightlife the closest hot spot area is Jonggak to the south or Konkuk University Station towards the east.

One rooms around Korea University Station are on the expensive side (10,000,000 KRW  Key money and 600,000 KRW rent - http://seoul.craigslist.co.kr/apa/4762236995.html) around the station is the usual amount of bars and restaurants catering to the student population which will be exclusively used by the university students in the area.

Student Body: As mentioned above outside of the Korean language program there are a lot of exchange students who will also take Korean lessons at times. This makes for a much more international student body than other schools. You should expect a good international feel at the campus and there should be more opportunities to network outside of the Korean language program.

Atmosphere: The prestigious nature of the university means there is a strong academic atmosphere at the university. The Korean language program is not well known but as I have stated because of the large amounts of exchange students and proffessors the campus is more international. The area is large and grand and there is great facilities for sport and other clubs. There is an air of exclusivity to the campus and many of the international students readily adopt the university - in general the passion of Korea university students during the Korea vs Yonsei games is much more intense. This is probably due to the fact that Yonsei pumps through a huge amount of language students who do not recognise themselves as 'Yonsei" students while at Korea university international students are very much adopted into the university culture.

Culture / Job Opportunities: Still can't compare to the opportunities that exist at Yonsei; the language program is not well known and is not often targeted by the TV shows and other companies that have opportunities for foreign students. The jobs board is pretty sparse in comparison. That said there is a lot of networking opportunities with students who are on exchange and also with foreign professors who are also on exchange.


The Sawons Rating:





3 / 5 Sojus

I have given Korea University 3 sojus. I think if you are sent here via a university exchange then you are in for a great time and will enjoy the campus and community. However if you are going just for Korean language then I think there are better options. What puts me off about Korea University is the lack of value in housing around the area and the inconvenience to connect up with the other major party areas/subway/attractions. I think overall for a Korean language student then Yonsei or SNU would be the better option.

User Reviews:
Please add your own reviews in the comment section addressing the following criteria

Living
Student Body
Curriculum
Atmosphere
Opportunities
Soju Rating.

Thanks!



Tuesday 11 November 2014

동료들의 결혼식, 돌잔치 그리고 장례식 – 눈치 때문에 갔었다.



"마이클, 팀원들에게 알리는 게 어때?" 팀장님이 말했다.
"네? 제 휴가 말씀이세요? " 내가 물었다.
"아니, 동생 결혼식 말이야, 팀원들 에게 알리는 게 어때?"
"아니요 괜찮아요, 호주에선 그러지 않아요.”

한국 조직에서 일하면서 특별한 조직문화 중 하나이다. 동료들의 개인적인 중요한 이벤트들에 참석 해야 한다는 점이다. 사내 직원 포탈의 게시판을 보면 조직제도 관련 안내보다 동료들의 이벤트에 대한 글이 더 많다. 언제든지 쉽게 찾아 볼 수 있는 결혼식, 돌잔치 그리고 장례식 안내와 초대들. " ~ 팀, 김과장 결혼합니다" , “ ~ 팀의 이대리의 공주 지연이의 돌잔치에 초대합니다." 나랑 똑같은 부서; 팀이나 임원이면 나는 어쩔 수없이 가야 했었다. 신입사원의 많지 않은 급여로, 부조와 조의까지 하기에 부담스러운 건 어쩔 수 없었다.

회사생활 하면서 한 두번 친한 동기들의 결혼식 가긴 했었지만, 한국 회사 다니면서 가고 싶어서 갔던 행사들은 별로 없었다. 가고 싶지 않아서 선배님의 돌잔치 거짓말로 피한적이 도 있다. 나도 한국동료들처럼 눈치와 부담 때문에 많은 행사들에 갔었다. 회사 생활을 위해, 더 원만한 대인관계를 위해서 원치 않는 행사에 참여해야 하는 경우들을 이해하지만 어떤 행사 참석하기는 좀 그렇다.

제일 마음에 걸렸던 행사는 바로 직속 이사님 아버지의 장례식이였다. 나는 이사님과, 면접 외 에는 대화 해 본적이 없었는데, 물론 그분의 아버지의 얼굴; 성함; 아무것도 몰랐다. - 그렇지만 나의 부서 이사님이셔서 꼭 가야 하는거였다. 신입사원인 나는 그 장례식장에서 잠깐 도와주기도 했다. 외국인으로서 그때 얼마나 불편했는지 설명하기가 어렵다. 이사님의 아버지랑 모르는 사이인데 나는 이 장례식장에서 그 아버지를 사랑하는 가족들이나 친구들에게 인사하면서 신발 정리 하고 있었다. 그분들 얼마나 이상하다고 생각이 했을까? "이 외국인이 왜 여기 있어" 바로 오시는 손님들의 얼굴에 써있었다. “나도 몰라” 나는 눈으로 대답 하고 있었다.

나는 나쁜 사람 아니라고 믿고 있지만 (어떤분들 반대하겠지) 솔직하게 말하자면 나는 이사님의 아버지가 돌아가셔서 별로 상관이 없었다. 슬픈 감정 하나도 찾고 싶었는데 결국 못 찾았었다. 나는 이사님이랑 이사님의 아버지에게 가식적인 예의로 그 자리에 있었다는 진실 아직도 기억이 든다.

더욱더 미안했던건 신발정리 하다가 나는 그 장례식장 자리에서 동료들이랑 밥과 술을 재미있게 행복하게 먹었다. 물론 그걸 한국문화에서는 보통행동이지만 나는 이렇게 모르는 분의 장례식장에서 놀아도되나 생각이 들었다. 나는 그때 예의로 어떻게 해야하는지 몰라서 선배들의 예의를 따라 했다. 갑자기 이 장례식이 회식으로 변경이 되버렸다. 몇시간동안 온돌방에 앉으면서 전통적인 한국음식을 먹고 소맥 원샷해가지고 우리 회사에 많은 직원들이랑 대화했다. 이사님의 아버지가 우리 그렇게 시끄럽게 웃으면서 놀고 있는걸 싫어했을까? 아니면 좋아했을까? 알수가 없었다 - 왜냐하면 돌아가셨던 그 아버지를 만나본 동료가 없었기 때문이다.

내 친구들의 말로는 나는 이런 말하면 안된다는데 내가 가본 행사중에 이 장례식처럼 재미있는 자리가 없었다 (진짜로). 생각해보면 나는 이 장례식에서 친구결혼식보다 더 오래 시간을 보내고 술도 더 잘 챙겼고 과연 나왔던 밥도 더 맛있었다. 물론 맛있는 웨딩홀이나 호텔부페도 있지, 그런데 아무리 맛이 있다고해도 저런식으로 30분안에 먹고 가버리니까 제대로 즐기지 못했다. 장례식들이 24시간 동안 하면서 많은 가족들과 멀리에서 오는 친구들 다 모여서 새벽까지 추억들 나누고 밥이랑 술도 먹는다. 어떤면에서 슬픈일보다 즐겨운일 생길때 하는 행사 같았었다.

아무튼 만약에 팀장이 다른 직원들에게 내 동생 결혼하는 좋은 소식 안내한다면 나는 싫어하지않을거다. 그런데 나는 안내하지마라는 이유는 다른 직원들에게 부담 주고싶지 않았기 때문이다. 내 동생이랑 사이 없는 분들인데 나에게 축하메시지나 돈까지 주면 서로 부담을 줄까봐 거절했다.

나는 한가지 확신한다. - 나는 결혼 하게 되면, 나에게 중요하고 의미있는 사람들만 초대 할 것이다.

Friday 7 November 2014

My Experience with Korean Overtime

It’s 6:30pm on a weekday and as a graduate employee I have finished my work for the day and decided to go home. “Team Leader, I’ll see you tomorrow” I announce in Korean and turn to leave the office.  As a foreigner in Korea I know that I am not required to meet all the forms of corporate etiquette but as good manners I have adjusted to formally announcing my departure to my boss daily. However every day I get the same passing comment from my boss - “Already? You’re going home now?”

Now my Korean boss is not a horrible man, nor does he truly in his heart want me to stay longer at the office. Maybe it is out of habit or out of noonchi but every day at 6:30pm it is the same routine “Where are you going so soon” – is there a hidden meaning to his words, does he want me to stay? Is he jealous I can go home? Does he hate me? Does he think I’m lazy – such a simple and ambiguous statement could be and often is interpreted in many ways particular by Korean staff. However as I stated, I’m a foreigner in a Korean office and I don’t have to and am knowingly ignoring the snide remark and make a B-line for the door. If I was a Korean in this situation what would I do, or rather what would I feel I have to do? I don’t think I would have the bravery to act the way I have and this leads me to write about the Korean concepts of overtime and Kaltui (Knife time - 칼퇴) the term used to refer to leaving work at 5 o’clock on the dot (like cutting time with a knife)

First let me start by saying that me leaving at 6:30 is by no means “Leaving on the dot”. My official work hours signed in my contract are from 9am to 6pm and staying to 6:30 needs to be recognised as staying (or rather working) overtime for 30minutes. Korean workers have developed a bad habit of referring to 7pm or 8pm finishes as the above mentioned “knife time”; 9pm is now the regular finish time and 11 or later is finally considered as overtime.
Some will say that it’s just a word but when the situation is repeated and widely accepted by companies and workers across Korea it can be viewed as so much more than just a word. The word and the Idea of “knife time” need to be replaced and Korean society needs to start adopting the idea of finishing work on time as just that, leaving work on time. Rarely will you see a friend say to another “I worked overtime until 7pm tonight” – a likely response to that statement will be “7pm!? That’s not overtime that’s knife time!”

As you can see I have struggled to translate this concept of “knife time” into English. There is no word for it and it’s because in most English speaking cultures the idea of leaving work on time is normal and overtime is the abnormality. If you look the word up in a modern Korean dictionary than it will simple state that it refers to leaving work on time “like a knife cutting time” but when the term is used in discussions between workers and friends it can be interpreted in so many much more negative ways.

“You left early and abandoned us”; “you don’t work as hard as I do”; “you don’t sacrifice for the company”; “You don’t care about our results”; “I am jealous of you” – there are multiple sub-layers of meaning to the concept of knife time. As a result the ideal of finishing your work effectively and on time is then packaged as a negative concept while overtime is positively reinforced and workers are effectively stuck in their seats to late hours of the night in a bid to be perceived as hardworking, sacrificing, loyal employees.

Young Korean graduates have had enough and there are signs of change amongst the big Chaebols – who by in large dictate the corporate culture of the entire Korean economy. These major Korean companies and ambitious HR teams are certainly trying to change this culture – with varying success. Some companies though have simply got it all wrong. Samsung and CJ both have programs called “Smart Day” and “Family Day” respectively. These programs aim to give workers more time to spend with their families and to work “smarter” by forcing them to go home at a set time. Good intentions that are being executed poorly.

The issue with these programs is that staffs are leaving work on time; that is at the time stated on their original contracts. They are not leaving ‘early’ or even taking a half day but simply leaving work at the otherwise normal agreed time (usually 6pm). The fatal flaw is these programs are only reinforcing the ideal of “knife time” by packaging what should be the norm into a type of reward. Companies are effectively telling staff that to leave work on time is something special, a gift, a reward and other than that day they are expected to work the industry “Normal” hours which is essentially overtime work.

It’s now time both companies and workers took a new approach to the problem. The voices against mandatory and pointless overtime are growing as a generational change occurs in upper management but more needs to be done from both companies and society in general to push this agenda. Workers need to start thinking that even 30 minutes past the regular work time is overtime and the concept and Korean word “knife time” needs to be deleted all together. Leaving on time needs to be recognised as a positive; not only in terms of work-life balance of employees but in the ability and efficiency of workers to finish their work in the allotted time.


It won’t be easy to change but I definitely believe that with the generational change occurring that there is a chance for the next line of Korean managers to make a significant and ultimately beneficial cultural change for the entire nation.

Why do Koreans work so late? - An in-depth look at Korean Overtime Culture

Why do Koreans work so late?

It is probably the question that most foreigners working or studying in Korea love to discuss and outsiders often ask or have heard rumors about. It's true, Koreans have some of the worst working hours in the OECD in fact according to 2012 statistics they were ranked 2nd in the OECD for Average annual hours actually worked per worker and while most of your Korean coworkers and friends will have you believe that they are genuinely that busy that they need to work overtime (which in some cases is true) there are also some interesting and unique cultural forces in play which are causing Koreans to stay later at the office than they need to.

I will try to cover all of the different reasons as to why Korean white collar workers in corporate positions are working so late and also touch on how Korean companies are trying but in some cases failing to change this overtime corporate culture.

The culture of working long hours in Korean companies are a result of a variety of influences - the epic rise from poverty to middle class power; top - bottom hierarchy structures, constant reporting, micro management, perception, loyalty, face and Noonchi 








Noonchi

The ideal of noonchi (눈치) can have a variety of meanings. It often refers to how one can perceive the emotions and atmosphere of others by observing them without any communication which can also apply to the business setting. However I prefer to refer to Noonchi as a silent set of expectations and rules placed on workers. Often in the Koreean corporate world people will refer to what they call the Noonchi pyramid - that is the Junior members are watching the mid managers. the mid managers are watching the managers, the managers are watching the department heads and the department heads are watching the directors and finally the directors are watching the family owners. When I say watching I am referring to noonchi and how each level of hierarchy is concerned of how their superiors above them perceive their actions and through noonchi they can determine the subliminal demands of their managers. This is sort of like how a junior worker for fear of appearing stupid will not ask "why or how" when given some work rather they will simply say "yes" and sit quietly with no idea of how to complete their work.


What holds most Koreans back so late is this noonchi and the belief that they can't leave on time because that's what the boss wants. The bosses can't leave early either because he believes that's what their superiors want and so on and so forth. The only person who is leaving on time in this scenario is the person at the top of the noonchi pyramid. Koreans will often sit in their office chairs from 7pm to 11pm or later with no specific work but out of noonchi. From that time at night there are probably millions of Koreans on social media talking about how they can't go home because "눈치 보여" (noonchi)



Perception and Old School Management

Being busy in Korea is viewed as a positive rather than a negative, even in social settings. Think of all the times you have messaged your Korean friend to see how they are only to get a reply days later and the mandatory sorry message of "I was so busy out of my mind" (너무 바빠서 정신이 없었다). In most cases this is just a cop-out so that they could ignore you but when I think about it now I can never recall a situation where a Korean friend or colleague said to me "I'm not busy at all" or "I have nothing to do at work". There is a lack of honesty here but it's because in Korea not being busy can so easily and often is interpreted as being lazy


Finishing all your work and going home on time is not viewed as hard working but quite the opposite - you either don't have enough work and your position is not important or you are not working hard enough. If the office takes this view then what advantage is there for Koreans to finish their work and leave on time? Nobody in the corporate world wants to appear as if their job is easy, or that they don't have enough work because that would be admitting that they are easily replaceable, not adding value to the company and not working hard enough - and in a incredibly tight and competitive job market it is the safe play to give off the impression that your job and by association you yourself are integral to the operation of the company.

The general rule in a Korean company is to not leave until your direct team leader has left which would be fine if not for the team leader also believing that they can't leave until a certain time because  they also want to give off the impression of working hard. Perception reigns supreme in a Korean office and giving off the impression of working hard by staying late is something all Koreans will do. In fact although your contract will state working hours from 9am - 6pm  but working until 8-9pm or later (and then there is Dinner drinks) will be the norm.


So who is demanding that these laws of noonchi and perception are being enforced? Many believe that a lot of these negatives of Korean corporate culture are a result of the old school management principles of the company Directors. These directors have grown up and worked through one of the greatest economy turn-arounds in modern history. They are from the school of hard work - long hours, personal sacrifice for the good of the company. I definitely felt that in my experience working at Korean companies that the mid managers often in their 40s are not horrible, sadistic people who like to see young people suffer just as they did and for that matter nor are the directors but there is a difference in how they view the working hours. Company directors are not thinking to themselves "You guys need to suffer like I did" they simply expect the same commitment and work ethic that they contributed to build the company.The important issue now is that the next generation of Directors begin to recognize the changing values and demands of young Koreans - long hours and sacrifice are not going to produce the same results as they did in the past and there is definitely hope that the next generation begin to see the value in promoting better work-life balance.



Hierarchy Chains and Bottom lines


All of these factors are intertwining which makes it hard to accurately sub-head sections. One aspect which often does not come up in many discussion on Korean overtime is that there are actually some workers, departments and companies that are genuinely THAT busy.  


Some departments and companies are very understaffed; if a person is working 80 hour weeks a company doesn't think to itself that it needs to hire extra staff to share the workload, simply they think that an 80 hour work week is what is expected. Companies have a lot to answer for in this respect and they have a keen eye on there bottom line - they never needed extra staff to do the position before so why should they now? which means inevitably there will be staff doing the work of two or even three people for the sake of company profits.


The other issue Is that of Hierarchy chains and demands. This has some links to the military history of Korean leadership and also the 2 years of military service that young Korean men have to undertake. When demands come from the top they are required to be attended to first. This means real work that is contributing value to the company is ignored as staff are forced to supply the top management with their demands. This is a vicious cycle of ad-hoc reporting, I like to describe it as a fire department, teams move from fire to fire doing adhoc reporting on issues that the management have suddenly taken an interest in. It is unavoidable to not stay late when you and your team are forced to prepare reports to the standard a CEO expects on topics and issues which are not your expertise nor are directly related to your work. 


If the CEO wants a report tomorrow on the Australian HR system and it's difference to Korea than you really have no choice but to spend the night preparing the report. It would be like if you had a very inconsiderate and irrational teacher at school or university who does pop-style 20 page assignments which are due the following day. What can you do? if you don't do the work your position is on the line, and if you do do the work then you are going to sacrifice your personal time and health. Because it is the CEO or another director demands you can not simply give a verbal report either - you want to be perceived as if you have done a good job which usually means a simple 10 minute ad-hoc briefing on a topic is turned into a 1 hour; 40 slide power point filled with graphs and models which essentially mean nothing.


Loyalty and Sacrifice


Korea as we know is a largely Collective society. Personal gains are sacrificed for the group, or in a workers perspective - personal time and well-being is sacrificed for the better of the company (and by large the economy). It has always been interesting to me that this style of thinking is common place when clearly the elite families who run the major Korean chaebols (Samsung; LG; Hanhwa; CJ) got into that position by not sacrificing for the group rather they have had others sacrifice for their own personal gain. 


In the case of staying late - if we again look at the aforementioned pyramid model; young workers will look to stay as late as their mid-managers and so on. This is to display that they are "all-in" they are willing to sacrifice just as their managers, it is a show of loyalty and of caring. If we suffer then we suffer together and this is a admiral trait if but for the fact that nobody really has to suffer. 


Sacrifice is glorified and expected. Of course there are those who simply prefer to stay at the office and are avoiding their home lives (possibly another subheading) but the majority are definitely sacrificing personal time, health and mental well-being. In a society where individuals are expected to tow the line as part of the group it becomes increasingly difficult for workers to avoid the 'sacrifice' of staying late - for fear of being ostracized or made an example. 


"Smart Days" and "Family Days"


Without a doubt modern Korean society has had enough of the pointless overtime and there are signs of change among the big Chaebols – who by in large dictate the corporate culture of the entire Korean economy. These major Korean companies and ambitious HR teams are certainly trying to change this culture – with varying success. 

Some companies though have simply got it all wrong. Samsung and CJ both have programs called “Smart Day” and “Family Day” respectively. These programs aim to give workers more time to spend with their families and to work “smarter” by forcing them to go home at a set time. Good intentions that are being executed poorly.

The issue with these programs is that staffs are leaving work on time; that is at the time stated on their original contracts. They are not leaving ‘early’ or even taking a half day but simply leaving work at the otherwise normal agreed time (usually 6pm). The fatal flaw is these programs are packaging what should be the norm into a type of reward. Companies are effectively telling staff that to leave work on time is something special, a abnormality, a reward and other than that day they are expected to work the industry “Normal” hours which is essentially overtime work.



I hope I have been able to give you some insight into the complexity of Korean corporate culture and overtime and I will continuously add to this article as I am sure others who have experienced it also have valid opinions and points as to why Korean workers simply can't leave the office on time.