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WORLD CULTURES & FOLK CUSTOMS

SIMO JELAČA, PhD

FORWARD

This book summarizes information about culture and customs of different nations. Noticeable differences in customs are among Christian, Islamic and Buddhist’s nations, although in all prevails intention for nice and greatest.

It will be too much to include every country, as there are similarities among many nations of the same or close nationalities. Characteristic are Russia, Ukraine, Serbia, Belarus, Croatia, Montenegro, Macedonia, or as well as Germany and Austria. The similar conclusion values for Latin nations, among themselves too.

Readers will find basic information about each country, such as its location and size, population and Ethnic Make-up, Religion, Climate, Language, Etiquettes and others.

This book can equally be used for travelers, either as tourists or business people, therefore everyone will find necessary information about Etiquette of people at their homes as well as at the business.

My intention was to find as much good information as possible. How much I have succeeded readers will judge it.

Author

NORTH KOREA

CULTURE AND FOLK CUSTOMS

Facts and Statistics

Size: 120.538 sq. km.

Population: about 25 million.

Capital: Pyongyang, population about 3.5 million.

Government: Communist state.

Identification:

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea, usually known as North Korea, is a state that occupies the northern half of the Korean peninsula. North Korea is a new state, founded in 1948 as a result of the postcolonial settlement handed down by the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR). The United States and the USSR replaced the Japanese in 1945 and divided the peninsula into the American south and the Soviet north. For much of its short history, North Korea was regarded as a Soviet satellite state.

Location and Geography

North Korea shares borders with China and Russia to the north and the military demarcation line with South Korea in the south. The total area measures 120,540 square kilometers, with land boundaries of 1,673 kilometers, and a coastline of 2,495 kilometers. It is divided into 14 percent arable land, 2 percent permanent cropland, and 61 percent forest and woodland. The country's terrain is mostly covered with hills and mountains. The highest point is Mount Paektu, which rises to 2,744 m.

Demography

North Korea's population was with a sex ratio of 1.05 males per female. The total fertility rate measured 1.6 children born per woman, although the population growth rate was -0.03 percent, likely because of the high infant mortality rate. The population is more or less homogeneously Korean, with a small Chinese community in the north and a few hundred.

Linguistic Affiliation

Technically, North Korea uses the same Korean language as the one spoken in South Korea. Traditionally, the Korean language operated on a dual system: in pre-modern Korea, oral language was indigenous Korean, but the script was classical Chinese. The original set consisted of seventeen consonants and eleven vowels. The Korean of the late nineteenth century had developed more vowels and consonants. North Korea inherited this modern form of Korean vernacular script consisting of nineteen consonants and twenty-one vowels. The abolition of the use of Chinese characters from all public printing and writing helped achieve nationwide literacy at a remarkable speed.

Symbolism

The national symbols, such as the national emblem and flag, were all created in 1948. The North Korean flag consists of three colors: red, blue, and white. The top and bottom edges of the flag are thin blue stripes, paralleled by thinner white stripes, leaving the large middle field red. Toward the left, there is a white disk with a red five-pointed star. There is a national anthem, the Aegukka ("the song of patriotism"), but due to the worship of the longtime national leader, songs that praise Kim Il Sung have more or less replaced the anthem. With the rise of Kim Il Sung's son, Kim Jong Il, two songs, each praising Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, began to be sung in public meetings.

Urbanism and Architecture

Except for a total of perhaps ten cities, vast areas of North Korea are rural or even untouched. The capital P'yongyang, praising Kim Il Sung's leadership and mobilizing the citizens to revolutionary pride is the most modern city. The capital is located on the Taedong, an extremely beautiful river with small islands and a riverbank covered with swinging willows and nicely kept flowerbeds. Everything in the center of the capital is carefully designed and built, including the People's Study Hall, Children's Palace, Mansudae Art Hall, P'yongyang Grand Theatre, the Parisien style arch, and recently built international hotels and restaurants. Some buildings, such as the Korean Revolutionary Museum and Kim Il Sung University, bear the features of European modernist architecture. These are mixed with the more tradition-inspired architecture.

Food in Daily Life

White rice and meat soup was once a symbol of good food in North Korean rhetoric. The visitors from overseas are normally given abundant food to eat, including meat, vegetables, dairy products, and fruits. However, ordinary citizens do not eat such a variety of food. Also, the North Korean diet does not include spicy food using chili and garlic, traditional in the Korean diet. For state-sponsored banquets, food is supplied abundantly, accompanied with nearly endless supply of wines and liqueurs.

Basic Economy

The Korean War (1950–1953) and the almost total destruction of the northern infrastructure by the allied bombing that flattened P'yongyang and napalmed the civilians paved the way for North Korea to emerge as a new, fresh, and truly heroic nation of Koreans. With Soviet and Chinese aid, reconstruction began immediately after the war.

Since the beginning of 1999, North Korean publications have placed more emphasis on the economy than on military affairs. It was scheduled to receive 100,000 tons of rice from Japan as of March 1999 as a result of the newly activated contact between the North Korean and Japanese governments.

Land and Property

All land is state-owned or owned collectively, in the case of agricultural farms. North Korean people do not have opportunities to be exposed to expensive commodities.

Commercial Activities

There are stores and even department stores in the big cities if one wishes to buy anything. Basic goods are provided by the state (e.g. children's school textbooks or uniforms).

There is an ongoing project of building a free trade zone in the northeastern region of North Korea, with collaboration of South Korean and Chinese capitals.

Major Industries

North Korea's major industries are geared toward its domestic resources, and so include iron and steel production, mining, machinery, and other heavy industries. Its light industry also revolves around the domestic supply and lacks variety in products.

Division of Labor

Heavy industry is assigned to men, light industry to women. Agriculture is not necessarily regarded specifically as a man's or woman's job. Men have a far better chance in advancing in politics.

In professional settings, however, women are often as assertive as their male counterparts. The only occupation where behavior is sometimes flirtatious or subservient is as a waitress, but for women it is an honor to hold this position as they are selected for their beauty, good family background, and educational qualifications.

Marriage

Individual registration has had a significant effect on the North Korean marriage system. In Korean tradition, marriage between a man and a woman who share the same family origin is not allowed. Since all Koreans were required to keep family records since the time of the Yi dynasty, everyone can trace their family origin. If two people share the same ancestral name, they are regarded as brother and sister.

Upon marriage, a couple is given a house or, if they live in an urban area, an apartment.

Domestic Unit

The domestic unit is a nuclear family with some degree of stem family practice, i.e. the family of one of the children (most likely a son) living with aged parents. Houses are small throughout the country and this restricts having large families as a norm. Adoption takes place through orphanages.

Child and Education

Starting on 1 November 1958, all education up to middle school became compulsory and free of charge. By 1975, North Korea had extended this to eleven years of free compulsory education, including one year in a collective preschool. In addition, factories and collective farms have nursery schools.

Higher Education

Higher education is regarded as an honor and a privilege, and as such, it is not open to the general public. Men and women who have served in the military would be recommended to subsequent higher education. There are also "gifted" entries to the universities and colleges, where the candidate's intellectual merit is appreciated.

Religious

Religion is theoretically permitted in North Korea, and a visitor may meet a Buddhist monk.

North Korean customs and etiquette

It is important to emphasize that the government of the DPRK — in particular the leaders Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il and Kim Jong-un — are, publicly, very highly revered in North Korean culture. Also, when in North Korea, it is advisable to refer to the country as the DPRK instead when discussing it with your guides. DPRK stands for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and is the official name for the country.

The DPRK has very strict laws about taking pictures though there are many great photographing opportunities around the country, particularly in cities such as Pyongyang.

Bringing gifts such as cigarettes or Scotch whisky for the men, both guides and the driver, and chocolate or skin cream for female guides, is a nice gesture.

Most tour groups to the DPRK are asked to solemnly bow and lay flowers on one or two occasions in front of statues of Kim Il Sung.

Any trouble you cause as a tourist will likely be blamed on your tour guide’s inability to control you, and he or she will bear the brunt of the penalties.

General Korean Greeting Etiquette

The first time you meet someone new within Korean culture, you should give a detailed introduction of yourself. When greeting and leaving an elder, bow while keeping both legs straight and together and both arms by your side.

North Korean Greetings

Traditionally, North Koreans greeted each other by asking “How are you?” or “How’s it going? Some may also ask about your health.

Korean Business Etiquette Tips

While North Korea is still attempting to transition from a planned economy to capitalism, South Korea has a thriving, trillion-dollar economy, the 4th largest among Asian countries. Because of this, South Korea is an ideal place for business people to develop new clients and colleagues for expanding into Asian markets.

•Avoid saying 'no' directly. Instead, indicate disagreement or reluctance by inhaling air through closed teeth, tipping your head backwards and/or saying 'maybe.'

•Break up your speech with pauses for questions and to facilitate translation. Try to pause between points you articulate allowing your colleagues time to listen to the Korean translation, digest your information and ask you questions.

•Present business cards with both hands. Include a Korean translation of your business card on the flipside. As in Japan and China, when receiving business cards in Korea, be sure to carefully read them before putting them away.

•Send proposals and meeting agendas ahead of time so that your Korean colleagues can review them. As with your business cards, be sure that each business document is available with a Korean translation.

•Acknowledge those with the highest status first, then acknowledge those who are the oldest.

•Collectivity and teamwork are valued in Korean business transactions.

•Hire a Korean interpreter if you aren't fluent in Korean.

•Wear a dark-colored, conservative business suit to Korean business meetings.

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