# Never Stare Down a Korean Vice-President (International Doper feedback?) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 20, 2004, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-stare-down-a-korean-vice-president-international-doper-feedback/246246 "2004-05-20T21:17:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-stare-down-a-korean-vice-president-international-doper-feedback/246246/21 "2004-05-22T01:20:20Z")
> [@](#): > > Americans like people to eat a lot. Definitely true! :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Jervoise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d2c977/32.png) [@Jervoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jervoise)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-stare-down-a-korean-vice-president-international-doper-feedback/246246/22 "2004-05-22T07:32:32Z")
For Australia: > [@](#): > > The “thumbs up” gesture is also considered obscene. 😕 > [@](#): > > Do not say “I’m stuffed” after a meal. This means you are pregnant. 😕 > [@](#): > > Women should wear skirts and blouses or dresses. 😕 > [@](#): > > Do not sniff or blow your nose in public. 😕 The rest of it is pretty good, however. This in particular is great advice: > [@](#): > > If you are teased, you are expected to reply in kind, with good humor. Such self-confidence will increase an Australian’s respect for you. They do not admire a subservient attitude. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-stare-down-a-korean-vice-president-international-doper-feedback/246246/23 "2004-05-22T08:10:30Z")
The first couple China ones are off base so i didn’t bother reading further down. Chances are it’s more or less all a steaming load… ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-stare-down-a-korean-vice-president-international-doper-feedback/246246/24 "2004-05-22T17:13:37Z")
> [@](#): > > # When introduced to a Chinese group, they may greet you with applause. Applaud back. 😕 ahahahahaha 😕 ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-stare-down-a-korean-vice-president-international-doper-feedback/246246/25 "2004-05-22T20:32:53Z")
> [@](#): > > Other European groups include Italians, Germans and Ukrainians (especially in the prairie states). The prairie _what?_ > [@](#): > > In Quebec, coworkers of similiar status generally use first names in private, but always last names in public. The formal “you” is almost always used in a business setting, even after 20 years. Hm. My boss told me to _tutoie_ him after five minutes. Maybe the customer information department of a transit corporation didn’t count as a formal setting. > [@](#): > > "The “okay” sign made with the index finger and thumb means “zero” in Quebec. That’s a new one. > [@](#): > > In Quebec, sit straight with your legs crossed at the knee, or with your knees together. Don’t sit with your legs apart, or with your feet propped up on tables or chairs. Apparently this person has never taken the metro. We have the same testosterone-repelling knee magnets as everywhere else. > [@](#): > > For Quebec, print your business cards in English or French, including your academic degree(s) and/or title. …so you look like as pretentious a little snot as possible. > [@](#): > > Eating while walking or standing on the street in Quebec is considered bad form. No, it just means we don’t have any street vendors. > [@](#): > > Do your homework about Canada. Most Americans are appallingly ignorant of Canadian history, culture and geography… Do not compare Canada with the United States… Do not take sides in debates about contentious national issues (especially when they concern such issues the status of Quebec, the place of the French and English languages in Canadian society, etc.). Okay, I’m gonna give her these ones. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-stare-down-a-korean-vice-president-international-doper-feedback/246246/26 "2004-05-22T21:24:48Z")
That website has really got my goat, for some reason. Perhaps it’s all the implied slights against people not fortunate enough to be American. Many examples from the US section: “American greetings are generally quite informal. […] a manifestation of the American belief that everyone is equal.” - not like those elitist foreign snobs, then. “People who like to touch really like touching, and people who do not like to touch really dislike being touched.” - and people who like to state the bleeding obvious really like stating the bleeding obvious. “Americans smile a great deal, even at strangers” - foreigners, on the other hand, are surly and liable to attack people they don’t know. “In a country that prides itself on its individualism […] business relationships are formed between companies rather than between people.” - so be an individual, but not on the company’s time? “Americans do business where they get the best deal and the best service” - unlike Europeans, who are all socialists and accept whatever the Central Planning Comittee tells them to. “When Americans say ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ they mean precisely that. ‘Maybe’ really does mean ‘it might happen’; it does not mean ‘no.’” - damn those inscrutable Japs. “Americans ask questions – lots of them. They are not ashamed to admit what they do know.” - probably just as well. “Americans do not have as many customs and taboos concerning gifts as many other cultures have” - simply carry this 400-page summary of American tipping etiquette with you at all times and you’ll be fine. “Women are leaders in all aspects of American life from business to education to government.” - thank you, America, for leading the way in female emancipation. “Never assume that a working woman is in a subordinate position.” - she’s not your Filipino maid, you know. Yours hypersensitively, Usram. ---
**Author:** ![Tabby\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tabby\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabby_Cat)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-stare-down-a-korean-vice-president-international-doper-feedback/246246/27 "2004-05-22T22:03:00Z")
Hey, waddaya know? They’re pretty good for Singapore, except for the “use chewing gum” part :rolleyes: (Damn, we’re never gonna get that out of our hair) Minor mistakes on “smoking in public places”, and I guess we’re already pretty used to public showing of affection for westerners, even if we don’t do it ourselves. But other than that, spot on! Wow! Colour me impressed. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-stare-down-a-korean-vice-president-international-doper-feedback/246246/28 "2004-05-22T23:49:24Z")
> [@](#): > > I mean I could see using cutlery to eat sandwiches in fancy restaurants (if that type of restaurant serves sandwiches), but fruit? And what’s “most food”? Isn’t “most food” consumed with knife and fork in all countries that have cutlery? Actually, it isn’t. We Americans eat a lot of, er, finger food with our fingers - pizza, things like that, that when I’ve been in Europe everybody seems to eat with a fork. Careful observation of other diners seemed to suggest that we’d get stared at in a big way if we were not to cut up our food and eat it with a knife and fork. And what’s up with the US one about serving women first? Yeah, I mean, if you’re eating somewhere in 1911 that has a ladies’ menu with no prices on it, I guess. But I didn’t realize we always stood up to greet people, regardless of gender, until I thought about it. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-stare-down-a-korean-vice-president-international-doper-feedback/246246/29 "2004-05-23T00:15:13Z")
\ russia … smoking and chain smoking sections … \ ---
**Author:** ![MysteryFellow63427](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e4f/32.png) [@MysteryFellow63427](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MysteryFellow63427)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2004, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-stare-down-a-korean-vice-president-international-doper-feedback/246246/30 "2004-05-24T04:38:16Z")
> [@China Guy](#): > > The first couple China ones are off base so i didn’t bother reading further down. Chances are it’s more or less all a steaming load… C’mon, don’t bother replying if you’re simply going to be dismissive of material you haven’t even read. ---
**Author:** ![SSgtBaloo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac91a4/32.png) [@SSgtBaloo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SSgtBaloo)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2004, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-stare-down-a-korean-vice-president-international-doper-feedback/246246/31 "2004-05-24T05:41:16Z")
> [@](#): > > “Americans do not have as many customs and taboos concerning gifts as many other cultures have” - simply carry this 400-page summary of American tipping etiquette with you at all times and you’ll be fine. Hee-hee-hee! No spray on the screen (I had just swallowed a mouthful of soda before I got to that one), but thanks for the chuckle, nevertheless. I’ve lived in America for all but (approximately) a little over four years of my life, and I _still_ am not certain how much to tip (and occasionally, _when_). –SSgtBaloo ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2004, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-stare-down-a-korean-vice-president-international-doper-feedback/246246/32 "2004-05-24T06:01:32Z")
> [@](#): > > The “thumbs up” gesture is also considered obscene. No it’s not. It’s positive, meaning “good luck” or “well done”. Any other finger, mind you, … > [@](#): > > The guest of honor is generally seated to the right of host. > Soup should be eaten by moving the spoon away from you, not toward you. > Lay knife/fork parallel on plate at 5:25 position when finished eating. > Keep your hands above the table and elbows off the table. Bollocks. No-one pays the slightest attention to stuff like this. > [@](#): > > Do not say “I’m stuffed” after a meal. This means you are pregnant. Only for people totally ignorant of context. > [@](#): > > Women should wear skirts and blouses or dresses. Not even remotely true. Women can wear slacks or trouser suits anywhere. > [@](#): > > Australia produces excellent wine. Taking wine would be like taking sand to the desert. Nonsense. If you give your host a local bottle your support of the industry is appreciated, if a foreign one most people would be interested to compare with the local drop. > [@](#): > > Do not sniff or blow your nose in public. Contextual. No more or less so than in North America or Europe. ---
**Author:** ![Neidhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Neidhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neidhart)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2004, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-stare-down-a-korean-vice-president-international-doper-feedback/246246/33 "2004-05-24T13:55:20Z")
> [@](#): > > Americans do business where they get the best deal and the best service. It is not important to develop a personal relationship in order to establish a long and successful business relationship. This is contrasting with many Third World countries in which relationships and family connections are more important than price. > [@](#): > > It is considered rude to stare, ask questions or otherwise bring attention to someone’s disability. . . . as opposed, I guess, to other countries where it’s perfectly all right to bray “HEY!! LOOKIT THE GIMP!!” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2004, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-stare-down-a-korean-vice-president-international-doper-feedback/246246/34 "2004-05-24T15:34:28Z")
Usram: Most of those are fairly useful for someone who’s not from an American Background. It might be hard to grasp but many things that seem perfectly obvious to you bewilder people who haven’t grown up in that social setting. > [@Usram](#): > > “American greetings are generally quite informal. […] a manifestation of the American belief that everyone is equal.” - not like those elitist foreign snobs, then. It’s not elitism. Americans genuinely DO believe everyone is equal far more than most other countries. Contrast this with, say, India where a caste system has been part of the natural order for many hundreds of years. > [@](#): > > “People who like to touch really like touching, and people who do not like to touch really dislike being touched.” - and people who like to state the bleeding obvious really like stating the bleeding obvious. It’s not at all obvious that there exist two extremes with little middle ground. I’ve never noticed this about americans but I would assume the status quo around the world is that most people either uniformly love being touched (italians for example) or uniformly hate being touched (I dunno? the English?). To have both groups in one culture is note-worthy > [@](#): > > “Americans smile a great deal, even at strangers” - foreigners, on the other hand, are surly and liable to attack people they don’t know. In most cultures, random strangers smiling at you is disturbing if not downright creepy. Especially the 24hr cheesy fake grin that service people seem to have on. > [@](#): > > “In a country that prides itself on its individualism […] business relationships are formed between companies rather than between people.” - so be an individual, but not on the company’s time? These are two different concepts. Individuals get to make decisions about individuals but, at the same time, individuals rarely make decisions for companies by themselves. This is a contrast to many cultures where a multi-billion dollar buisness deal may be settled by a meeting with one person and a handshake with no consultation by other people in the company. > [@](#): > > “Americans do business where they get the best deal and the best service” - unlike Europeans, who are all socialists and accept whatever the Central Planning Comittee tells them to. Americans have an almost obsession with getting the best price at the exclusion of much else. Witness the rise of Walmart for example. Some other cultures tend to value non-quantifiable things like ambiance and personal relation or religion. There might be certain bars that protestants attend and others that only catholics attend. > [@](#): > > “When Americans say ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ they mean precisely that. ‘Maybe’ really does mean ‘it might happen’; it does not mean ‘no.’” - damn those inscrutable Japs. More accurate than you could possibly imagine. There are many asian countries where no is never, ever spoken in a buisness negotiation. This can be very confusing for a foriegner even when it’s perfectly obvious for someone who grew up with maybe meaning no. > [@](#): > > “Americans ask questions – lots of them. They are not ashamed to admit what they do know.” - probably just as well. There are many cultures where the shame of being ignorance is less than the shame of appearing ignorant. People will blithely continue one doing something catastrophically wrong rather than work up the courage to admit they don’t know how to do something. > [@](#): > > “Americans do not have as many customs and taboos concerning gifts as many other cultures have” - simply carry this 400-page summary of American tipping etiquette with you at all times and you’ll be fine. Hoo boy, you haven’t seen custom and taboo if you think tipping culture is bad. Try about 80 bajillion different infections when saying yes that manage to convey exactly what person A thinks of person B and what person A expects person B to think of person A now that person B has heard what inflection person A has used to say yes to person B. > [@](#): > > “Women are leaders in all aspects of American life from business to education to government.” - thank you, America, for leading the way in female emancipation. > “Never assume that a working woman is in a subordinate position.” - she’s not your Filipino maid, you know. Yes, believe it or not, many cultures might automatically assume the woman IS a fillipino maid. Not exactly a gaffe you get the chance to make twice. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2004, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-stare-down-a-korean-vice-president-international-doper-feedback/246246/35 "2004-05-24T17:10:28Z")
> [@Neidhart](#): > > . . . as opposed, I guess, to other countries where it’s perfectly all right to bray “HEY!! LOOKIT THE GIMP!!” 😃 I recently read an interview with a thalidomide victim - he said the only place he ever felt comfortable was in Brazil, where people were quite open about asking questions, staring etc - I guess he just felt it’s far better to be honest than to pretend that there’s nothing unusual. ---
**Author:** ![wolfstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d6d6ee/32.png) [@wolfstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfstu)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2004, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-stare-down-a-korean-vice-president-international-doper-feedback/246246/36 "2004-05-24T19:04:48Z")
> [@](#): > > Never try to sound British or mimic their accent. Oh, NO! I’ve been making an IDIOT of myself, haven’t I? Shouldn’t this be on this list for _every_ country? Or du ze Gehrmons take great joy in heeringk yu imitate zehr akzent? ---
**Author:** ![JeffB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeffb/32/188_2.png) [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2004, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-stare-down-a-korean-vice-president-international-doper-feedback/246246/37 "2004-05-24T19:30:57Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > Try about 80 bajillion different infections… Maybe you should try an antibiotic or something. ---
**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2004, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-stare-down-a-korean-vice-president-international-doper-feedback/246246/38 "2004-05-24T22:09:04Z")
I think they missed one: > [@](#): > > **Germany** : Don’t mention the war! ---
**Author:** ![SSgtBaloo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac91a4/32.png) [@SSgtBaloo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SSgtBaloo)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2004, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-stare-down-a-korean-vice-president-international-doper-feedback/246246/39 "2004-05-24T23:40:21Z")
> [@Shade](#): > > I think they missed one: > > > [@](#): > > > > Germany: Don’t mention the war! **German:** [indent]“The war?” “What war?” “There was a war?” “Nobody told _me_ there was a war.” “When did it happen?” “Where was it?” “_How come nobody ever tells me these things?!?_” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![SSgtBaloo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac91a4/32.png) [@SSgtBaloo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SSgtBaloo)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2004, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-stare-down-a-korean-vice-president-international-doper-feedback/246246/40 "2004-05-24T23:42:19Z")
> [@](#): > > [indent] (Man! I really gotta brush up on my tags!) –SSgtBaloo [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-stare-down-a-korean-vice-president-international-doper-feedback/246246.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/never-stare-down-a-korean-vice-president-international-doper-feedback/246246.md?page=3)