Intercultural Competence Research Project:South Korea
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Section 1: Country/ Culture Mapping
A. Geography
B. History
C. Politics
D. Economy
E. Demographics
F. Society, Culture and Religion
G. Education
H. Videos and General Tourism Information
Section 2: Theories and Research Concerning Intercultural Competence
Chapter 10: Intercultural Competence in Interpersonal Relationships
Chapter 11:Episodes, Contexts, and Intercultural Interactions
Chapter 12: The Potential for Intercultural Competence
Chapter 1: Introduction to Intercultural Competence
Chapter 2: Culture and Intercultural Communication
Chapter 3: Intercultural Communication Competence
Chapter 4:Cultural Patterns and Communication- Foundations
Chapter 5: Cultural Patterns and Communication- Taxonomies
Chapter 6: Cultural Identity and Cultural Biases
Chapter 7: Verbal Intercultural Communication
Chapter 8: Nonverbal Intercultural Communication
Chapter 9: The Effects of Code Usage in Intercultural Communication
Section 3: Resources
Book Review
Section 4: Personal Connections/Reflective Analysis
Article of Explanation
Informal Interview
Reflective Analysis
Section 5: Portfolio, Reflective Writing and Collegial Sharing
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Home
Section 1: Country/ Culture Mapping
A. Geography
B. History
C. Politics
D. Economy
E. Demographics
F. Society, Culture and Religion
G. Education
H. Videos and General Tourism Information
Section 2: Theories and Research Concerning Intercultural Competence
Chapter 10: Intercultural Competence in Interpersonal Relationships
Chapter 11:Episodes, Contexts, and Intercultural Interactions
Chapter 12: The Potential for Intercultural Competence
Chapter 1: Introduction to Intercultural Competence
Chapter 2: Culture and Intercultural Communication
Chapter 3: Intercultural Communication Competence
Chapter 4:Cultural Patterns and Communication- Foundations
Chapter 5: Cultural Patterns and Communication- Taxonomies
Chapter 6: Cultural Identity and Cultural Biases
Chapter 7: Verbal Intercultural Communication
Chapter 8: Nonverbal Intercultural Communication
Chapter 9: The Effects of Code Usage in Intercultural Communication
Section 3: Resources
Book Review
Section 4: Personal Connections/Reflective Analysis
Article of Explanation
Informal Interview
Reflective Analysis
Section 5: Portfolio, Reflective Writing and Collegial Sharing
Sitemap
Navigation
Section 2: Theories and Research Concerning Intercultural Competence >
Chapter 4:Cultural Patterns and Communication- Foundations
Cultural Patterns are Shared beliefs, values, norms, and social practices that are stable over time and
that lead to roughly similar behaviors across similar situations.
There are four components of cultural patterns.
A belief is an idea that people assume to be true about the world. Beliefs, therefore, are a set of learned
interpretations that form the basis for cultural members to decide what is and what is not logical and
correct.
Values involve what
a culture regards as good or bad, right or wrong, fair or unfair, just or unjust, beautiful or ugly, clean or
dirty, valuable or worthless, appropriate or inappropriate, and kind or cruel. Because values are the
desired characteristics or goals of a culture, a culture’s values do not necessarily describe its actual
behaviors and characteristics. However, values are often offered as the explanation for the way in which
people communicate.
Norms are the socially shared expectations of appropriate behaviors. When a person’s behaviors violate
the culture’s norms, social sanctions are usually imposed. Like values, norms can vary within a culture in
terms of their importance and intensity. Unlike values, however, norms may change over a period of
time, whereas beliefs and values tend to be much more enduring.
Social practices are the predictable behavior patterns that members of a culture typically follow. Thus,
social practices are the outward manifestations of beliefs, values, and norms.
Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck’s view of cultural patterns contains five major elements address the
manner in which a culture orients itself to activities, social relations, the self, the world, and the passage
of time.
Activity orientation defines how the people of a culture view human actions and the expression of self
through activities.
Is it important to be engaged in activities in order to be a “good” member of one’s culture?
Can and should people change the circumstances of their lives?
Is work very different from play?
Which is more important, work or play?
Is life a series of problems to be solved or simply a collection of events to be experienced?
The social relations orientation describes how the people in a culture organize themselves and relate to
one another. This orientation provides answers to questions such as the following:
To what extent are some people in the culture considered better or superior to others?
Can social superiority be obtained through birth, age, good deeds, or material achievement and success?
Are formal, ritualized interaction sequences expected?
In what ways does the culture’s language require people to make social distinctions?
What responsibilities and obligations do people have to their extended families, their neighbors, their
employers or employees, and others?
Self-orientation describes how people’s identities are formed, whether the culture views the self as
changeable, what motivates individual actions, and the kinds of people who are valued and respected. A
culture’s self-orientation provides answers to questions such as the following:
Do people believe they have their own unique identities that separate them from others?
Does the self reside in the individual or in the groups to which the individual belongs?
What responsibilities does the individual have to others?
What motivates people to behave as they do?
Is it possible to respect a person who is judged “bad” in one part of life but is successful in another part
of life?
Cultural patterns also tell people how to locate themselves in relation to the spiritual world, nature, and
other living things. A world orientation provides answers to questions such as the following:
Are human beings intrinsically good or evil?
Are humans different from other animals and plants?
Are people in control of, subjugated by, or living in harmony with the forces of nature?
Do spirits of the dead inhabit and affect the human world?
The final aspect of cultural patterns concerns how people conceptualize time. Time orientation provides
answers to questions such as the following:
How should time be valued and understood?
Is time a scarce resource, or is it unlimited?
Is the desirable pace of life fast or slow?
Is time linear or cyclical?
Application
Areas of possible conflict are red.
Orientations
My Culture
Host Culture
Activity Orientation
People can and should change the circumstances of their lives
Emphasis on play, work to play
People can't change the circumstances of their lives
Emphasis on work
Social Relations Orientation
There is an idea that all are created equal but wealth is often a distinction
Can social superiority can be obtained through birth, or material achievement and success
Formal, ritualized interaction sequences are not expected
The language does not require people to make social distinctions
Some people in the culture considered better or superior to others, e.g. bosses the elderly
Can social superiority be obtained through birth, age, or good deeds
Formal, ritualized interaction sequences may be expected
The culture’s language requires people to make social distinctions in regard to age
Self-Orientation
Self-centered
People believe they have their own unique identities that separate them from others.
Self resides in the individual.
The individuals first responsibility is to self.
Others-centered
People do not believe they have their own unique identities that separate them from others.
Self resides in the groups to which the individual belongs.
The individual's first responsibility is to others.
World Orientation
Humans are different from other animals and plants
Are people in control of the forces of nature
Spirits of the dead do not inhabit and affect the human world
Humans are not different from other animals and plants
People are in control subjugated by with the forces of nature
Spirits of the dead inhabit and affect the human world
Time Orientation
Time is a scarce resource.
The desirable pace of life is fast.
Time is linear
Present Oriented Time is unlimited
The desirable pace of life is slow
Time is cyclical
Past Oriented
Biblical Links
"To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the
law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law." 1 Cor 9:20
It is important to understand cultural differences in order to win those of another culture to faith. to
become a Korean to the Koreans requires much change in the way of thinking and acting but it is needed
in order to not offend/alienate individuals/groups.
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