ESCAPE BLOG

When Judith Martin created the column Miss Manners in 1978 to answer questions on etiquette, she gave pointers on how to behave and be polite. At present, we have the likes of the purple dinosaur named Barney telling kids that “please” and “thank you” are magic words.

These tenets guide most of us when we deal with people. It has been so ingrained in us that when we step into another culture where the standards are different, most of us are quick to cry foul. Stories about that rude [insert nationality here] have been know to circle the whole world.

But, are they really rude?! Or are they just misunderstood?

Here are a few examples of what our culture has misconstrued as rude:

Those who have befriended a Korean in their life view them as people from a polite society. However, most strangers who happen to visit Korea find them rude. Koreans elbow their way through crowds. They cut in line without even uttering a quick excuse me or sorry. Some have been known to even belch or fart in public, without a care in the world who heard or smelled.

As one of my officemates explained to me, for Koreans, there are 2 different kinds of people in the world: people they know and people they don’t know. Someone they have formed a relationship with are treated politely. But strangers, on the other hand, just don’t count. So, they do not feel obliged to extend common courtesy, like we do even to perfect strangers.

And then, you have the “rude French”. A myth, I tell you. IMHO, not smiling at anyone at random doesn’t qualify them as rude. They do not smile just for the sake of it. When they do smile, it’s because they truly mean it and have, in their minds, really something to smile about. That’s just how they are.

Insisting to talk in French while in France does not make them rude either. Don’t you speak in English even to Foreigners when you are back in the USA?

“The French are very proud of their language, culture, and country. If you are respectful of the French and their heritage, they will respond in kind.”

What is wrong with these rude people? Nothing!!!

Avoid going to another country expecting people to behave the way people do back home. That is soooo not going to happen. And don’t even dare correct them, either. Show respect for other cultures and revel in the differences. And in return, they will respect you, too.

[source: Seoul Union Church]