Customer Reviews

Korean Business Etiquette: The Cultural Values and Attitudes that Make Up the Korean Business Personality

5 star:		(4)
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Not bad at all. Chapters are broken up into sizeable chunks that are insightful and easy to read. My biggest complaint stems from the fact that despite the author's extensive knowledge of the Korean language, he refrains from using any Hangul in the book - only romanization or transliteration of key terms. This makes for a sloppy glossary.

Don't let this questionable editing mistake steer you away from this book - not only does it contain nugget after nugget of valuable information, it also contains a fantastic summary of ancient and modern Korea wrapped up in about 12 pages.

The author does well to tie in his knowledge of Japanese culture and business as it plays a big role in Korea. However, I would have liked more taboos and "do-not-do-this-you-impatient-foreign-businessperson" tidbits - although the book has plenty. I suppose the best feature of the book is it's instant pick-up-and-read aspect however, if the proper context isn't taken into account, I'm afraid that some of this book might be forgettable - which is a shame.

Perhaps it goes without saying that this book is applicable to anyone living in Korea and has thousands of applications outside the business world. A great read

Very good book. I work in a Korean Co. Very usefull points. Great opportunity to know in theory what I faced in practical reality. Lots of things are clearer now...! A very good book for starters in Korean culture interface. Covers from general aspects to details of daily situations. Easy to read. Subjects and capters ordered very well. A must-have-book for those who intend to work in Korea or in Korean Companies abroad. I strongly recommend. AV.

As an individual who works in many different Asian countries, I am always on the lookout for books that help explain business culture in foreign countries to help with my own understanding of living and working in another country. This is exactly what Korean Business Etiquette seeks to accomplish.

The book is broken down to the T about many different facets of Korean business culture, including an essential brief history of Korea's past*. The author does a wonderful job not only identifying important characteristics but also explaining the reasons behind them. Though it is mainly aimed for foreign workers in higher positions, employees working for Korean companies can also find use in the information presented.

On a personal note, I am currently working for a Korean company and had some very large misunderstandings about the management here. Though not completely cleared up, the cultural differences are at least translucent and much more understandable than before.

I truly do feel like the author made a great effort to exhaustively cover every major issue related to working as a foreign manager in Korea.

With these positive aspects, I would like to take a moment to issue a few constructively critical comments:
-*By far the biggest error I have seen is the author's brief history of the Korean war. Unfortunately, he made a grave error in his timeline which appears at the beginning of the book. Due to this serious error, it was difficult for me to take the rest of the book seriously. I would like to advise the author to carefully rewrite the chain of events in the Korean war section.

-One aspect I feel that is missing from this great book is a more personal approach. In one book I have read about working culture in Thailand, the author includes many personal anecdotes related to the topics being covered. With his close AMCHAM connections, I would have liked to have seen brief accounts written by some of these CEOs (who could remain anonymous) related to the topics covered in different sections. These personal accounts could explain their mistake in a situation and more importantly, how they took the authors advice to rectify the situation.

In the end, I definitely recommend this book to anyone living and working in Korea, whether they are a senior level exec. or entry level worker.

This is a "must read" for Westerners unfamiliar with Korean business culture. It is well written in short, easily absorbed chapters. Mr. De Mente does a great job introducing Korean culture, and explaining how that culture is manifest in the workplace. There is an emphasis on recommendations for Westerners living and working long term in Korea. It also works well for Sales and Procurement professionals.

My company has recently begun to do business in Korea. This book was so helpful we bought multiple copies for all to read.

For those who are want to understand the nuisances of the Korean business culture, this book provides great insights and tips. I wish there was a summary chapter which outlines all the little mistakes that non-Koreans can make in Korea. Overall, the book contains plenty of useful advice but they are dispersed everywhere.

I am impressed with the depth of the writer's analysis and his efforts to understand the deep inner complex Korean psyche (fears and motivations) and traditions which drive the Korean business culture.

Shallow this book is not. Insightful it is.

The only reservation I have about this book is that it is somewhat outdated. Korea is a VERY rapidly changing society and this book would have been an apt description of its business culture back in the 1990s. For example, the author cautions the westerner on Korea's forceful drinking practices and overly hierachial nature of the Korean corporations. It is notable that Korean corporations and organizations have aggressively cracked down on excessive and forced drinking during company events. And corporations systematically weed out the older and more conservative managers in favor of the more westernized and more open counterpart because Korean corporations have found the need to globalize their corporate culture.

There is also a strong cultural gap between generations. In other words, there is no single Korean culture, but it differs quite considerably depending on demographics, education level, profession, and situation.

Many would find Koreans, especially the younger crowd, to be highly westernized and far from the confucious conservative ideal. The book makes Korea look almost archaic, draconian, insular in its business practices. That is no longer true.

I still recommend this book for those who want to understand Korea and its business culture. But only with the caveat that I mentioned above.

My company mainly deals with Aerospace Defense. My background is as a military officer. I found this was a quick read and read while flying to Seoul, Korea. Insightful in knowing the history and customs of the Korean people, as well as understanding how to conduct or better, what to expect in "doing business" with Koreans.

I haven't finished the book yet, but so far I can tell it is well written, consistent, reliable and interesting. Good tool for business people trying to understand potential customers and suppliers in Korea. There is a significant presence of Korean companies in Latin America, this is why I chose to buy this book and learn more about their culture, the Dos and DON'Ts.