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Meetings

• Do your best to be punctual, and be sure to make an apology for your tardiness if you are late.
• Bow to the most senior businessman first as low as he does. However, watch to see if he extends his hand to greet you with a handshake.
• Use two hands or your right hand alone during greetings and exchanges. Using the left hand to shake hands or exchange business cards with another person can be perceived as bad luck due to its connotations with negativity and death. Most Koreans will not be bothered if you use the left hand by mistake. However, the gesture may be viewed as a bad omen in formal business settings and can offend older Koreans.
• Receiving Business Cards: In many Asian cultures, the respect you show a person’s business card is interpreted to be indicative of the respect you will show the individual in business. Use both hands (or the right hand only) to receive a business card. Do not put the card away immediately, but regard it carefully and then place it on the table before you until everyone is seated. Do not put it in the back pocket of your pants as this could be taken as you sitting on the individual’s face. Similarly, do not write on a card unless directed to do so.
• Presenting Business Cards: Use both hands (or the right hand only) when presenting a business card, making sure that the writing is facing the other person. Do not deal out your cards as though you were playing a game of cards, as this risks being interpreted as rude.
• Allow a few moments of social conversation to pass before mentioning business.
• Avoid making jokes with those of a higher rank than you.
• You will often be offered tea during business meetings. It is best to accept it as a gesture of esteem.
• Koreans are generally very respectful listeners. Reflect their manners and wait your turn to speak without interrupting.
• Defer decision-making to the person with the most authority and watch how they direct the conversation. Subordinates will constantly refer back to them.
• Expect meetings to be fast-moving, as Koreans generally do not like to waste time.
• Avoid filling moments of periodic silence, as these are usually times for contemplation of what has been said.
• A lack of protest or criticism does not necessarily indicate agreement in a meeting, as Koreans are conscious of maintaining harmony and face. Therefore, do not base your conclusions on answers that aren’t clear-cut, but rather double-check meanings by asking open-ended questions that allow them more leeway to get to their point.
• Reiterate everything agreed upon during the meeting in writing afterwards.

Competition and Productivity

Koreans can be very competitive in business; they generally do not like coming second and sometimes view compromise as a defeat. Therefore, they often need to be reassured that a win-win situation is the goal of business in order to boost their confidence in enterprises.

A sense of urgency accompanies this corporate culture of competition, as business negotiations are often fast-paced and very tenacious. Time is rarely wasted as Koreans tend to look for quick sales and run out of patience for elaborate strategies. Responses and decisions are often provided within a day of a proposal being made. Therefore, it is reasonable to interpret a week without contact from a Korean as being an indication that they want to terminate the project.

Koreans are also known to easily volte-face on negotiations and break relations if they find a better deal elsewhere. As such, it is best to aim for short-term agreements with a Korean business partner until you have built a strong and trustful business relationship. Understand that the long-term survival of their company is often at the forefront of a Korean’s mind, and for that reason, they are wary of ambiguous situations and avoid uncertainty at all costs. Unless they can trust you, they will generally consider you to be their competition.

Productivity in the Korean Workforce

While Korean business culture is fast-paced, this does not always equate to productivity. Employees often have to follow rigid protocols that observe hierarchies reporting back to superiors. This means that tasks often involve convoluted processes that take some time to complete. Furthermore, in an effort to give face and favourable impressions, the appearance of presentations and enterprises are often judged over their substance. As such, a disproportionate amount of time is often spent on making something look good instead of making it function well. Koreans have also been known to sometimes exaggerate their workload to give an impression of diligence and dedication.

Business Relationships

Koreans place significant importance on their business relationships and networks. Social connections provide a significant competitive advantage, establishing rapport and confidence early on. Third-party introductions are particularly effective, serving as strong social proof that significantly accelerates credibility compared to cold approaches.

Koreans often develop relationships over meals and drinks and appreciate it when their business partners view them as friends. Koreans often want to know a great deal about their partners and may ask comprehensive and sometimes seemingly tangential questions. Be patient in providing details, even seemingly irrelevant ones, as this is integral to building the necessary relational foundation. These relationships often also cross into their personal life. Once mutual trust is established, Korean business professionals typically demonstrate a strong commitment to their partners' success, actively working to foster the enduring trust and loyalty necessary for future collaboration.

Hoesik and Corporate Drinking Culture

Hoesik (literally translating to "eating together") is a group gathering after official work hours centered around food and, frequently, substantial amounts of alcohol. More than just a company dinner, hoesik is designed to foster camaraderie, organisational harmony and closeness (Jeong) in a setting perceived as more relaxed than the office. The loosening of formal hierarchical barriers allows for more casual interaction between ranks and provides opportunities to resolve conflict in a less pressurised environment.

These gatherings often generate a sense of unity or ‘family’ among colleagues, enhancing interpersonal relationships and mutual understanding, often through the consumption of alcohol. Indeed, they can involve long drinking sessions that reach a significant level of intoxication. While your Korean counterpart may display a high tolerance for alcohol as a sign of strength, there's no expectation for you to match their consumption. In fact, remaining sober can be advantageous, as important business details are frequently shared during these sessions.

Hoesik has become an established subculture within South Korean organisations, functioning as a key, often obligatory, form of socialisation for colleagues from the same company or department. It is often perceived and explicitly referred to as an "extension of work". This phrase captures the significant pressure many employees feel to attend these after-hours events, even if participation is not officially mandated. There's a widespread concern that skipping hoesik, especially repeatedly, can leave a negative impression on superiors and potentially harm one's career prospects, including job evaluations and promotions.

While seemingly informal, hoesik remains deeply intertwined with workplace dynamics and career considerations. Even within the more relaxed setting, maintaining a respectful demeanor towards superiors remains essential.

Considerations

• Korean business culture (and Korean society in general) is very hierarchical, and management is paternalistic as status is determined by age, position and connections. Be aware of how you navigate this tiered structure, discerning who is superior to you and showing the proper amount of respect they are due. Your Korean counterpart may even ask your age to determine who is the superior between the two of you.
• Koreans sometimes contemplate what has been said while standing or sitting in silence with no acknowledgment of what is going on around them. To interrupt this pause, gently cough and wait for them to return from their thought.
• Koreans are adaptable and innovative, often being prepared to accommodate different approaches and remaining flexible to change things at late stages of negotiations. Appreciate their creativity and willingness to try new things, as their risks and initiatives often pay off.
• Koreans can be tough and sometimes deceptive negotiators. In an effort to seal an agreement, they may actually relay something incomplete as being completed. It is best to judge their proclamations on past performance, not future projections. Avoid appearing gullible, and maintain a tough, respectful, focused and pragmatic front.
• For the sake of saving face, Koreans will seldom give a flat negative response to proposals you make, even when they do not agree with it. Therefore, focus on hints of hesitation and pay close attention to what they may imply. Double-check your understanding by asking open-ended questions.
• Koreans are generally easy to access and do business with. Therefore, if you find that it is becoming harder to contact your Korean business partner, it is likely that either you have disrespected them or they are no longer interested in doing business with you.
• Mistakes are common in Korean business culture. If you anticipate this and make allowances, the process will be easier.
• Do not show heated displays of negative emotions or openly criticise anyone, as a Korean will likely avoid working with you thereafter.
• South Korean businesses are sometimes structured within very large business conglomerates called ‘c�󲹱���DZ���’. The chaebol structure can encompass a single large company or several groups of affiliated companies. These entities are owned, controlled, and/or managed by the same family dynasty, usually that of the group's founder. Samsung, SK, Hyundai Motor Company, LG, and Lotte are the largest and most prominent chaebols in South Korea.¹ The collective revenue of these five family-run conglomerates accounted for about 45% of South Korea's gross domestic product (GDP) in 2022.²
• There is a tendency for young South Koreans to remain in the education system well into their late twenties and even thirties. This phenomenon is largely attributed to a highly competitive job market and a perceived unemployment crisis among the youth. Faced with limited job opportunities, many young South Koreans opt to extend their tertiary studies, often pursuing postgraduate degrees or engaging in continuous upskilling in an attempt to enhance their competitiveness and navigate the demanding employment environment. This extended duration of education, coupled with the mandatory 2-3 years of military service for males, significantly postpones their entry into the professional world. As a result, most South Koreans get their first jobs at a relatively late age.³
• In 2021, the employment rate for young South Koreans aged 15–24 was 25.2% compared to the OECD average of 39%.³
• Data from Statistics Korea indicates a generational trend among young South Koreans showing reluctance to join the workforce of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In 2023, only 30.9% of SME employees were in their 20s and 30s, a decrease from 47.7% in 2003. Concurrently, the proportion of older employees within SMEs has risen.⁴
• The Korean business culture still has a sexist undertone, making it more likely for women to be belittled and have to work harder to gain respect.
• The 2023 Corruption Perception Index ranked South Korea 32nd out of 180 countries, receiving a score of 63/100.⁵ This metric suggests that the country’s public sector is moderately clean from corruption.