두 손과 인사

If you work with Korean colleagues, you will notice small gestures long before you learn any big rules. Most of them come from one idea: respect for the other person, and above all for people who are older or more senior.

Start with your hands. When Koreans give something to an older person or a new business partner, they use both hands. The same goes for receiving. A glass, a gift, money and a business card are all passed this way. If one hand is busy, people touch their other arm with it instead. The message is simple: I respect you. A card handed to a senior manager with one hand can look careless.

Next comes the bow. In Korea a bow says both hello and goodbye. A small nod is enough between colleagues. A deeper bow from the waist shows more respect, for example to a client or a senior manager. Try not to greet anyone with your hands in your pockets.

Language follows the same order. Korean changes its words and endings depending on who you are talking to. That is why a new Korean colleague may ask your age soon after you meet. The question is not rude. It helps them choose the right way to speak to you.X-ray At work, people usually call each other by job titles rather than first names, and they keep to polite speech until they know each other well.

The dinner table has its own rules. Nobody starts eating until the oldest person lifts a spoon.X-ray Never stand your chopsticks upright in a bowl of rice, because it reminds people of the rice set out at ancestral rites. And try not to leave before the senior people at the table.

Drinking is where foreign guests slip most often. When an older person pours for you, hold your glass with both hands. When you drink, turn your head a little to the side. Never fill your own glass. Watch your neighbor’s glass instead, and fill it when it is empty. Someone will soon do the same for you.

Many Korean teams also have hoesik, a dinner with the whole team after work. It often starts with grilled pork belly and soju, or somaek, a mix of soju and beer. Before the glasses touch, someone gives a short toast, and everyone shouts “Geonbae!” Hoesik is getting lighter now. Some teams meet for lunch instead, and joining is often a choice.

Nobody expects a visitor to get every rule right. Koreans know that guests are still learning. But a card offered with two hands, or a glass filled for a colleague, gets noticed. It tells people that you took the time to understand them.