Hurry hurry culture in Korea

Hurry hurry culture in Korea

Generally, all kinds of things in Korea operate at a faster pace than they do in other countries. You surely have heard of the phrase “ppalli ppalli” which translates to “hurry up, hurry up.” You also probably have seen many Korean people running in the subway station or in the street, especially in the morning time.

I dare to say that you will be touched to see how Korean people do their jobs in a fast and efficient manner in the hospital, public office, bank, post office and all kinds of service industries to save customers’ precious time. Koreans believe time is money and it is not too much to say that the way they do is like an art.

I think Koreans get this disposition from the rapid economic growth the country went through within such a short period of time after the Korean War. Plus, technology development and a high-speed communication network have instigated this tendency. Thanks to the technology development, you can do anything you can imagine with a smart phone in Korea such as transmitting money, ordering all kinds of products, getting food delivered, booking, checking all kinds of bus schedules and its whereabouts, and even running your own business.

This disposition’s negative side is that Korean cannot bear slowness. It might be better to say that Korean people’s disposition seems to be a fire. In case of my husband, he can’t stand our children’s clumsiness and tardiness when they are doing something new and unfamiliar with and he ends up flipping out and doing things in behalf of them. Koreans' habit of eating too and the way they cause a lot of noises makes foreigners feel awkward and drives them up the wall. As we play fast and loose with things all the time, sometimes we cut corners and pay for it later like poor constructions that caused many casualties over the past few decades.

What’s important is that we are fast to correct the mistake we made as well. Most of all, we know so well that our swiftness and speediness has been our miraculous economic growth’s driving force and it seems that Koreans have no intention of dropping. Koreans think it’s the best way of surviving in the capitalistic system. Of course, how wonderful would it be if we have great fastness and tolerance for slowness at the same time!