Business Etiquette in South Korea

Business Lunch Etiquette in South Korea Student Name University Course Professor Name Date Business Lunch Etiquette in South Korea Doing business in South Korea can be an exciting and enchanting experience if one fully understands the country’s business etiquette, including those involving food and business lunches. There is no better place to learn South Korean business etiquette than the country’s capital, Seoul. Despite preserving many of the traditional formalities of the Asian culture, Seoul is an incredibly high-tech, newly developed city considered the world’s leader in internet connectivity and digital technology. Seoul is also a hotbed of new startups and innovation hubs. However, such an outlook should never be mistaken for a modern secular pop culture with no traditional values. Essentially, the end of the Korean War saw several family-owned businesses being charged with rebuilding the Korean economy. The need to consider this background information emanates from the way the Korean economy is structured around the traditional family-owned businesses that grew astronomically to global giants, which dictates modern business etiquette in South Korea. The first point is that business ownership and control are dynastic, hierarchical, and patriarchal. It means that positions are not earned but given in a structured nepotism. Such a structure is manifested across the entire conduct of business and social activity, meaning that even when people gather together in a business lunch, the same hierarchical flow of authority remains and must be observed at all times. Business lunches are considered a means to strengthen bonds between organizational members or bring together business parties engaged in business dealings (Julia, 2023). The same patriarchal, hierarchical structures in a family are easily transferred to a business setting. It explains why food and business lunch etiquette r...