Differences Between Korean and American Social Manners | Get Real Ep. #45 Highlight 

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peniel is also from the midwest and they’re hella friendly and polite in the midwest. peniel gives off major midwesterner vibes.

In India if your mothers see each other on the road, they can speak for 3 hours even if their houses are close by.

Moving abroad, I found that the hardest thing to be aware of was definitely body language. Because you do it automatically. I remember watching a clip of Stray Kids saying that Bang Chan makes random cute gestures like bunny ears. And I realized that they had no idea he was doing air quotes.

peniel: you're the type of people when the waiter or waitress is like oh enjoy your meal, you're like yeah you too! I FEEL CALLED OUT 😩

When I lived in Korea, I told all my Korean friends that where I come from, you have to look each other in the eyes when you clink the glasses before drinking, otherwise you'll have seven years of bad sex...and suddenly everyone started looking me in the eyes during the cheers lmao

I can only imagine how many awkward situations I'd be in if I ever went to Korea. As as latina I'm used to say hi to every person I meet, call them "vecino" even if they're stangers, and have random conversations with people I just met in the bus, a queue, while waiting to pay for my groceries etc.

BM’s theory about the relation between space and the amount of communication sort of makes sense, but it doesn’t apply to every densely packed city/country. I’m from NYC, and although ppl usually stay in their bubble, it’s not uncommon to say hi or hello to someone in a shop or the elevator, nor is it strange to hold the door open for a stranger. In fact, New Yorkers would get pissed if you slammed the door right in their face lol

Snoop dog and psy on thumbnail got me 🤣😂😭

Peniel shaking his head when the Drinking culture got brought up.. lol

Peniel's story about "first time came to korea" always hilarious sometimes he sounds so lost but sometimes he sounds so happy because has a lot of free pass:"D

"I'm extroverted with my friends, but with strangers I'm just like eeeeee." Pretty much me

I’m introverted, so this might seem weird, but those short moments of small talk and saying hi when I go out actually make me happy even though I’m nervous, because it makes me feel connected to people and remember that there’s a lot of nice peeps out there. Maybe I just feel that way because I hardly go outside, but I like it.

in South Africa , it’s completely normal to talk to strangers as if they are your close friends you’ve known for years. i cannot imagine the awkward situations i’d be in it i ever went to Korea lol

is it just me who wonders what peniel's dongsaengs on kingdom talk to him about

i’m a really shy person, but i also tend to nod, smile, hold doors, or do any other basic greeting to strangers just out of politeness i guess?? so i can’t tell if i would love or dislike being in korea LOL

BM is so analytical about everything, I love it.

My friend did a study abroad in Korea a few years ago. She said she would see people on the streets and be polite to say hi or smile but they never did it back and she felt offended. She didn't know why that was and now it makes sense after this video haha. I guess Koreans are not super friendly unless you know them personally? But Peniel's stories were pretty much true...in America just being kind and curtious is a part of our culture and it must feel strange to not be acknowledge that way in Korea haha.

I’m from the south and you can’t avoid small talk especially in a small town. You see everyone and their mama in the store 😅

yeah it is new zealand where the houses are like 5 min apart. its a very beautiful country.

I'm from Latin América and I'm super shy like extremely shy but even when I'm like this I have no problem with "small talk" I guess in my country is such a normal thing to do that I just play along without feeling awkward, but I understand it can be uncomfortable for other people to do it.

I'm so shy of strangers, Korea sounds like the perfect place to visit lol

I’m from New Zealand in Korea. 😂 I held a door open at a convenience store for someone too and I got the same reaction Peniel did 😂 I’m still getting used to the differences especially if I make eye contact with someone! If you live in the suburbs or rural New Zealand, people would usually say hi and talk briefly but in the CBD of a city they wouldn’t.

in Brazil everyone talks informally with everyone and this is completely normal,we only talk formally with police and judges or with teachers sometimes...Drink is the same,we don’t have rules like in Korea :)

My introverted self related to Ashley so much, I do not like small talk and I’m pretty bad at it. I do my best to avoid eye contact unless I’m super comfortable with that person or if I have a hard time hearing them

I think bm is right about the space thing. in the southern part of the u.s.--even in the cities--everything's bigger and more spaced out. and for that, I think it's much more friendly, saying hi to passerbys is extremely normal, and conversations b/w strangers is also normal. when I lived in MA and visited cities up north, everyone is relatively to themselves.

Valid point, on space being a factor, BM! When you're surrounded by more people, you tend to want to keep as much quiet and space for yourself, that's maybe why people in Korea choose to mind their own business and that's not a bad thing. Can be an example of 'negative politeness', which is common in (east) Asian countries. Basically the concept of being respectful/polite is to hold back, vs in other cultures (e.g. America) -- to be polite is to be explicit about your intent to be polite (greeting people, doing certain gestures, aka 'positive politeness'). Warmth is felt through someone's expression of it, not by withholding and the need to express inclusion is stronger. Giving people their own space to be alone may seem like a bad thing because it may give the impression that they’re being excluded.

I’m from New Zealand lol Hi! I just want to speak on what BM said about us. So in NZ we’re quiet diverse with cultures and some of the main cultures here are from the Pacific Islands eg. Maori (NZ indigenous culture) Samoa 🇼🇸 ,Tonga 🇹🇴etc. In those cultures they value community & Families. So they’ve grown up to be friendly, kind and to be inclusive even with strangers. How that relates to what BM said is that if we see someone we know then yes convos can take up to 20mins because it’s nice to check in with them to see how life is etc. If we don’t know them we do a lot of what you guys call ‘small talk’ or head nods / eye brow raises or smile to say Hi if our eyes meet. In NZ and especially those cultures I mentioned before everyone knows everyone, even if you live on the other end of the country. We are all well connected over here. Also NZ culture is laidback and friendlier than others - We’re built different lmao. I couldn’t image being in a society where it’s considered weird to do those gestures or start up convos with strangers. I guess we’re blessed. Come over sometime you’ll love it here 🇳🇿 ps. Any Kiwi can add on in the comments - Chur lol

Peniel will be like: elder guy: hey pour me a drink peniel: mm ok.. *pours drink and get some glasses out of nowhere* SHOT SHOT SHOT YOU CAN DO IT SHOT SHOT

Even just different places in America are so different. I moved from a city in the Southeast to a city in the Northeast and in the South people are much more likely to casually interact with each other (like Peniel was saying about saying hi with eye contact) but then in the place I moved to it's much more like "why are you talking to me?"

8:35 drinking culture in korea is very interesting. I think drinking while turning away is maybe the sign of respect you give to your elders on the table I guess. Wish we could drink freely in India too.

OMG i can relate to ashley "please don't talk to me please don't talk to me"

I get the feeling that the drinking culture in Korea is much more advanced and almost like a ritual. And then there's Germany where you scream to each other's faces before drinking a whole litre of beer with the age of 16... And I think both is beautiful

HERE in morocco even if the country is not so big but we treat each other like brothers sisters , u could say hi to ppl even if u don't actually know them .

When Peniel shared his story about not receiving a "thanks" when he opened the door for someone, it made me think about the time when I was in South Korea. As a French person I'm used to greet everyone when I enter a store / say thank you and good bye systematically after I buy something because in France, if you don't do those things you're considered impolite. One day, one of my Korean friends asked me "Why do you always say "thank you, good bye" to salespersons in stores ?" and I was really taken aback, I didn't know what to say lmao He explained that in Korea you could just grab your things and go, and I realized after that a lot of Korean ppl would do that, especially in convenience stores

Ashley is such a mood

my korean/japanese friend described the culture as, polite/kind but not friendly and america as friendly but not polite/kind

cant wait for this episode! i also look forward to get real episodes

Aww no more pH-1 feature, but still loving the og3

Wow this topic is really interesting. Now anticipating the full episode 😊

In Central Asia we say hi to strangers if our eyes meet but we do that in case those people are like our neighbors or relatives and we don’t remember them. So when I came to Korea I only greeted like employees at places I went to and that was a big relief. I feel like Korea is perfect for introverts, provided they have some social circle for support. Cause it’s kinda hard to make friends if you don’t know anyone

ASHLEY U LOOK SO GOOD!! THE HAIRR

the one small talk thing i had to get used to was people greeting you with "how are you?" i'm grew up in an asian household in a predominantly asian community so i didn't have a lot of practice when it came to small talk. it took me so long to realize that (usually) people aren't genuinely interested in how you are doing, but it can be used as a jumping off point to more small talk.

As someone from New Zealand we do say hey to everyone or good morning/ good afternoon but we won't have full length conversations with them! Maybe sometimes might just say a few passing words like enjoy the weather or have a nice rest of your day but nothing crazy long.

Her hair thing is so cool

In my country they say if you don't look the other person in the eyes when saying "cheers" you are going to have bad sex for the next 3 years.. I always thought that was a bit extreme but some of my friends take it as a given and even get a little upset if I don't look them in the eyes

peniel is a babie 😭💙

Funny how this was the first thing I saw after going out on a walk in my american neighborhood and being socially awkward about what distance I should wave and say hello to other random pple walking.

Ya true in New Zealand we are five minutes apart but we don’t have 20 min convos but we do acknowledge each other’s existence and say hi we also gift each other on like public holidays like my fam is Muslim so for eid we give some nice gifts to our neighbors in our street n they do the same on like Diwali or Christmas or the Jewish holiday it’s a nice vibe ☺️

ASHLEY HAIR COLOR THOU ♡_♡

A couple of days go I was babysitting some kids and their mom wished me good luck for your exams and I said oh thank you and u too 😭🤡

I love peniel so much

I am from New Zealand and yes we are a friendly people in terms of greet with a smile or grin or even a hello and how’s your day, just small talk or no talk, I won’t say we stop and chat to strangers for 20 mins actually to do that must mean there is an obvious curiosity toward each other or a genuine friendliness or even desire to know more, it must be a mutual reaction or strong curiosity

👀 in France 🇫🇷 yes you look in the eyes of the person you do the cheers with but then when you drink you stop looking 🤣. It’s like bad luck if you don’t

drinking cultures around the world are so interesting to me because they are so different everywhere. In Germany we look into each others eyes when we cheer and the legal drinking age for beer & wine is 16 however teenagers often start drinking at like age 13-14 :O

Oh I moved to Texas a few years ago and they’re all about small talks and getting into your business and that made my introverted ass uncomfortable for the longest time but I got used to it 🤣

pls peniel talking abt greeting random ppl is so relatable! like where i come from it's natural to see ppl in the street and greet them like "hello" or "good morning/evening/afternoon/ect." but now i moved and ppl just give me weird stares when i say "hello" or something to them as if I'm some kinda creep or something 😂😭✋🏻 so i stopped greeting ppl and now when i go visit home it became natural for me to not greet ppl and ppl think im rude-💀😭

I don’t think that human interaction is ‘ yearned ‘ for here in New Zealand. If anything we’re just a really tight knit country where community is valued and we are more open to communicating with each-others whether we know each-other or not. Not saying Hi / smiling / doing a head nod or a eyebrow raise to someone if your eyes meet is pretty rude or you’ll come off snobbish / stuck up lol

I live in New Zealand 😂😆😂 the story BM has about New Zealand. I can't with the 5mins apart 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

5:00 same.

Americans saying hi to everyone is also a little strange here in the Philippines. But most Filipinos look high up on Americans, so we feel great when they greet us.

The OG 3 💖

Ashley Choi, you look ✨fabolous ✨ wearing that sweater with that hairstyle. 💖

I'm from New Zealand and yes we do sometimes talk to rendom people like we know them for years. We are just friendly people.

I went to Korea a couple years ago and felt like people were very cold there because they wouldn't make eye contact or respond if I said hello while passing them. I wish I saw this video before then because now it all makes sense! They weren't cold, it just isn't culturally normative to say hi and act friendly to strangers!

PENIEL! Just happy to see him :>

I say hi to everyone I meet on the trail because they might be the last person to see me in case I get eaten by a bear 😅

New Zealand cities are not like that lol. My neighbours are about 10meters away and I've never had a conversations with them. Our rural areas are a bit different. Small town syndrome. Everyone knoes everyone.

I don't think it's about space, I think it's just culture. In india even tho our population is high and everyone lives quite close to each other but if we said hello to a complete stranger it will be weird just like korea. Unless you r living in the same society and sometimes in trains

i love how inquisitive BM is about everything hahaha i never really think about that stuff but now he’s got me thinking 🤔

Being from latin America is really something else, even tho we joke ALL the time (sometimes is not a joke lol) with wanting to leave, still I don't think I will EVER be as comfortable as I am with my culture if I go somewhere else, is soo warm, nice, funny and happy even in the hardest times, meeting someone and kiss them, having conversations like you have known them forever, being able to make friends surprisedly fast, being able to talk with strangers on the streets about the weather or how much we hate our government, hugging, heating, laughing, dancing, everything is just, you get it when you live here, i will always be grateful for being born in such a culture, even if Im obligated to leave someday, I woul choose being born in Argentina a hundred times.

Its always funny how tgey always enact whatever they said😂😂

Interesting topics you guys, I’ve always been fascinated in the Korean culture and one actually learns much of it through the dramas but I have to say it seems all the different do’s and don’t that is practiced within the Korean culture must have explanations to them like why? Who made these rules? And how long has it been a practice and are they actual social barriers

Matt: Slow your roll Cowboy ^_^

I’m from Puerto Rico and in the Island like 85% of the people are very outgoing, friendly, is super normal to speak to like everyone even without knowing the person and it doesn’t matter the age, you can hangout and drink like around a lots of people and dance and say hi and is so normal, but is about the culture, so I think is important to search and educate yourself before going to others countries because you can be awkward and maybe get in trouble because of culture differences

Haha, when I first went to Korea, I said "hi" to everyone I made eye contact with the on streets. LOL! It was like a one month later that it clicked why people were always giving me weird looks. I was such an unintentional creep. LOL!! It was such a hard habit to stop though. My bad!

New York is similar, everyone ignore the other person

I plan on visiting Korea some day and I know I'm going to STRUGGLE because in South Africa it's so normal to greet people you don't know and be polite lol, even if it's just a nod when you walk past someone on the street. Something as simple as thanking the driver when you get off the bus. I'd feel awful NOT doing that because that's how I was raised.

In New Zealand, if you live rural areas their can be a big gap between you and your neighbours so convocations are long but mostly happen in the closest town. You never go out walking because distances are to far and you are probably going to get something, groceries, animal food etc In more densely populated areas like cities it's just the same as America is being described. You do stop and have a quick convo to people you do know though

😂😂😂 That's very small town NZ. Although admittedly, even in the city it's generally polite/friendly to greet people on the street. I did feel rude when I had to say no to a conversation with an acquaintance on the street cos I was in a rush. Small town NZ is definitely more of the full conversation thing, but probably because everyone knows everyone.

I can't help but think of "♫Excuuuuuuse ME/and my bad manners♫" for this episode. Don't know those lyrics? Be curious and do a YT search. P. with the intense stare example cracked me! It's pretty mixed when it comes to social manners in my metro area.

LMAO I always way stuff like that to service people! Like after getting a haircut/color and leaving the gal said enjoy the new cut/color and I told her 'you too' just like at restaurants when the servers say enjoy your meal.... lol

In Malaysia we call elderly man/woman aunty uncle..😄 even if we don't really know them/related to them.

Think the face away thing (KR) has to do with respect, usually wine is associated with older folks or your boss etc so naturally(without thinking) you do it out of respect 😊

Us kiwis (New Zealanders) just love a good chat, were friendly people🤝 get to know your neighbors, know who's around you🙌😊

IM EARLY YAAAAY 🥰

peniel my love lol

Ive never been to Korea yet, however I feel like Korea is more sociable and expressive than the other countries. I might be wrong, I don't know. In Australia, in regional towns people here are more laid back and people can be very independent whilst in the cities. Over 90% of us live so close to the coasts.

I would be so awkward lol In Italy, if they are not creeps I like to let someone sit or chat at the stop or on the bus , I’m really sociable and I like to smile at ppl + if there is good weather we would speak on the streets too

In France we're supposed to look into each other's eyes as we raise our glasses, but it's always scared me even though I'm French lol

Sungjae just addressing Peniel as 'Peniel', kinda (rarely with Hyung) and then I recently saw again in my newsfeed the Master in the House episode clip of Sungjae calling Peniel and he has to use formal language. 🤣 You get a hint this hierarchy is not their thing..

idk, i am from Europe and here even if we live in apartments, we do small talks, we also talk with strangers.. kinda warmhearted. when we drink we do chears looking into eyes, its like some sort of respect. when i was in Korea, my friends were older than me and i was sitting in the middle so either way i look there was someone older than me so at the end i turned my back to every one and drank with my back facing the table😅🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

I am Ashley. 😂 I'm bad at small talks too.

I'm from NZ and that is true lol

Cultures are so funny. My country has only 5 mil people and triple the area of SK, but we still don't talk to strangers.

Wooow... I just realized how polite people are in America LIKE I KNEW CUZ I LIVE HERE but dang it may be seen as weird in other places like they said

I also thought people in Korea said hello if you accidentally meet eyes because everyone always bows and all of that to everyone (I have seen on shows.) but I guess that's good they don't do it if they don't know you bc I'm introverted and I know I might come across as rude since I never say "hello" in my country. my country is pretty similar to America so yeah. I can really relate to Ashly here also I'm so shy so that also adds to me being even more introverted OTL

I'm a Muslim Arab. we also have the respect culture but without specifics in naming and gestures like Korea. here are a few of our prophet's sayings about these topics: "A man asked the Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him): When aspect of Islam is best? He replied: that you should provide food and greet both those you know and those you do not know." Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "He is not one of us who does not show mercy to younger ones and does not acknowledge the honor due to our elders".

If a production decides to make a reality TV show, in which several Koreans are placed in an American Southern town for several months… I would watch it.

Me as north African I know I would suffer if I went to Korea, we're used to say hi to ppl and talk to neighborhoods for hours