Getting Along & Getting Things Done in Korea!

The Importance Of Saving Face in Korea!

Because of the importance of social class, rank and precise behavioral forms in pre-modern Korea all Koreans became incredibly sensitive about the behavior of others as well as their own actions because there were so many ways they could get into trouble.

Doing something that made someone else “lose face” or yourself losing face was not a trivial thing. It could be, and often was, disastrous—and it is still something that cannot be taken lightly.

This cultural factor gave birth to chae-myun (chay-me-yuun) or “face-saving” as one of the most important—and demanding—aspects of Korean life.

Car parts exports are outdoing exports of finished cars in South Korea. According to a recent article in Korea's leading newspaper, the Chosun Ilbo, the improved quality of Korean-made components and more overseas production by Korean conglomerates have attributed to the rise in exports of car parts that is up by 6% in 2013 over the previous year. This rise is nearly double of what the finished automobile industry has seen with their 3.1% increase. According to South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, exports of car parts hit a new record in 2013 at 26 billion won. The Chosun Ilbo also recently reported that exports of IT parts are surging as domestic firms including Samsung boost the proportion of overseas production. In addition, last year exports of semiconductor chips hit a record of US$57.15 billion due to the growing demand in mobile devices.