Culture shock is something everyone needs to know more about including symptoms and solutions. Culture shock is something we all experience when learning to live alongside people who do things differently. Culture shock can be experienced when you move between companies, counties, or countries. It is nothing to be ashamed of and something to be embraced and managed.
South of Seoul made a commitment to being open and honest about culture shock and offer as many resources to our community as possible. We want you to know that you are not alone and there are ways to manage the mental and physical pain often experienced when the mind and body face extreme change.
Learning more about culture shock and tools for managing culture shock will help you feel empowered to live your best life in South Korea.
This Needs Assessment was conducted by graduate student Olivia Bowman as part of her practicum with SOS Public Health (SOSPH) in the Fall of 2022. This needs assessment examines healthcare information access among the multinational English-speaking community living in South Korea, with a focus on the role that cultural dissonance may play in such access.
Summer vacations are coming. Expect to feel frustrated when you first show up at your favorite spots and they are closed for summer vacation. It’s hard at first but when you understand the cultural standards the frustration gets easier. Let’s talk more about business summer vacations in South Korea so that you can go from … Read more
Don’t get surprised by restaurant break times in Korea! Restaurants across the country provide their workers with time to rest between lunch and dinner. This is a very healthy habit for taking care of front-line workers but inconvenient for customers who don’t know it exists. Let’s talk about how break times may impact you and … Read more
Have you considered Korean vs American kitchen expectations? Learn the differences and how to choose your new home.
Unfortunately, uniformity in rules related to kids and COVID-19 do not currently exist in South Korea. However, we hope the information included in this blog will help military families advocate for their needs. ***UPDATE: As of 02/2022 and the completion of contact tracing in South Korea, this information no longer applies. The information remains live … Read more
South of Seoul takes a deep dive into the South Korean government systems and uses a case study based on recent research surrounding issues experienced within the US Military community. The following information is sourced from Korean government civics classes, interviews with 1339, interviews with the Ministry of Foreign affairs, and personal interviews with US … Read more
What is a Self-Care Itinerary? It’s a day where you only do things that help you and build your ability to cope with change, feel healthy, and feel confident. These kid of days are needed as much as adventure days. We all fight FOMO (fear of missing out) when we live abroad. Fear of not … Read more
Korean pensions are one of the best things about traveling in Korea. They offer unique stays in amazing places. Learn more about pensions today so that you feel comfortable booking them tomorrow. What is a pension? Pensions are like the Korean version of a Bed and Breakfast, except without someone else making you breakfast. They … Read more
Whenever you are moving anywhere, leaving behind a hairdresser that you love and trying to find a new hairdresser feels like so much work. It is an even bigger struggle when you are moving to a new country and you add in language difficulties and differences in hair. There are differences in Korean hair salons … Read more
What is a language barrier? Before we jump into the challenges of language barriers, we need to understand what a language barrier is. There are several definitions for language barriers that essentially say the same thing. For the purpose of this article we will use Google’s Oxford Languages Dictionary. According to Google’s Oxford Languages Dictionary, … Read more
