Japan and South Korea, these two countries have historically shared so much culture with one another.
There are, in fact, so many similarities between Japan and Korea. It sometimes confuses Westerners.
However, both countries have their own unique culture and rich history. And they are actually very different if you see them in depth.
1. Language
The first thing that distinguishes their culture is the language.
Japanese is based on Japanese alphabets (Hiragana and Katakana) and Chinese characters (Kanji).
As for Korean, they use Hangul. Korean people used to use Chinese characters as well, but they completely abolished it in the middle of 1980s.
However, the use of formal language and grammar are still very similar, and they share a lot of words with one another.
So, it is often said, Japanese is the easiest language to learn for Koreans and vise verse.
2. Cultural Influence from Others
After all, Japan is an island country while South Korea constitutes the Southern part of the peninsula located in the Asian continent.
It drastically differentiates the two cultures.
Historically speaking, Korea has had significant cultural impacts from China and the continent.
Of course, China has culturally influenced so many other countries.
Japan is no exception.
But it was a thousand years ago, and Japan was isolated in most of its history due to the isolation policy during Samurai government.
Instead, it is to some degree closer to Western culture after 19th century, when Samurai Shogunate was abolished.
Thus, Korean culture is much more similar to China, while Japan is closer to the West.
3. Food
The geographical factor, mentioned above, also changed the way they consume food.
As you may know Kimchi, Korean food is mostly spicy, and they eat with spoon, fork, and metal chopsticks.
They use metal chopsticks so they don’t get damaged by fire when they do a Korean barbecue.
On the other hand, Japanese people love fish as you may know sushi.
And they use thin chopsticks made of bamboo since it is easier to pick bones from fish while eating.
Generally speaking, Japanese food is more complicated and more confusing, but Korean food is very simple.
4. Confucianism
The biggest impact from Chinese culture on both countries is probably Confucianism.
While Japan still practice the way of Confucius somewhat, it is way more common and very important in Korea.
So the family roles in the Korean culture are very different.
In Korea, it is common, especially for men, to speak in honorific language (Jondaesmal) when they talk to their parents or grandparents.
So it is a sign of showing respect to elderly in Korea.
Not only within family, age is very important in Korean society, and they use honorific speech to older people all the time.
Because of that, age is sometimes the first question that Korean people ask each other, but asking someone’s age is considered rude in Japan, especially to a woman.
5. Religion
Christianity is the major religion in South Korea.
On the other hand, only around 1% of the population claim Christian belief in Japan.
Shinto is the Japan’s native religion and more than half of the population in Japan believe in Shintoism in some way.
Speaking of Shinto, the Emperor of Japan has the highest authority in Shintoism, and Japan’s holidays are mostly based on Shinto rituals.
Many Anime and Japanese cartoons are greatly inspired by Shinto.
6. Internal and External Collectivism
Both countries have collective society, but Japan has an external collective culture, while South Korea has an internal collective culture.
It means Japanese collectivism is more society-centered, while Korean collectivism is more family-centered.
In Japan, following social standard and social order is very important.
Considering how others feel about your act and behavior is a big deal.
However, in Korea, it is more important to be a part of family rather than what strangers in the society think of themselves.
It’s more related to the culture of Confucius, which heavenly emphasizes family loyalty.
If you are a foreigner, it’s easier to make friends in Korea than Japan.
While Japanese people tend to create barriers and not tell their honest feelings, Korean people are relatively friendly and treat you like a part of family.
But once you did something wrong to someone in your group, you are out of “family”, and they would tell you like “I thought you were one of us.”
It’s obviously oversimplified, but it reflects only culture.
7. Society
From the aspect of society as a whole, Japan is quieter and more peaceful, while South Korea is more fun and entertaining.
Personally speaking, if you like to see natural wonders and traditional architecture, Japan is good.
But for those who like to enjoy nightlife and want to go shopping, South Korea is more recommended.
8. Work Ethic
Korean people are productive and efficient at work.
But the problem in the Korean work environment is people sometimes are over competitive and little bit hasty.
Japanese work ethic values order and prudence over efficiency and competition.
So, it often leads to overwork and unnecessary meeting.
9. Patriotism
Again, Korea is a peninsula in Far East Asia.
Due to the fact, the history of Korea is sometimes considered as one of the most tragic of all Asian countries. Looking at history, people of Korea have fought to defend their land from invasions from its neighbors. This makes the strong sense of national pride among themselves.
It doesn’t necessarily mean Japanese people are not loyal to their country. There are many types of people when it comes to politics and all. But it is also true that young generation in Japan don’t really care, comparing to young people in South Korea.
10. Overall Culture
Finally, I will just write down the overall differences.
Korea has K-Drama, but Japan has Anime.
As for music, Korea has K-POP and Japan has a bunch of idols.
About Art, Japanese art is more elegant and intricate, but Korean Art is more elaborate and creative.
Japanese traditional clothes are Kimono, but Korean clothes are Hanboks.
The most well-known martial arts in Korea is Taekwondo, but Karate is Japanese.
These differences that I analyze are only small parts of all, but there are uncountable differences between two cultures in reality.
If you travel to both countries, you may realize those things
However, it is still a generalization of people and the culture, and it doesn’t necessarily apply for all the individuals in the countries.
Japan and South Korea: The Differences and Similarities. By Julija Minauskaitė
September 24, 2016 V. K. European Day of Languages. Essays of the Contestants, Pupils’ creative approach.
Japan and South Korea: The Differences and Similarities
Firstly, their food culture is very similar. They both use chopsticks during breakfast, lunch or dinner. Eat their staple food: rice and soup, and most importantly they eat quietly. It is their part of traditional food culture.
Secondly, they share some big similarities in their language, especially grammar structure. Koreans have 14 consonants and 21 vowels; however, Japan has three different writing systems. Nevertheless, if Koreans wants to learn Japanese language, it is easy to learn it for them, because of the grammar similarities they have. Typically, Koreans and Japanese people are very hardworking. It is normal for them to work 6 days a week, without getting paid extra! But after work, they instantly become party animals. Now about rush hours. Big cities like Tokyo or Seoul are basically very crowded, so during rush hours be prepared to be sandwiched between people and be bumped or hit without apologies. They simply don’t have the energy to apologize.
However, there are plenty of differences between these two countries.
Both countries have very strong work ethics, however Koreans are slightly different. They are more “American Style” on how they think and speak. They are quicker to offer their opinions and are more likely to tell you something directly and forwardly and be less concerned with what everyone thinks about them. But people in Japan are fairer. If you lose your wallet in Japan, people would pass it to the police officer and you’ll get it back, but in Korea Maybe you’ll get your wallet back, but not money.
About sense of style. People in Korea seem to fall in love with the same thing every time. When there’s something in style, everyone follows it. But in Japan everyone seems to have their own style. They tend to like and wear “kawaii” or cute related things.
Also, Japanese animation, (also known as anime) is a very popular form of animations in Japan, which is quickly spreading all around the world. But not only animation is popular. South Koreans have a music style called K-pop. This music industry gets bigger and bigger every day, leaving Japanese J-pop behind. In one word, Japanese have luck in animation industry, while South Korea– in music.
Japan and South Korea are wonderful countries, full of entertainment and energy. Their culture is interesting and engaging for people all around the globe.
