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YMMV, but having seen both the Japanese and Korean sides of the coin, I'd generalize Korea as being more "intense" on all counts: studying even harder, working

YMMV, but having seen both the Japanese and Korean sides of the coin, I'd generalize Korea as being more "intense" on all counts: studying even harder, working even longer, endurance being prized even more as a virtue. Although I think both societies are slowly evolving out of this, Japan is just a bit further down the path. But yes, the let's-all-be-individuals-together cliques are still going strong. Japanese Halloween illustrates this nicely: virtually everybody who dresses up does so in matching groups. http://tokyofashion.com/halloween-in-japan-shibuya-costumes/ http://tokyofashion.com/halloween-in-japan-shibuya-costumes/

bane 12y ago
It seems to tap into some kind of deep sub-cultural emotion. I mean, we are social animals and all, but sometimes it gets weird. https://wedatenerds.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/frat-guys.png?w=470&h=293 https://wedatenerds.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/frat-guys.pn... I don't disagree at all with Koreans doing things in a particularly intense way. Based on my readings of ancient to modern Korean history it seems to definitely be a fairly modern cultural trait (at least not much older than the occupation). However, Japan seems to have a very intense cultural relationship with this particular mood. I can't really think of a single k-drama that will spend half the episode with a character fretting about how they may be threatening the social harmony of their group, but I could probably pick a j-drama, anime or manga that does at random. It seems to be an issue Japanese people spend an extraordinary amount of time contemplating, expressing, acting upon, reacting to, watching, evaluating, teaching and thinking about. It can make consumption of some Japanese media quite interminable for people who don't care.
Vadoff 12y ago
Koreans definitely study like crazy - probably more than any other country in the world and much more than they should. Many students come home from school only to spend the entire afternoon + evening at cram school in order to "prepare for their future" - which ironically will end up being an average pay desk job. They definitely work long hours as well and have ridiculously high suicide rates - higher than Japan's and third highest in the world.

bane 12y ago

It seems to tap into some kind of deep sub-cultural emotion. I mean, we are social animals and all, but sometimes it gets weird. https://wedatenerds.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/frat-guys.png?w=470&h=293 https://wedatenerds.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/frat-guys.pn... I don't disagree at all with Koreans doing things in a particularly intense way. Based on my readings of ancient to modern Korean history it seems to definitely be a fairly modern cultural trait (at least not much older than the occupation). However, Japan seems to have a very intense cultural relationship with this particular mood. I can't really think of a single k-drama that will spend half the episode with a character fretting about how they may be threatening the social harmony of their group, but I could probably pick a j-drama, anime or manga that does at random. It seems to be an issue Japanese people spend an extraordinary amount of time contemplating, expressing, acting upon, reacting to, watching, evaluating, teaching and thinking about. It can make consumption of some Japanese media quite interminable for people who don't care.

Vadoff 12y ago

Koreans definitely study like crazy - probably more than any other country in the world and much more than they should. Many students come home from school only to spend the entire afternoon + evening at cram school in order to "prepare for their future" - which ironically will end up being an average pay desk job. They definitely work long hours as well and have ridiculously high suicide rates - higher than Japan's and third highest in the world.