I won’t lease an office to a Korean. Every Korean I did business with didn’t pay the rent on time.
Many golf country clubs in the Philippines won’t accept Korean golfers as members. This is because Koreans don’t follow proper etiquette at the golf courses. They shout at other people, don’t wait their turns, and are rude to caddies and attendants.
My and other people’s prejudices against all Koreans are not justifiable, of course. We should not, after all, generalise our bad experiences with some Koreans to judge the entire nation of Korea. Being biased against Koreans or towards any individual or group is wrong.
South Korea is a developed country renowned for its cutting-edge technologies and successful industries. Koreans have shown world-class talent in the arts, reaping admiration from audiences around the world. They have one of the best disciplined and well-equipped militaries in the world as they continuously face threats from their neighbour, North Korea.
We buy many Korean items such as smartphones, appliances, cars, and health & beauty aids. Many of us eat at Korean restaurants. Many of us visit Korea as tourists. It, therefore, is quite unfair when we discriminate against Koreans and patronise their products and their country at the same time.
We should not judge individuals or groups based on our past experiences with them. It’s not right though it may seem logical for a few of us.
As much as some Koreans may exhibit unappealing behaviour, it doesn’t mean all of them are like that.
Despite the progress our society has made in stamping out discrimination, we all are guilty of having biases.
I avoid Koreans in my day-to-day business. As much as I know it’s downright wrong, my biases kick in as I recall bad experiences with these ethnic groups.
It’s not enough we show a respectful face when we encounter people we have negative biases toward. Directors at a posh golf country club politely denying membership to Koreans is still discrimination.
It’s even worse, hypocritically, when we visit Korea and enjoy the country and then come back to Manila and resume our biases toward Koreans. We don’t realise that the Koreans aren’t the bad people; we are.
Our biases stifle opportunities to have winning relationships with individuals or groups. Biases are bad for business.
What can we do to set aside our biases?
- Treat every person we meet as an individual who has unique traits, not one that we automatically conclude as a representative of a group.
- Seek to understand. Empathy takes effort and likely more so with dealing with individuals who are culturally different from us.
- Welcome the differences as who knows what insights we could gain. We can learn from the talents & acumens of Koreans. How do Koreans succeed in the arts? How do they grow their business from small businesses to global conglomerates? We could only find out when we open up to relationships with them.
- But we shouldn’t don’t surrender our principles in the process. We shouldn’t let our guard down as we empathise and welcome differences. Some Koreans are successful because they are assertive and persuasive. We should be ready to assert our own principles as much as we become open to what Koreans or any ethnic group can contribute in our negotiations with them. Collaboration is a two-way street after all.
Biases are bad. But these four (4) remedies may do the trick in not only mitigating our prejudices but also in keeping our doors open for opportunities, especially with individuals who could offer insights we never knew existed.
Ellery's Essays 
