| Theme: Symbolic Competence
Topic: Socio-Cultural Norms Title: Taboo Topics Mode of Communication: Interpersonal and Presentational Culture Standard: Practices and Perspectives |
Task: Reflect on the following situations in Korean.
- You are at a neighborhood block party in your home country. You meet many new people of all ages. Think about topics that you can talk about with them at this party. Are there any topics that are considered inappropriate in your own culture?
- Look at the following topics and think about which ones are appropriate or inappropriate in your own culture. Then, interview a local person of the target culture and see if the topics below are appropriate, inappropriate, or neutral in their culture. Place one of ✔＝appropriate, △=neutral, ✘=inappropriate, in the column.
| Topics | Your culture | Target culture |
| Age | ||
| Relationships | ||
| Weight | ||
| Appearance | ||
| Price of personal asset/belongings | ||
| Income | ||
| Job | ||
| Educational background | ||
| School grades | ||
| Family plan (e.g., when/if you are going to have a child) | ||
| Religion | ||
| Politics | ||
| Sexual life | ||
| Class year | ||
| Sports | ||
| Hobbies | ||
| Health | ||
| Weather | ||
| Relationships | ||
| Asking about exotic culture/food (e.g., dog, scorpions, worms, etc.) | ||
| Other |
3. Did you discover any topics that are commonly considered inappropriate in both cultures?
4. Have you ever been asked questions that you felt were uncomfortable/inappropriate by people of the target culture? How did you react? Have you ever thought why people of the target culture ask such questions?