W3 : Cultural context (high and low)
∎ Why is wikipedia less popular in South Korean than in most other
developed countries?
1.
In Korea, there is less preference for
Wikipedia than in other developed countries. People can comment on various
reasons for this. However, in my opinion, we can find the essential reason why
there is little preference for Wikipedia in Korea in the cultural context.
2.
Edward Hall, a cultural anthropologist,
explained the high and low context cultures. Low-context culture is
straightforward and clear in communication with others. It has the
characteristics of articulating one's intentions in words and letters. However,
high-context cultures have indirect, ambiguous and connotative communication.
This high-context culture shows a passive attitude in activities that demand
discussion and questions. Korea is included in the high context culture, in
other words, Wikipedia, which accumulates information through discussions with
each other, is unfamiliar in Korea. In order for us to prefer Wikipedia, we
must first get used to the activity of expressing our opinions in words.
However, in middle and high schools, students only accept the information that
teachers explain.
3.
In order for us to prefer Wikipedia, we
must first get used to the activity of expressing our opinions in words.
However, in middle and high schools, students only accept the information that
teachers explain. Also, just as the term "winding" is prevalent in
our daily lives, we interpret opinions using expressions, contexts, etc.
without directly expressing our opinions. What kind of effort does it take to
get used to the debate in our society?
Yongsil, I read your opinion well and I agree with your insight! In addition to your opinion, I think Korea cares more about other people's reactions when they say their opinions than Western countries. The culture centered on "community" rather than "I" seems to have made it more clumsy to express individual opinions. In order to solve these problems, it is necessary to make time for discussion classes in middle and high schools, and to practice gradually.
ReplyDeleteYoung-sil, I read your writing well. I didn't consider the cultural context when I posted a blog post about the question. But I've heard of this before. I agree with you that Korea's high-cultural context system has sympathized with the deactivation of Wikipedia's use.
ReplyDeleteI experienced a lot of team projects when I came to college. One class is to work with team members to solve problems during the semester. I don't think this kind of education program will only take place in universities. I think it should be done in elementary, middle, and high schools, too. Not only Korean, English, math, but also cooperative and PBL subjects should be required. Students who have received such education since the lower grades will be much easier to participate in cooperative classes and demonstrate their abilities in the group even when they come to college.