Asia Internship - Culture Immersion Programs in Asia

When we speak of China, Japan and Korea, we may come up with an image of people with yellow skin and dark hair...Well, due to roots of our ancient cultures and connections, It’s not hard to say these three do have a lot in common.

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However, the truth is, profound changes and tremendous progress have taken place in East Asia and the differences among the three countries are more and more obvious.

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Today we are gonna take a deep look of what the differences are.

 

 

01 Face

 

 

In daily, we are often perplexed as we are not sure if we are meeting Japanese or Chinese or Koreans. However, it may be helpful for us to distinguish if we know the typical marks of them:

 

Chinese:

 

Chinese from the North generally tend to have paler skin, square-ish faces with small eyes and noses. While the South have darker skin, rounder eyes, rounder faces and broader noses.

 

Japanese:

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Japanese have longer or more of an oval facial structure than the other two nationalities. They also have lower cheekbones and more pronounced noses.

 

Korean:

 

Koreans also have smaller eyes, but their noses are long and they have noticeably higher cheekbones. Most Koreans have really light and smooth skin. Their rounder facial structure gives them the “youthful” appearance that their culture desires.

 

 

 

02  Colors and Dressings

 

 

Chinese:

 

In China, what a noticeable phenomenon is: compared to the other two countries, Chinese people like bright colors and they cherish red the most, for these represents prosperous and luck to them. Red always comes up as the first choice among the others. So it’s common to see brides wearing red compared to the other two.

 

Japanese:

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In Japan, darker colors such as light brown and gray are more welcomed, for they see dressings as a way to show modesty. However, Japanese style varies between old generation and young generation. Modern days Japanese men and women typically prefer subtle hues, often with short shorts and skirts for women and tight pants for men. Also, they’re known for their kawaii (cute) culture in fashion, which is one way that you can tell a Japanese person from other Asians.

 

Korean:

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In Korea, bright colors are also the most welcomed. They are known to choose brighter colors more often than the Japanese, and also bring in a similar element of the pop Asian fashion that’s popular across the three countries. The funny thing is: they have a special taste in assorted color, even their Korean dramas showcase their love for unique combinations and bright colors.

 

 

 

03 Etiquette

 

 

Japanese & Korean:

 

In Japan and Korea, people tend to bow more often than China, In Korea, a slight bow when greeting each other is necessary while in Japan, a deeper bow in more formal situations is considered appropriate. What needs to be noticed is that Japanese cherish their reputations as lives, so in public, they typically remain extreme silent and even keep their laughter to a minimum.

 

Chinese:

 

In China, strict rules and manners can sometimes been regarded as bondage, besides, western influence is also prevalent in this country. So handshake has actually become a common greeting, with only a slight head nod rather than the traditional bow. As Chinese care most of their freedom and comfort, they don’t have the cultural custom of quietness in public spaces.

 

 

 

04 Food

 

 

Speaking of food in East Asia, we naturally put rice in the first position. However, it is true that the main course among these three countries is rice, but actually they vary on entrees:

 

Chinese:

 

Chinese serve greater variety with types of meat and cooking methods like stir fry, stewed or grilled. They tend to cook food with strong flavour so soybean sauce is used often in Chinese cuisine, when Chinese happen to have food made by soybeans such as tofu. In Chinese cooking method, dressings are pretty much like the best line of a passage, which gives the chef more inspiration to cook in different ways and seasoning.

 

 

 

Japanese:

 

Japanese serve usually seafood or noodles prepared either tempura fried or sushi style. They prefer food with natural taste so raw food is common on Japanese table. As for the seasoning, nothing keeps the original flavour of food better than soybean sauce. But a little stimulating taste is also needed in Japanese cuisine. So, with a tube of unique green sauce with unique flavour called wasabi added to the soy sauce, created the unique taste of Japanese food.

 

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Korean:

 

Korean serve kimchi a lot on table, which is some kind of fermented vegetables with spicy and sour taste. Side dishes are obligatory , they are not whole dishes, but rather small pieces of food on small tables that are used to enhance flavor of the main dishes. What interest is Korean cuisine looks more spicy than it tastes, you can see food stewed in colorful red but tastes not spicy at all on a Korean table. 

 

 

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05 Characters

 

 

Chinese:

 

Chinese characters are called hanzi in Chinese, kanji in Japanese and hanja in Korean. They are mostly shaped complicated, with very little spaces between each one. So if you do not see them shaped of Korean Hangul or Japanese hiragana or katakana, then you are probably looking at Chinese.

 

Japanese:

 

Japanese writing has 3 main components: hiragana, katakana, and kanji. Many hiragana characters are curvy, but they do not have the neat round shapes of Korean, while katakana uses mostly straight or slightly curved lines in relatively simple combinations. These three can be found in a same text, so if you see them either or both, you are looking at Japanese.

 

Korean:

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Korean uses a phonetic alphabet called Hangul, which is distinguishable by the large number of circles, ovals, and straight lines. If the block of text you are reading has characteristic in round shapes, then you are probably reading Korean.

 

Do you agree? If you hold a different opinion or have more to say. Let us know.