I am trying to ascertain the relevance of bowing in the Korean culture - what is the origin - are there any circumstances when one would not bow when greeting another? Bowing forms an important part of certain martial arts and as such it's understanding has relevance even to those of us who are not directly in touch with Korean citizens.
I cant really help you with the origins, but maybe a little with everyday bowing.. for example whenever i go to the gym i always bow to everyone and greet everyone, regardless of age etc. i would give them a short bow and greet them by saying 안녕하세요 "annyoung haseyo" like hello how are you? if im closer to someone in the gym or i havent seen someone in a long time i might say 잘지내고 있어요? (jal jinaego eesoyo?) "have you been doing well?" and i always make sure when i bow to the coach that i give more attention to him and that he knows i bowed and greeted him. Whenever i meet people i dont know i always bow and greet them, even if they are nothing to do with me, for example if im in the office at work and someone arrives to speak to my boss, even just a delivery man, they have no relevance to me but still you should greet them and bow. Its just become a natural reaction when i meet people just to bow and greet them. However when meeting say kids or people younger than you, depending on the situation it is not usually necessary to bow, but ofcourse they should bow to you, often much lower from the waist if they are children. In that kind of situation 반말 (banmal) or informal speech is often used as when talking to friends, rather than 존댓말 (jon det mal) formal speech, when speaking to those older than you, seniors, people you are not familiar with, co workers etc. Then ofcourse i have some friends who are korean but have lived in western countries or have become accostomed to western culture, they dont like me bowing or using formal speech and habits such as holding things with two hands when recieving/giving for example when drinking. Another circumstance when i would never bow is with my girlfriend, it is not neccassary and extremely strange to do so. If i did, she would laugh haha ofcourse it is also necassary to bow when saying goodbye to people too. ah im sorry everythings a bit mixed up and im sure theres more i have missed out so maybe ill add to it later, or some other people should too, hope this helped a little~
Great reply as always Studude67. As a westerner, I sometimes find the extreme politeness of Asians very amusing, but also very interesting. I find the Japanese rather "over polite", but really admire the down to earth politness the Koreans still maintain. Much like the old school British gentleman. I work for a Japanese Bank as a corporate banking Account Officer, and I meet directors of Japanese companies very often. While they will bow to the lowest ranking Japanese people in my bank, they very rarely bow to me. Even though I speak fluent Japanese, they generally treat me as a foreigner, and act as such. Australia is VERY VERY Korean. I have spent the last year surrounded by Koreans, thanks to my gf. The Koreans, unlike the Japanese, I've found, seem to expect you to act like a Korean once you have become friends. As I am younger, I am expected to bow sightly to my friends when I greet them, and end scentences with "yo" (요). For example, when they say "anyoung", I would bow and say "anyoung he say yo" (안녕하세요 ). When I meet people much older than me, like the owner of my favourite Korean BBQ (he gives me free Soju), then I would bow much lower, and say "anyoung he shim ni ga hyung nim" (안녕하십니까 형님). He gives me a slight bow and says "anyoung he say yo" (though usually Koreans will speak at your politeness level if you are a foreigner, even if you are much younger). From watching Koreans, they ALWAYS bow when they first meet someone. They will always bow at work, or when addressing someone much older than them. When they are speaking to someone their same age, they will not bow or say "yo", but if they are speaking to a friend older than them, they will bow, say "yo" etc. As a westener, once Koreans find out you speak Korean, or wish to learn Korean customs, you can expect to be treated with extreme politeness. Older people will be bowing to you, saying "Da" (다) after scentences, using two hands to pour you soju etc. Thats why are I love Korean culture so much more than Japanese. Koreans will welcome you with welcome arms after the smallest gesture of interest in their culture. As a westener, bow as much as you want. What would be considered extremly over polite for a korean, will be consider a massive complement from a westerner.
On the note of the origin of bowing, I believe it can be traced back to submission. This is probably true for all cultures. In Britain, bowing your head would be a sign that you are admitting the other person is more senior than you, for example when you bow to the Queen. It could also show that you have no intention of being superior to someone else, like when a charming Knight (ie. me) bows to a lady. Dogs always lower their heads to thoes more powerful than them. In Asia, I would assume mutural bowing would be a sign of respect. Allowing yourself to be vunerable (to a sword for example), would be a sign of friendship. Very similar to how when people shake hands, they can no longer use a sword (because they shake with their right hand). In the British Army, soldiers salute with their palm facing forwards. This is thought to symbolise a Knight raising the visor of his helmet to show that he was a friend. Almost all of these gestures can be linked back to desire to show friendship/submission/respect.
What about if you met someone you were not friendly with, or had reason not to respect. Do any circumstances ever justify not bowing? To take it to the extreme would you bow to a murderer?
Well, it would be the same as if you met a westener you didn't respect. You wouldn't greet them, and you wouldn't bow. I generally ignore people I don't respect.
