Culture Shock - 4. Agreeing to an appointment, promise etc and later changing it. ut as a whole we consider a broken promise a character flaw and frown heavily on this practice.

4. Agreeing to an appointment, promise etc and later changing it (Westerners do this to a small degree depending on the situation concerning appointments but as a whole we consider a broken promise a character flaw and frown heavily on this practice. Also the breaking or trying to change a contract is a no- no unless agreed upon by both parties. This is also where manipulation comes in and westerners don’t like to be manipulated. This happened to a native teacher in one of the schools with their contract. In the middle of the year the stipulation changed on the airfare going home in the next year contract and the Korean co teacher asked them to honor the change .Even though their contract was signed the previous year. The native teacher refused saying they wanted to keep the agreement they already signed. This caused a conflict in the relationship. We as foreigners don’t understand this behavior. Koreans sign contracts to buy cars, homes etc. Can they change these agreements on a whim or if their situations change? I hope not. How can a country be a civilized society if agreements mean nothing or excuses are so easily acceptable? This is how westerners generally feel