Cultural Context

Power distance
This dimension explores the extent to which the less powerful members of organisations and institutions accept and expect that power is distributed unequally. At last, it scored 60.

Individualism
South Korea scored 18 in the individualism dimension. This is a very low score and indicative of a collectivist culture. A collectivist culture places greater value on the achievements of the group as opposed to the achievements of the individuals within a group. Speaking one’s mind and confrontation are considered both rude and undesirable in such a culture.

Masculinity
For masculinity, this dimension indicates the degree to which ‘masculine’ values such as competitiveness and the acquisition of wealth are valued over 'feminine' values like relationship building and quality of life. South Korea’s score of 39 is indicative of a relatively ‘feminine’ culture. This reflects the emphasis that
people place on cooperation and non-confrontational behaviour.

Uncertainty avoidance
In such a culture, an employee may fail to use his or her
own discretion in the event of an ethical dilemma (e.g. a conflict of interest) or where there is no explicit ‘rule’ to direct their action.

Long term orientation
This dimension indicates a society’s time perspective. South Korea’s score of 71 is indicative of a culture that is long term oriented i.e. emphasises perseverance, thriftiness and ordering relationships by status and observing this order.