{"id":70,"date":"2009-02-09T23:57:53","date_gmt":"2009-02-10T03:57:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/korean\/?p=70"},"modified":"2009-02-09T23:57:53","modified_gmt":"2009-02-10T03:57:53","slug":"put-your-rice-bowl-down","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/korean\/put-your-rice-bowl-down\/","title":{"rendered":"I accept!"},"content":{"rendered":"

I haven’t really talked about Korean standards for accepting and declining, so here goes a post on this very important matter.\u00a0 For one thing, accepting and declining an offer can be tricky for the newbies.\u00a0 One rule you should always follow is the rule of humility and modesty.\u00a0 It’s considered polite to refuse someone when they offer you food.\u00a0 Refusing the offer shows that you don’t want to trouble the person who’s doing the offering.\u00a0 To refuse an offer you can use the phrase, aniehyo, dessumnida (\uc544\ub2c8\uc608\uc694, \ub314\uc2b5\ub2c8\ub2e4<\/strong>) or anieyo kwenchansumnida (\uc544\ub2c8\uc608\uc694, \uad1c\ucc2e\uc2b5\ub2c8\ub2e4<\/strong>).\u00a0 Even if you’re hungry enough to chew your arm off, you still have to refuse.\u00a0 Not only do you have to refuse, you have to refuse about twice.<\/p>\n

From my personal experience, I’ve had some unpleasant moments trying to feel my way through the decline and acceptance rules.\u00a0 One time, a friend’s mother asked me whether I wanted something to drink.\u00a0 Of course I refused politely.\u00a0 Deep down inside I wanted a drink, but because I refused very adamantly, she thought I really didn’t want the drink.\u00a0 I just remember sitting there like a fool, sweating in the hot sun, while my two other friends are happily sipping a Coke.\u00a0 The moral of the story is that you should refuse, but not so much that people take your refusal seriously.\u00a0 You have to refuse just enough to be polite but not enough so that people really think you don’t want something.<\/p>\n

There are also exceptions to the refusal and acceptance rule.\u00a0 When you’re dealing with an elderly person, you should refuse only once and accept what the person is offering.\u00a0 Refusing too much can mean that you’re challenging someone’s authority.\u00a0 When you do accept, you have to answer with a ‘thank you’ or something equivalent.\u00a0 You can use either kamsahamnida (\uac10\uc0ac\ud569\ub2c8\ub2e4<\/strong>) or komapsumnida (\uace0\ub9d9\uc2b5\ub2c8\ub2e4<\/strong>) to say thank you.<\/p>\n

It’s true that not being direct can have its downside.\u00a0 Sometimes I want to be frank and say, “Yes, I would like something to drink” on the first try, but there’s also a benefit in being modest.\u00a0 There are times when I don’t want to move an inch from where I’m sitting and when someone refuses twice, I just take that as a ‘no’.\u00a0 I save face because I asked twice and I also get away with not doing anything without the risk of being rude.\u00a0 It’s very convenient!\u00a0 Ok everyone, now I’m gonna conveniently end this post as well!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I haven’t really talked about Korean standards for accepting and declining, so here goes a post on this very important matter.\u00a0 For one thing, accepting and declining an offer can be tricky for the newbies.\u00a0 One rule you should always follow is the rule of humility and modesty.\u00a0 It’s considered polite to refuse someone when…<\/p>\n

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