Cultural Values and the Korean Negotiator

Abstract

Culture has an inarguable role in shaping negotiation. Negotiators interests, priorities, and strategies are affected by their culture. Each culture shares some similar elements with other cultures while also having its own unique traits. These characteristics can manifest themselves in negotiation behaviors in interesting ways. Korean culture seems to share similar values with cultures of its neighbors, most notably of China and Japan, but it also has differences that emerge with some unique negotiation strategies. This article summarizes and reports modern theories and research results and tries to evaluate how Korean culture affects some of the negotiation styles commonly observed among Korean negotiators.