Difference between Chinese and Korean 2

• Intermarriage: though Koreans tend to be more insular and ethnocentric, the #1 ethnicity they will marry (outside of their own race) is Chinese. I chalk this up more to Christianity than cultural similarity—though there is that too.  The culture most similar to Korean is Japanese, but that will never take off in terms of intermarriage, because of two reasons: 1) history (the Japanese attacked and occupied and oppressed Korea during WWII, and the Koreans will never forget it), 2) Christianity (Japanese are the second-most resistant people to Christianity in this world after Muslims). Think about it: how many Japanese-Korean marriages do you know? I know two couples who fit that description. In contrast, I know quite a few Chinese-Korean couples.

• Hierarchy: Japanese and Koreans are very hierarchical—this comes from Confucianism. They respect elders and speak in honorifics. Chinese, despite the fact that Confucius came from China, are much more egalitarian (I’m not using this with reference to gender but rather to class) due to Communism. A Korean teacher or pastor should be obeyed, no questions. With the Chinese, house churches spring up everywhere because it is largely classless nowadays, and thus it breeds the “priesthood of all believers.” Malcolm Gladwell controversially wrote in his book Outliers about Korean hierarchical communication.