Word: naemul
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1990-1999
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...ritual of naemul is an outgrowth of the Confucian grounding upon which Korean society is based. Just ask any Korean or Korean-American about the New Year's Day custom of parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts and other adults handing out envelopes of money to children, who respond with a long, ceremonious bow and a wish of good blessings. Because of this fundamental grounding, naemul in one form or another has penetrated almost every other aspect of Korean society...
American exporters, for instance, have long been aware that they can get their products to market quicker and secure the all-important initital market share by engaging in naemul with dock or port workers. These workers then repeat the process with truckers, who pay "fees" to wholesalers, who would pay retailers, and so on. Only in this way could each participant in the chain hope to compete effectively...
...particularly noteworthy spinoff of the naemul practice is keup haeng ryo, the practice of offering envelopes to government officials to expedite the processing of state-issued certificates and licenses...
...Korea's first civilian president since General Park Chung Hee staged a coup in 1961 and established military authoritarian rule, has issued a sweeping rebuke of the practice of naemul since taking office earlier this year. In a cascade of reform legislation, Kim has attempted to put the practice of naemul out of commission for good...
They fear that the economy, greased for so many years with the plentiful oil of naemul, will contract severely. For example, they point out that most Koreans' base salaries are artificially low, with the expectation that "gratitude fees" will make up the difference...