To bow or not to bow

By Dr. Chris Baumann

Korean students bow to their teachers at school at varying angles; common is the quick head bow, but stricter schools demand a full 90 percent bow. In essence, this is a continuation of Korean culture that parents have passed on from an early age. Bowing is seen as a sign of respect, and can mean hello, good-bye, thank you or sorry.

Bowing is an expression of Confucian heritage, a sign of respect to someone older or more senior. This custom is common throughout East Asia, yet the Cultural Revolution in Mainland China resulted in a reduction of this custom there. In Korea, Japan and Taiwan, however, bowing is alive and well, and it is also not uncommon in Singapore and Vietnam.

Having traveled to East Asia for many years, I often wonder about the (perhaps unwritten) rules of bowing. It appears that key determining factors would be age and status, and these two dimensions also determine whether it is just a quick head bow (low level of formality), a 45 degree (medium level of formality) or a 90 degree full fetched bow (high level of formality). Students in East Asian, especially Korean and Japanese, schools also learn how to place their hands when bowing, so it is a perfected ritual.

Bowing in context

But being the co-inventor of the relative values and moderated behavior (ReVaMB) model that dictates cultural values eventuate in behavior depending on the context or specific situation, I get the feeling bowing is no exception. Cultural values in East Asia are largely Confucian driven, but what factors could moderate the bowing behavior?

My experience is largely in education settings and as a customer.

As a customer, I realized that there is a cross-cultural element that makes things more complicated than in a sole local context. On a flight with a major Korean carrier, I noticed that cabin crew did bow to the senior (both in terms of age and corporate hierarchy) cabin crew colleague, but not to me as a business class passenger (presumably I would have also been older than the cabin crew).

Thus age and status seem to have been moderated by the fact that I am not Korean. I had a very similar experience at a major Korean premium hotel in Seoul. Door men bowed respectfully to their superiors and to older Korean or other Asian guests, but not to me as a high fee paying Western hotel guest.

In an education setting, I get the impression that the same principle applies. Asian students bow to Asian teachers and professors, but only occasionally to non-Asian scholars. While the principal of age and status would also drive who bows to whom and when, the moderator again appears be the ethnicity of the people involved.

In other words, it can easily be that an Asian student bows to an older Asian janitor at school or university, but not to a Western professor.

I am wondering why this is so? I doubt it is a sign of disrespect (albeit it might easily be perceived that way), but it is perhaps rather an expression of cultural adaptation, an attempt to be “Western,” or a deviation from tradition.

This could also be a perceived culture-specific expectation from the recipients of bows, that is, a “Westerner” would not normally expect to receive a bow from their junior or subordinate counterparts, but this is only presumably so. Many “Westerners” actually like the custom and follow the “when in Rome do as the Romans do” proverb.

From a visitor's perspective, it does seem awkward when the bowing as sign of respect is not offered to a Western person. It would be similar to cheek-kissing and hugging as a way of greeting among Europeans, or shaking hands among Westerners in the U.S., but excluding Asian customers, colleagues, etc.

But then again, I am certain it is not a sign of subtle discrimination, but rather a sign of (over-)adaptation or perceived culture-specific expectation.

So what is the future of bowing? Is it a fading cultural custom, a relic of the past? Or is it just not practiced with foreign visitors? Has it changed over time?

Outlook into the future

Given that bowing is such an instrumental part of East Asian culture, it would be beneficial to maintain the custom in society, and that means parents and educational institutions should continue passing on the custom.

For corporate culture and training of frontline employees in contact with customers, the above points should be considered. How do foreign visitors feel if they see staff bow to local customers, but not to them? Is it viewed as cool and hype cultural adaptation, or as a rude sign of cultural differentiation? Perhaps when in doubt, just be polite and bow.

Dr. Chris Baumann is an associate professor at Macquarie University, Sydney, and visiting professor at Seoul National University (SNU) in Korea. His work focuses on competitiveness, Confucianism and customer loyalty.