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By Yoon Seong-hoon Korea Times Global Student Reporter
When I heard the word ``Dutch pay’’ in Korea, I did not know that the ``Dutch’’ in the expression meant people from the Netherlands.
Now I have got used to the expression my roommate uses to say where he is from, and naturally understand that it refers to people from the Netherlands.
A female friend of my roommate, also from the Netherlands, once visited us and to break the ice I asked her ``Do Dutch people always go Dutch?’’
``It’s not Dutch pay, it is German (Deutsch) pay.’’ She had worked in a restaurant in the Netherlands, and found that when German (Deutsch) people came in for a meal, they always split the bill according to what each of them had eaten (going Deutsch). I heard that even some German couples do this when they date.
Dutch pay is related to the kind of individualism that is a stable concept in European people’s minds. Some months ago, during a class, I saw that Korea was first out of over thirty countries when it comes to collectivism. That is why, I think, Dutch pay is not in our culture.
In Korea, older people usually pay the bill.
Of course when older people treat us, we are supposed to treat younger ones. When we became freshmen in university, we were happy to get free lunch from our seniors.
However, there is no free lunch in the world. When we became sophomores, we had to treat our new freshmen. This is typical Korean pay.
Both of them, Korean pay and Dutch pay, have their own characters. While Dutch pay is fair and individualistic, Korean pay is a bit far from fair but helps you make connections with other people.
Nowadays in Korea, especially among the young generation, Dutch pay has become quite common.
Personally I also prefer Dutch pay, however, as a Korean, if I have to treat somebody or could be treated by someone, I am willing to accept it.
Korean pay is a valuable tradition embedded in our culture that brings people together.
1. When you go out with your friends, how do you pay for your meal?
2. Is it the same practice when you go out with your coworkers/colleagues?
3. When you were younger, did your seniors treat you out?
4. When did you start treating your juniors out?
5. What are the good things about Korean Pay? How about the bad aspects of it?
6. What are the good things about Dutch Pay? Bad?
7.When two (adult) siblings go out, who pays for the meal?
(How about the eldest sibling, who treats him/her out?) |