Research on the International Communication between Young People in the New Era of Japan-Korea Relations

2004 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary

• Project/Area Number: 13480070
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Japanese language education
• Research Institution: The National Institute for Japanese Language
• Principal Investigator: OZAKI Yoshimitsu The National Institute for Japanese Language, Chief researcher, 研究開発部門第二領域, 主任研究員 (10204190)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): KUMAGAI Tomoko The National Institute for Japanese Language, Chief researcher, 研究開発部門, 第二領域長・主任研究員 (40207816) ; ISHII Eriko Tokyo Woman's Christian University, Assistant professor, 現代文化学部, 助教授 (90212810) ; OGOSHI Naoki Tokyo University, Professor, 大学院・総合文化研究科, 教授 (90152454)
• Project Period (FY): 2001 – 2004
• Keywords: Japan-Korea / international communication / language behavior / language awareness / communication gap / youth

Research Abstract

We conducted a questionnaire of Japanese people (Tokyo, Osaka) and South Koreans (Seoul, Pusan) in order to test the hypothesis that differences in communication styles in Japan and South Korea reported previously derive from "differences in feelings related to personal distance" or "differences related to territory". The respondents were primarily in their twenties through forties, and a small number of older generation respondents in a limited area were also surveyed.
The questionnaire consisted of questions related to the following.
1.Sharing (exclusive possession) : whether they would use other people's things without asking.
2.Physical distance and facing direction : where they would sit in relation to others around a table.
3.Physical distance : whether they would take a seat in cases where their body would press against others on a crowded train.
4.Sharing : whether they would share a room with a friend while traveling.
5.Sharing (exclusive possession) : whether they would drink from another's drink glass.
6.Burden placed on others : how much they would request of whom, with or without saying thank you.
7.Choice of a topic in the respondent's territory versus in the interlocutor's territory in various communicative settings.
Responses to questions about whether they would usually make requests of "Family", "Friends", or "People near their age with whom they had become acquainted recently" showed that South Koreans were more likely to do so than Japanese, and this difference was larger when the request was more burdensome.