Formality in the Korean Consulate

In order to obtain a work visa, I had to travel to the Korean Consulate of Chicago for an interview.  I've had many international friends but never heard of such thing as a visa interview before.  Anyway, I took a day off and woke up at 4:30 a.m. to ride five hours to downtown Chicago with my mom for a 10:30 a.m. visa interview.  (I suppose I shouldn't elaborate on the time as if it were a complaint.  After all, I did get a brand new MacBook Pro out of the deal--a late graduation gift from my parents.  We just happened to walk by the Apple store on the way to lunch. Thank you, Mom and Dad.) 

I arrived to the sky scraper building by about 10:15 and rode the elevator to the 26th floor for the Korean Consulate office.  Inside, about a dozen people my age were either lined up in the visa line or sitting in nearby chairs waiting for their chance to prove they had only honorable intentions for entering the country.  Most of the people were preparing to teach English as well.  The clothing combinations of the applicants in front of me demonstrated that we all had different interpretations of the interview formality.  One girl wore black dress pants and neatly tucked hair balanced by an uncovered facial piercing. I imagined the interviewer granting her two points for the clothes and subtracting one for the piercing. The dude in front of her sported a grey zip-up sweatshirt, jeans and a backpack with a just-as-confident demeanor.  I calculated these factors while examining my own denim capris and sneakers on bottom and corduroy jacket on top. I used extra bobby pins to tame my messy 

bun.  Was this supposed to be formal? 

I gave my documents to the Korean secretary and waited for my interview.  The interviews were conducted two at a time, and I soon discovered that we all were scheduled in the 10:30 a.m. time slot.  At one point, I attempted to read a Korean document sitting out, and my limited attempt impressed a nearby Korean woman. I hope they will appreciate my attempts when I'm in South Korea. I listened to the other applicants talk about how far they'd come for their interview and where they would be teaching in Korea. Finally, they called my name.  I went in for my interview with another applicant who was dressed a little bit better than me.  

A middle-aged man dressed in a suit asked the questions.  As soon as I was required to respond, I was surprised to remember I had gum in my mouth.  Yikes!  Minus two points! Why were we going to go to South Korea?  What was our college experience like?  What were the purposes of our other overseas experiences?  The process took about five or ten minutes.  The interviewer didn't smile, laugh or respond to any of our answers.  

When we were finished, I turned to the man and said "Kamsahamnida" (Thank you in Korean.) I wanted to show my efforts to learn from other cultures. (Maybe this would balance out the points I'd missed for the chewing gum I tried to hide.)  The interviewer didn't smile, laugh or respond. 

"Is that correct? Kamsahamnida?" I asked. He glanced up at me and nodded while maintaining his interviewer stoicism. 

My Korean friend, Jackson, told me the man wouldn't have considered it appropriate to smile or laugh during a formal interview.  I realized I often laugh to ease the awkwardness of formality.  There was a lot of formality to learn when I trained to be a server at the Cedar Rapids Marriott and Elmcrest Country Club.  The trainers wanted me to talk to the guests in a certain way and deliver entrees in a certain direction (serving from the left and clearing from the right, especially for a wedding party.)  Serving wine is one of the most nerve-racking things I've ever done.  And pulling the cork is only half of the difficulty.  The server must juggle the bottle, opener and presentation cloth throughout the process.  She must first offer the wine to the person who ordered it, wait for his/her approval, and then serve the guests, following the direction rules.  The server must not forget to offer the cork for smelling purposes.  (Now, I pride myself in knowing how to serve it properly, but one can't help but feel scared the first time.)  I guess I think acting personable trumps formality and usually results in bigger tips anyway than abiding by service etiquette.  When I first started working for CIEP, all of my emails looked very formal and were signed with my name and title, but gradually my emails became more personal.  

I hope to continue to discover the way formal situations are regarded by others around the world.   I know many of my international friends think Americans look like slobs, judging from the way they dress.  I think they have a point.l

My Korean friend, Bin, is one of the most giggly people I know, but I guess I've never seen her in a formal situation.  It sounds silly, but I honestly worried if my visa would be denied because of my chewing gum.  Luckily, the visa arrived two days later in the mail. Korean adjustment #1: What is formal is formal.  Laughter is for later.