Although most Americans will have the initial reaction to laugh to New York Yankees pitcher Chan Ho Park’s diarrhea comment, it truly shows a cultural divide between America and South Korea. Sports media in America approach players aggressively – especially in New York. Players are expected to “play ball” and submit to their questions, or they’re labeled some form of “malcontent” or “clubhouse cancer.” After those labels are affixed, credit repair is needed. Yet South Korean culture dictates that all of the athletes and citizens place a high value on such concepts as che-myun (”saving face”) and kongson (”politeness”). In explaining why he’d pitched ineffectively in his two appearances previous to the legendary April 7 “Chan Ho Park diarrhea” video, Park no doubt wanted to establish common ground with the American reporters and be cooperative while establishing the bigger picture for his stint of poor pitching.

Chan Ho Park and diarrhea – not a unique New York Yankees experience

Back in 1986, if Chan Ho Park had announced diarrhea to the New York Media, they’d have told him to come up with an original excuse. Yankees pitcher Ed Whitson got gastro-intestinal distress because of the New York spotlight back then. Chan Ho Park seems to have experienced this same thing easily addressed with payday loans if his salary were tied up with investments at the moment. Yes, diarrhea may be funny to Americans, but South Koreans do not necessarily share the same sense of humor. And, as stated above, it is culturally taboo not to cooperate with authority figures (and the media are treated with less scorn in Asian countries like South Korea than they are in America). Chan Ho Park was being honest and was confused by how funny the American reporters find his statement if you watch the video. Either that is true or his poker face is great.

Chan Ho Park diarrhea and the Power Distance Index

The Power Distance Index (PDI) deals with how a particular culture such as South Korea deals with authority and hierarchy, according to Dutch psychologist Geert Hofstede. {According to veteran military pilot and essayist Albert Southwick, “a culture with a high PDI is more apt to respect authority even when authority is plainly in error.”} This could possibly suggest that America’s low PDI score – in tune with the nation’s general lack of respect for authority and foreign beliefs – indicates why the American sports media is always pushing for the sensational story. South Korea has a high PDI score meaning a native of South Korea would respect media authority whether or not they are invading his privacy. That could be why Chan Ho Park complied with their questions and revealed what Americans would consider TMI – too much information.

But that’s nothing compared with flaming plane wrecks

More study of Aouthwick’s article shows the Chan Ho Park diarrhea dynamic on a more serious scale. In the 1990s, Korean Airlines jets got into fatal accidents. The reason speculated is that rather than questioning the clarity of English language instructions from air traffic control towers and possibly appearing as though they were questioning authority, the Korean pilots remained silent and misunderstood. “Chan Ho Park diarrhea” isn’t a “Koreagate” when compared with loss of life, right?

Article Sources:

Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geert_Hofstede

clearlycultural.com

http://www.clearlycultural.com/geert-hofstede-cultural-dimensions/power-distance-index/

thefreelibrary.com

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/When+cultural+taboos+can+be+deemed+life-and-death+matter.(COMMENTARY)-a0191821762