Noonchi (updated)

I spent a good deal of time yesterday editing a chapter of a dissertation.

The writer interviewed American and Korean elementary and preschool teachers about how they work with autistic students (the industry-standard politically correct way to say that is "students labeled with autsim").

One element of Korean interpersonal communication really struck me. It's called noonchi.

Based on the writer's explanation, I would translate it as "the ability to read your conversation partner's mood."

We use noonchi to a small extent here in the U.S. – if you sensed someone was in a really bad mood, you wouldn't ask for a favor.

But it's so much deeper than that.

It involves the overall context and environment of the conversation; where and when it's being held, etc.

In the U.S., it's the responsibility of the speaker to communicate a clear message. In Korea, it's up to the listener to understand what is being said.

One of the stories told by a U.S. teacher was of a child who yelled "spider" at seemingly non-sensical times. After a long period of observation, she figured out that the child equated spiders with discomfort or danger, so if he said "spider," he meant that he was feeling uncomfortable or threatened.

Fascinating.