Gift Giving In East Asian Culture

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Growing up in Taiwan, I was always fascinated with receiving a Red envelope from my parents, aunts, uncle, and grandparents. The Red envelope would contain money, and I would receive them on special occasions, certain holidays, as a reward when I did well in school, meeting a friend of my parents for the first time, etc.

In Western culture, receiving a gift is a relatively simple process. One would thank the individual giving you a gift, express your gratitude, states something like “Oh you shouldn’t have” or “you didn’t have to do that, thank you” and you both go on your merry way. In Chinese culture, it is far more sophisticated or complicated. When offered a gift, one is expected to reject or push away the gift, expressing that the gift giver is far too kind. After minutes of “pushing and shoving,” then you may finally accept it. But this doesn’t end there. It is tradition and part of the culture to offer a gift in return, the next time you meet again.

In Asian culture, the etiquette of receiving a gift is to reply with another gift in return, a sign of respect but also out of obligation. This often creates an endless pattern of gift-giving. However, In Western culture, while there is no obligation to reply with a gift, it is not uncommon to do so. However, in this case, the reciprocal action of responding with a gift is often because of gratitude.

In Korea, gift-giving etiquette can often create a problem with westerners, especially in the business world. “Western businesspeople who often regard it as a corrupt practice, every gift expects something in return, and one rarely gives an expensive gift without purpose” (Moran, Abramson, and Moran, 2014). It would appear the gift-giving has an underlying intention of expecting something in return, or it is being perceived as bribing.

Furthermore, there are some gifts that are strictly prohibited in the Asian culture. For example, because of superstitions, one should never gift someone an umbrella, by giving someone an umbrella, you are suggesting that you want this friendship to end or separate in Chinese Culture. Gifting a clock carries a connotation of death because of the similar-sounding in the Chinese world in the word “clock.” In Japan, you should never gift in sets of four, because the number four is pronounced as the same word as death. In fact, there are many countries that do not like the number four, which includes China, Taiwan, Hong Kung, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.

In conclusion, you may feel very conflicted about gifting to Asian culture after reading this blog, but I want to make you aware of the cultural differences between Eastern and Western world when it comes to gifting. So, if you ever travel to east Asia and you are thinking about gifting then you should do some research about it to prevent any misunderstanding or confusion in the future.

Reference:

Moran, R.T., Abramson, N. R. & Moran, S.V. (2014). Managing Cultural Differences. Ninth Edition. Abingdon: Routledge.