Unlike the United States, South Korea ranks as a highly hierarchical and collectivist society, according to the Hofstede Center. While a simple handshake typically suffices in the United States, South Korean culture is much different, and greetings among business people and heads of states are more formal. It was very regretful,” said Chung Jin-suk, secretary general at the Korean National Assembly, according to ABC News. “Perhaps it was his all-American style, but an open jacket with hand in pocket? That was way too casual. But his informal greeting with South Korea’s president created frowns rather than smiles. Gates was in South Korea to address the National Assembly regarding the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which is a charitable organization tasked with improving health care and education around the globe. Park Geun-hye with a handshake while keeping his left hand in his pocket. News reports on April 22 show Gates greeting South Korea Pres.
Microsoft founder Bill Gates learned the hard way that a simple handshake isn’t always so simple, especially in another nation.
Even one of the world’s most successful people can fall prey to the trappings of cultural norms and the subtle differences between a sincere greeting and an insincere insult.