Title: Cross-cultural issues of US service members assigned to South Korea

Authors: Troy Coienth Troublefield; Nicholas Harkiolakis

Addresses: International School of Management, 17, Boulevard Raspail, 75007 Paris, France ' International School of Management, 17, Boulevard Raspail, 75007 Paris, France

Abstract: US service members assigned to the Republic of Korea seem to receive little cross-cultural training to face challenges in interacting with the native population. This case study research explored the effectiveness of cross-cultural training practices by interviewing US service members assigned to various positions within the Korean Peninsula. A thematic analysis of the interview transcripts revealed that the formal training practices of the US armed forces in South Korea are lacking in length and do not adequately cover service members' cross-cultural integration needs. While some service members found additional resources on their own and by exploiting affiliated local resources, the overall training experience fell behind similar services the army provides in European locations. The insights gained from this study can help to significantly improve current and future cross-cultural training models that help to build service members' cross-cultural competence in any foreign environment they may be assigned to in the future.

Keywords: cross-cultural training; US service members; South Korea; military personnel; cultural competency; South Korea.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTCS.2018.093552

International Journal of Teaching and Case Studies, 2018 Vol.9 No.3, pp.185 - 202

Received: 05 Dec 2017
Accepted: 26 Dec 2017
Published online: 27 Jul 2018 *

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