Episode 33: Noonchi (Concepts)

Korean. American. Podcast

This week Jun and Daniel discuss the concept of noonchi in Korean culture. Noonchi is commonly translated as “emotional intelligence” or one’s ability to “read the room”, but after hearing it used in many other ways, Daniel dives deeper into some of the nuances and alternative meanings of this term. How can you give noonchi to someone, and how does it compare to general passive-aggressive behavior? Is it something that you’re born with, or something that you can develop? Is life more difficult if you have it, or if you don’t? Is it possible to have too much of it? How would noonchi change for Koreans when they leave Korea? Can you have it without an understanding of Korean culture itself?
If you're interested in any of these questions, tune in to hear Daniel and Jun discuss all this and more! Also in this episode, Daniel asks one of the more difficult questions so far in the podcast, Jun shares a surprising detail of how he was parented, and the show gets its first ever (audio) guest/cameo.

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1. [Ad] Edges and Echoes (00:26:39)

2. (Cont.) Episode 33: Noonchi (Concepts) (00:26:40)