Although the city of Seoul is changing and becoming more Westernized, its culture is still different than American culture. The Korean language itself uses different phrases and meanings than English. For example, the Korean language uses honorifics, which are titles or words expressing high status, politeness, and respect for the other person. This is similar to us calling someone "mister," "sir," "ma'am," "Dr.," and "miss".
In Hangul (the Korean language), the way you phrase a sentence depends on the status of the person you are speaking to, and range from formal, semi-formal, and informal. Of course, having a high-status job such as being a president or a queen receives the highest formality of speaking. However, occupations such as teaching are highly respected, so students must show the highest respect to their teachers! Imagine having to speak to Ms. Sale with very formal, proper English. If you were to say "hey, what's up?" to her, it would be considered very disrespectful. You would have to say, "Hello Ms. Sale, how do you do?"
