#travelguide

Culture Smart! France: The Essential Guide to Customs and Culture

~ kuperard ~ Leave a comment

Cinema is the youngest art form, just over a hundred years old, and France was its birthplace. France boasts the third-highest cinema attendance in the word after the USA and Japan, both in terms of admissions and revenues.

The success of French movies is partly due to state protection of the industry. A proportion of films must be in French and produced by French production companies (the same goes for music), and because programs cannot be released on DVD until six months after their theatrical release, France is still a nation of cinephiles and cinema-goers.

One of the most famous international film festivals is the annual Cannes Film Festival, and French films and actors also often receive awards internationally. An example was the 2019 historical drama Portrait of a Woman on Fire, which tells the story of a forbidden affair between an aristocrat and a painter commissioned to paint her portrait. Unlike the UK, foreign dramas on French TV tend to be dubbed rather than subtitled.

Delve deeper into what makes the French “different”. Charming, challenging, uncooperative, questioning, and doing things their own way and to their own advantage are all distinctly French traits. But what is it that makes the French so distinctive? And how do you get through to them?

Culture Smart! France will give you insights into the essence of the characteristically strong French national identity so you can make the most of your time in France and better understand the people who have had such historical and cultural influence over Western civilization.

Book Details:

    • ISBN: 9781787029088
    • Format: Paperback
    • Page count: 200
    • Dimensions: 170 x 110 x 15mm
    • Published at: £9.99 / $12.99 / CAN $17.99

Buy:

Paperback

eBook

Culture Smart! Finland: The Essential Guide to Customs and Culture

~ kuperard ~ Leave a comment

“We are no longer Swedes, we do not wish to become Russians, so let us be Finns.”

The Finns have fought long and hard for the right to their own uniquely Finnish cultural identity. To understand this identity, one must understand “sisu” — an important word for Finns, and one that is notoriously difficult to translate.

It means something like grit and strength, and the ability to stick to something in the face of hardship, all while remaining calm and stoic.

You’ll see a bit of sisu in action when someone throws a little more hot water onto the stones of a sauna before finally jumping into the snow or a nearby lake. You’ll notice it in winter, when the temperature is -22 ° F (-30 ° C) and there are scores of Finns skiing and ice skating,

In fact, you’ll see it all around you as you explore modern Finland, the result of two hard-fought wars for independence.

Finland isn’t all grit and stoicism though. If you spend some time here, break ruisleipä (rye bread) with them, and perhaps learn a word or two in Finnish, you’ll learn that there’s a lot more to be discovered: humor, fair-mindedness, resourcefulness , and generosity among them.

The Culture Smart! guide to Finland describes the historical, geographical, and cultural influences that have shaped the Finnish psyche, and guides you through the working and social lives of the Finns today, offering you a deeper, more rewarding experience of this beautiful land.

Book Details:

    • ISBN: 9781787029088
    • Format: Paperback
    • Page count: 200
    • Dimensions: 170 x 110 x 15mm
    • Published at: £9.99 / $12.99 / CAN $17.99

Buy:

Paperback

eBook

Culture Smart! Korea: The Essential Guide to Customs and Culture

~ kuperard ~ Leave a comment

Over the centuries, Koreans have shown themselves to be particularly adept at assimilating new religious beliefs and practices. Whether it was Buddhism in the fourth century or Catholicism in the eighteenth century, Koreans have been quick to take up and adapt to new doctrines. In the case of Confucianism, a set of precepts for conducting public and private life, the Koreans so took to it that they would eventually claim to be more correct practitioners than the Chinese, who had developed the practice in the first place.

Korea’s rich religious inheritance has greatly affected its customs and traditions. For example, whatever the religion, most Koreans observe some form of Confucian ceremony to mark auspicious occasions. These include the celebration of one hundred days after a baby’s birth—a child that had survived so long was likely to live—and the celebration of the sixtieth birthday.

In South Korea, believers and nonbelievers alike incorporate Christmas and Buddha’s birthday into their informal calendar, and even in the North these dates do not go wholly unnoticed.

Do you want to get to know the Koreans better? Culture Smart! Korea shows you how Koreans think and act and provides a real insight into Korean thinking and behaviour. It describes the cultural pitfalls to avoid if visiting or interacting with Koreans, and introduces some of the other delights of the peninsula. That way, when you arrive in Korea, you will be better able to understand and take part in the cultural life around you.

Book Details:

    • ISBN: 9781787028883
    • Format: Paperback
    • Page count: 200
    • Dimensions: 170 x 110 x 15mm
    • Published at: £9.99 / $12.99 / CAN $17.99

Buy:

Paperback

eBook

Audiobook