A Comparative Analysis of the Use of Expressions of Gratitude between Seniors and Juniors among College Students in Korea and Japan

The aim of this study is to conduct a comparative analysis on the daily use of expressions of gratitude among college students in Korea and Japan and identify their differences or distinctive features in an effort to examine them from a psychological perspective. More specifically, this study focuses on the students with a senior-junior relationship, their interaction involving the expressions of gratitude, and what it reveals about their psychological state. For the purpose of obtaining data, two groups of 14 college students, in Korea and Japan respectively, were provided with a scenario where a junior student received assistance from a senior. The subjects were then surveyed using the Psychological Test and Discourse Completion Test. The findings of the survey are summarized as follows: First, a significantly higher percentage of Korean students (77.3%) answered they “felt grateful toward their seniors” than their Japanese counterparts, and the most commonly used expression in Korean was ‘Thank you’. About 51.9% of Japanese students said they felt grateful, and 29.5% of them answered they felt sorry. With regard to the expressions, two of the most frequently used were ‘Thank you’ and ‘I am sorry’, respectively. Secondly, it turned out that the Korean students were using expressions of 'offering' something, such as meal or coffee, on a daily basis as a token of appreciation in the form of ‘To buy (a meal or tea)’. On the contrary, none of the Japanese students said they were using ‘To buy (a meal or tea)’ or its equivalent to express their gratitude. Thirdly, only 1.7% of the Korean students agreed to the statement “I think I caused a trouble to my senior”, whereas the number skyrocketed to 14% among the Japanese participants.