http://www.facebook.com/pages/Nunchi/112020908809005

Nunchi (or noonchi) refers to a concept in Korean culture that describes the subtle art and ability to listen and gauge others' moods. In Western culture, nunchi could be described as the concept of emotional intelligence. In Korea, it is the person's kibun being read, which is his or hers pride, mood, or state of mind. It is of central importance to the dynamics of interpersonal relationships in Korean culture. Nunchi is literally translated as "eye-measure". It is closely related to the broader concept of paralanguage, however nunchi also relies on an understanding of one's status relative to the person with whom they're interacting. It can be seen as the embodiment of skills necessary to communicate effectively in Korea's high context culture.

Nunchi in popular culture

• The concept of nunchi, and one's abundance or lack thereof, forms the basis of many common expressions and idioms. For example, a socially clumsy person can be described as nunchi eoptta (눈치 없다), meaning "absent of nunchi."
• The concept of nunchi was introduced in Cracked under the article, The 10 Coolest Foreign Words The English Language Needs.

See also

• List of Korea-related topics
• Korean culture
• Korean language

External links

• Korean Culture: Kibun and Nunchi - Forum discussion of the concepts of kibun and nunchi.
• The English Connection Nov. 2000 Volume 4 / Issue 6 (PDF) - A discussion of nunchi with respect to non-Korean teachers in Korea.

And more here:

http://crazyaboutkorea.wordpress.com/2011/04/11/the-korean-personality-relationships-nunji-%EB%88%88%EC%B9%98/

Because of the importance of feelings in relationships, Koreans believe in creating the “right” feeling or atmosphere in their relationships. To do that, they practice nunji (눈치). You might have already realized that it’s common for Koreans buy each other meals or give gifts. When they practice so, they are actually maintaining their relationships, or practicing what is known as nunchi (눈치).

Nunchi (눈치) is a pretty difficult-to-describe term in English context. I’m not even sure if I can even explain this clearly so I’ll be really glad if there’s anyone, especially Koreans who can tell me more about it. I attempted to find out the meaning of this word in Korean, only to find out that the meaning is abstract.

Here’s some explanations of nunchi (눈치) from the various sources :

“Nunchi means that in conversations Koreans will try to say nothing that could be construed as negative; stating the truth, being scrupulously fair, or quickly settling any contractual agreement are all alien to the face-saving that nunchi requires.” (Insight guides: South Korea)

Nunchi refers to a concept in Korean culture, described as “the subtle art of listening and gauging another’s mood”. ~ nunchi also relies on an understanding of one’s status relative to the person with whom they’re interacting. It can be seen as the embodiment of skills necessary to communicate effectively in Korea’s high context culture. (Meaning from Wikipedia)

Anyway, the best definition that I came across is from “Changing Korea: understanding culture and communication” which has a good chapter on what “nunchi (눈치)” is. To summarize the chapter, nunchi (눈치) is the ability to read the speaker’s nonverbal cues, reading between the lines, grasping the situation and reacting appropriately.

So you can see that nunchi (눈치) is extremely important in maintaining relationships with Koreans.