Find your Nunchi (and learn to read other people's minds)

Nunchi, it's claimed, is the Korean people's superpower. Some even say it's a way
of reading minds, though there's nothing supernatural about it. Nunchi is the art
of instantly understanding what people are thinking and feeling, in order to get
ahead. If you're thinking: 'Not another Eastern fad — I've already thrown away half
my clothes thanks to Marie Kondo,' know that nunchi isn't some quaint custom like
taking off your shoes before entering a house. It's the currency of life: reading a
room, a mood or a social situation in order to get what you want. A well-honed and
quick nunchi can help you choose the right partner in life or business; it can help
you shine at work; it can protect you against those who mean you harm; it can
reduce social anxiety. It can make people take your side even when they aren't sure
why. The ancient Korean philosophy Nunchi can help you choose the right partner in
life or even in business (stock image) Conversely, a lack of nunchi can make people
dislike you in a way that is as mysterious to them as it is to you. Koreans refer
to nunchi as 'the advantage of the underdog' because you don't have to know the
right people, or be born with a silver spoon in your mouth to use it. Nunchi is
your secret weapon, even if you've got nothing else, and it's perfectly possible to
train yourself in its life-enhancing arts... LEARN HOW TO READ A ROOM'S 'BOONWIGI'
When it comes to the practical application of nunchi in daily life, it's important
to understand that the unit of nunchi is the room. The object of your observation
should be the room as a whole and how the individuals within it are acting and
reacting. Have you ever been in a room when a famous person walks in? Even if your
back is to the door, and you can't see who it is, you know from the reactions of
everyone around you that something has changed. That is nunchi in action: an
awareness of the cues we get from others. You may not think of a room as a single
living, breathing organism, but it is. It has its own 'temperature', volume, mood —
and these are in constant flux. Koreans talk of a room as having a 'boonwigi' — the
room's atmosphere or wellness level, so to speak. Everyone is a contributing member
of this boonwigi just by being there. When you enter a room, having good nunchi
means observing before you begin to speak or interact. Who is standing with whom?
Who has three biscuits on their plate when everyone else has only taken one? Who
appears to be 'holding court' and why might that be? We have powerful social
instincts that give us strong clues about the room, but we have to be observant —
more focused on others than on ourselves — in order to read them. FIVE STEPS TO
AWAKEN YOUR NUNCHI TAKE A PAUSE BEFORE YOU OPEN YOUR MOUTH When your mind is full
of assumptions about people and situations, it is hard to see what is right in
front of you and to behave in the most appropriate manner. Before entering any
social situation, pause for a few seconds on the threshold of the room and use the
mnemonic HALT, which stands for hungry, angry, lonely, tired. Are you any of those
things? If so, ask yourself: 'How might that affect the way I go into this room and
what I see there?' Then enter deliberately and mindfully. Measure what is happening
in the room as you arrive. Are people speaking loudly or quietly; are they smiling
or do they seem sombre? Could it be that someone has just delivered bad news, and
you entering the room with a joke or in an obviously ebullient mood will cause
offence? Even if you did not intend to upset anyone, accidental offence is still
offence. Asking others if they've lost weight is pretty much always terrible
nunchi, for example. They may have lost weight because of stress, illness or
bereavement, and it's inappropriate to draw attention to it. To awaken your nunchi,
take a pause before you enter a social situation to enter 'deliberately and
mindfully' (stock image) GOOD MANNERS ALWAYS MAKE GOOD NUNCHI It might be annoying
to have to wait for everyone to be seated, or eat your soup without splashing it,
but manners exist to make everyone feel comfortable. They bring a feeling of calm
and stability to the room and everyone in it. If you're not sure what the rules
are, use your nunchi to discern them. Watch what other people do; observe their
actions. Is the bread plate on the left or the right? But don't be superior about
it! The story of Queen Victoria and the finger bowl shows that she was a master of
nunchi, even if she had never heard the word At a Buckingham Palace banquet, a
visiting foreign dignitary picked up the finger bowl intended for washing his
hands, and drank from it. The guests around him gasped at his social faux pas, but
to save him from embarrassment the Queen picked up her own finger bowl and drank
from hers, too, defusing a potentially awkward situation. Led by her example,
others followed, also showing swift nunchi: drinking from a finger bowl isn't
usually acceptable but in this situation it was necessary. Nunchi in action. LISTEN
TO WHAT THEY'RE NOT SAYING Don't take a person's words as being an exact reflection
of their thoughts. Study the context and look for non-verbal cues. You might think
that everyone owes it to you to say exactly what they're thinking, but they don't.
Sometimes you do have to be a mind-reader and, with good nunchi, it's not as hard
as you might imagine. Obviously, life would be so much simpler if your colleague
were to say 'I'm cold' instead of 'Are you cold?' as a way of feeling out whether
it's OK to turn up the heating. But they might have been raised in a home where
they were not allowed to express discomfort, where even a simple statement like
'I'm cold' was considered selfish and annoying. If your colleague is prone to an
indirect style of communication, the onus is on you and your nunchi to be aware of
this and to adapt your behaviour. DO YOU REALLY NEED TO ASK THAT? Think about your
office meetings: many people ask questions to show off or to brown-nose the boss,
or just to be seen to be participating. Are the people asking the most questions in
meetings automatically getting respect or bonuses? Sometimes asking a lot of
questions will just earn you eye rolls from your colleagues, who are fixated on the
fact that it's 12.30 and the queue at the canteen is getting longer by the second.
Read the room and don't always feel you have to ask every question that is in your
head. Good manners bring a sense of 'calm and stability to the room and everyone in
it' (stock image) DO NOT IGNORE YOUR GUT REACTION When someone is skilled in
nunchi, Koreans don't say that person has 'good nunchi', they say the person has
'quick nunchi'. Being right is sometimes useless if you're too slow. People with
quick nunchi are speedy judges of character. We often suppress the wisdom of our
first impressions because we're taught to give everyone the benefit of the doubt.
But human instincts — gut feelings — have evolved over millions of years and are
woven into our DNA. It is OK to judge a person based on your nunchi. You don't need
to 'earn' the right to decide for yourself whom you do and do not trust. How it can
help you find lasting love Online dating has made it commonplace to go out with
someone you know next to nothing about. You can't rely on their online profile and
you can't always trust what they tell you about themselves in person. You have to
use nunchi. If you pay attention to reading the other person — better yet, the
whole room — your focus moves away from yourself, which has a calming effect. Who
doesn't want to dissipate the nervousness we all inevitably feel on a first date?
Listen carefully to what he doesn't say as much as what he does. Is your date
avoiding questions about family because he is an orphan, or because he has just
buried them all in his back garden? He's unlikely to tell you either on first
meeting, but you might at least learn there is some issue about his family that
makes him uncomfortable. Is he vague about where he lives because he doesn't want
to give away too much personal information or because he has a wife and two kids at
home? It's also helpful to gauge your date's nunchi skills. How do they relate to
the room themselves? If the wine they wanted isn't available, for example, do they
make a big deal of it or do they just choose another one? Are they friendly and
approachable to others, or closed off and guarded? Don't just judge the way they
behave with you, but assess the way they behave with everyone. Finding the right
partner requires plenty of nunchi. Some friends will tell you to make a list of
must-haves —money, looks, good job — and not to budge from these. Others will tell
you the exact opposite — that you have to throw your must-haves out of the window
or you will remain alone for ever. Nunchi is the middle path here. You neither have
to drop all your standards nor enforce them unrealistically; it is important you
are discerning and adaptable. Observe carefully, gather impressions, and don't
ignore ones that tell you what you don't want to hear. Think of the couples that
you love to be around — I bet they're the ones with good nunchi. Couples who are
considerate of each other's feelings and who can anticipate each other's needs have
a way of spreading those good and thoughtful vibes to others. We all want to spend
more time with people like this. The opposite is true for couples with poor nunchi,
who either do not see or do not care about their partner's needs. Everyone dreads
having these couples around. Adapted from The Power Of Nunchi: The Korean Secret
To Happiness And Success by Euny Hong, published by Hutchinson on September 5 at
£12.99. © Euny Hong 2019. To order a copy for £10.40 (offer valid to September 2;
p&p free on orders over £15), call 0844 571 0640.

Props from the Vatican used in South Korean exorcism thriller The Divine Fury

SINGAPORE - South Korean director Kim Joo-hwan, who also goes by Jason Kim, says
that he had no hesitations when casting the lead for his new film, thriller The
Divine Fury. He wanted Park Seo-joon, the leading man in last year's hit romantic
comedy What's Wrong With Secretary Kim, right from the beginning. Please subscribe
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Children Learn to Become Global Leaders at the 2019 Eye Level Model United Nations
Camp

SEOUL, South Korea, Aug. 12, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Eye Level, a global leader in
educational services, together with the United Nations, the South Korean Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, and Save the Children Korea, hosted the Eye Level MUN (Model
UN) Camp from August 6th through 11th, 2019. 2019 Eye Level Model United Nations
Camp 98 students from 9 countries between third to sixth grades of elementary
education participated in the camp. Registration was free for all students but
those who were selected as participants through local competitions were provided
with a complimentary trip to Korea along with meals and accommodations as well as
various commemorative items. Moreover, for every participant that registered, Eye
Level is scheduled to donate $1 to Save the Children Korea, a charitable
organization that seeks to improve the lives of our youngest populations around the
world. Through this academic simulation, children learned how the United Nations
works together to solve real-world issues that affect societies and communities at
a global level. In essence, students played the role of UN delegates from assigned
countries. A strong focus of the Eye Level MUN camp was to sharpen language skills
so that students can develop their public speaking capabilities. Students had the
opportunity to develop their leadership skills as well as acquire knowledge about
cultural diversity awareness. This year, Save the Children Korea also ran sessions
about their "Safe School Declaration" campaign and students got together to discuss
about building safe learning environments. The highlight of the camp was allowing
students to meet a former UN council and learn what it takes to become global
leader. The Eye Level MUN camp was more than just learning about geopolitics and
international relations; students also participated in recreational activities
involving music, dance, and sports. Thanks to the current trend of internet
connectivity and social networking, the international friends that children make at
the camp may last forever. ABOUT Eye Level Story continues Eye Level is an
international provider of supplemental education services in Math and English with
more than 2 million students having experienced its programs. The core education
principles of Eye Level promote self-directed learning while building strong
academic foundations and increasing motivation to acquire knowledge. The goal of
Eye Level is to prepare students to embrace learning as a lifelong project with a
focus on mastery. Photo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20190809/2548142-1