I’m going to veer a little off-course with the prompts I answer in my Bloganuary posts. One reason is the WP suggested prompts tend to elicit responses that read like diary entries, which I think can be boring. I don’t always want to write about myself; I’d rather write about observations, so I’m going to say something on a topic that almost every American high school student has had to weigh in on at some point: to tip, or not to tip?
The answer is more complex than a yes or no. One thing is certain, after a lifetime of traveling and living in a number of countries, I can conclude that the United States has the weirdest tipping culture in the world.
What’s more, in recent years, tipping in the U.S. has become downright onerous for tourists as well as average Americans. Customers increasingly encounter entreaties from businesses that, prior to a dozen years ago, would not have dared to exact tips from its customers, let alone at the eye-popping percentages now suggested. I’m dating myself here, but I remember when 10% was a good tip, and now it’s considered insulting.
Lots of people are understandably disgruntled about tipflation, and I found a CNBC news segment that is a pretty good primer on how it may’ve gotten so bad. Be prepared for a mini history lesson about the U.S. Reconstruction Era.
News has just come out about minimum wages being raised in 2024 in a number of U.S. states (including my home state of California), which seems like a good thing for folks who have barely made a living wage, and often relied on tips to make up the difference. Nowhere else in the world does this system exist, which is unpredictable and plays into the dubious American bootstrap mentality.
I’d like to share a bit about how my second home, South Korea, views gratuities, and present a comparison of cultural norms.
Americans are often shocked and confused upon first arriving in Korea, when they realize that no one – neither waiters, hairdressers, taxi drivers, nor bartenders – expects a tip. Even after decades of Americans and other Westerners traveling and working in South Korea, the tipping culture hasn’t really caught on. That’s mainly because it meets with resistance, and even contempt, by the general populace.
I suspect that if tipping does finally encroach into some of the more tony, foreigner-frequented restaurants and bars of South Korea, and migrate outward, the practice could be in danger of one day acquiring the peer pressure and veneer of guilt/shame that accompany some tipping experiences in the U.S.
During the pandemic, I didn’t visit the United States for almost three years. When I finally did, I was confronted with new-fangled digital check-out machines in a number of businesses that not only brazenly assumed I would tip in a previous unthought-of venue, but they offered suggested amounts to tip up to 25%, all with the clerk in front of you, and a line of people behind, witnessing your decision. “Presumptuous” is only the beginning of what I thought.
When do Koreans tip? The short answer is, almost never. The longer answer is that tipping culture in Korea has traditionally been non-existent, and even considered rude, but in recent years, there has been a growing trend of tipping in specific areas where American tourists are common. In Western-themed restaurants and cafés, tipping jars are starting to pop up in front of cash registers. Kakao-T, a taxi-hailing service, recently added a trial version of a tip function to its app, but I predict it will receive some backlash. For now, the average Korean is highly resistant to tipping and wouldn’t dream of doing so for any of the common services they use.
Keep in mind that the minimum wage for Koreans is just under $8.00 per hour, which will rise a little in 2024. Also, the cost of living in South Korea is lower on average than in the United States. Yes, inflation on everything from food to shipping costs has been a little crazy in Korea these past few years since the pandemic, but nowhere in Korea do I see businesses with the kind of audacious tip-mongering and general price-gouging that occurs in the U.S.
A restaurant experience in South Korea is different from Europe or the United States, in that a tip is never expected. In much of Europe, restaurant service is a predictable percentage that is included in the bill (service compris), which isn’t done in Korea. On the other hand, like in European countries, South Korea participates in the Value Added Tax system (VAT is currently 10% in Korea, well below the OECD average). Thus, the price you see on menu in South Korea is what you pay.
Taxi drivers, too, don’t ask for tips. Although I take taxis in Korea less frequently than I used to, I have noticed that their base fare has not really risen too much in the past decade. Whatever I pay, I always round up what I give the driver to the nearest whole number, and they never argue about that small increase (I flee the vehicle before they can give me change). On the other hand, the drivers sometimes shave off a few cents if I am just over a whole amount. This is a kind of informal understanding that I think is neighborly, and not money-grubbing.
I talked to a Korean friend who tried to explain the resistance to the tipping culture that so pervades my homeland. Part of Koreans’ resistance is emotional, she said, as it seems disrespectful, or a form of pity. It activates a power dynamic, where the giver is somehow superior to the recipient, even if that is only felt subconsciously. Service is integral to the Korean work ethic, and to be paid extra somehow seems wrong.
I can only translate this idea as a kind of egalitarian pride, and a general resistance to foreign influences on long-cherished norms. As South Korea opens more to the world, and in particular, comes into more contact with American culture and tourists, I’m not sure how, or even if, tipping culture will catch on.
Now I’ve done my job to stir the pot a little. What do you think about tipping culture in the States, or anywhere else in the world? Should American consumers take to the streets and boycott businesses in zealous protest? Should Korean businesses smarten-up and start nickel-and-diming their customers? Or is the answer somewhere in between?
