wtfeWays They Frame Engineering
日本語

South KoreavsBrazil

韓国とブラジルKRBR

Seen from South Korea: each line below describes Brazil relative to South Korea.

Swap: see South Korea from Brazil

Culture Map: eight scales

Erin Meyer's eight scales, sorted by how far apart South Korea and Brazil sit, largest gap first.

Filled dot: South Korea, where you are looking fromHollow ring: Brazil

Where you will notice the difference4 scales

  1. Communicating

    Brazil spells things out more explicitly than South Korea (2 steps)

    South Korea +2, Brazil 0, on a line from −3 (Low-context) to +3 (High-context).

  2. Evaluating

    Brazil gives negative feedback more directly than South Korea (1 step)

    South Korea +2, Brazil +1, on a line from −3 (Direct negative feedback) to +3 (Indirect negative feedback).

  3. Leading

    Brazil keeps less distance between boss and team than South Korea (1 step)

    South Korea +2, Brazil +1, on a line from −3 (Egalitarian) to +3 (Hierarchical).

  4. Disagreeing

    Brazil is more willing to disagree openly than South Korea (1 step)

    South Korea +2, Brazil +1, on a line from −3 (Confrontational) to +3 (Avoids confrontation).

Where you are close1 scale

  1. Trusting

    South Korea and Brazil sit on the same step

    South Korea +2, Brazil +2, on a line from −3 (Task-based) to +3 (Relationship-based).

Not placed3 scales

These scales are left unmarked: either Meyer leaves a country off the scale or no source places it, and drawing it anyway would be guessing.

  • PersuadingMeyer leaves South Korea off this scale and describes its reasoning as holistic
  • Deciding, SchedulingNo source places South Korea on these scales
† position taken from a review or summary, not from Meyer's own chart.Positions are read by eye from Erin Meyer's published charts and rounded to seven steps. A step means “further towards that pole”, not a measured distance. How the positions were read

Hofstede: six dimensions

Scores from 0 to 100, sorted by the gap between South Korea and Brazil. They describe national averages, not either country's character.

  1. Long-term orientation

    Brazil scores 58 points lower than South Korea (28 against 86)

    South Korea 86, Brazil 28, on a line from 0 (Short-term) to 100 (Long-term).

  2. Indulgence

    Brazil scores 30 points higher than South Korea (59 against 29)

    South Korea 29, Brazil 59, on a line from 0 (Restrained) to 100 (Indulgent).

  3. Individualism

    Brazil scores 22 points lower than South Korea (36 against 58)

    South Korea 58, Brazil 36, on a line from 0 (Collectivist) to 100 (Individualist).

  4. Motivation towards achievement and success

    Brazil scores 10 points higher than South Korea (49 against 39)

    South Korea 39, Brazil 49, on a line from 0 (Consensus-oriented) to 100 (Decisive).

  5. Power distance

    Brazil scores 9 points higher than South Korea (69 against 60)

    South Korea 60, Brazil 69, on a line from 0 (Low power distance) to 100 (High power distance).

  6. Uncertainty avoidance

    Brazil scores 9 points lower than South Korea (76 against 85)

    South Korea 85, Brazil 76, on a line from 0 (Tolerant of ambiguity) to 100 (Avoids ambiguity).

Country averages. About 80% of variation in values is between people inside a country (Taras et al. 2016).Source: The Culture Factor — Country comparison tool (2026).About the Hofstede dimensions

What the sources say, theme by theme

Entries for South Korea and Brazil, side by side on wide screens. Each keeps its own confidence label and citations.

Design & quality

South Korea3 claims

Brazil2 claims

Failure & risk

South Korea3 claims

Brazil1 claim

Feedback & code review

South Korea2 claims

Brazil3 claims

  • The training company Talaera, citing Meyer, writes that negative feedback tends to be wrapped in warmth and delivered in private, and that public criticism easily damages relationships. The behavioral descriptions rest mainly on the authors' own observations.

    Thin1 source2026br-feedback-1

  • In an HR magazine interview, Erin Meyer names Latin America as one of the "really indirect" parts of the world for negative feedback.

    Attested1 source2014Datedbr-feedback-2

  • Talaera says that instead of a plain "no," phrases such as "we can try" or "I'll do my best" can signal concern or refusal.

    Thin1 source2026br-feedback-3

Hierarchy & decisions

South Korea4 claims

Brazil2 claims

Communication & docs

South Korea2 claims

Brazil2 claims

  • A summary of Meyer's Culture Map places Brazil on the side where trust is built through personal relationships, close to China and Saudi Arabia. Small talk at the start of a meeting is described as part of the work.

    Thin1 sourcebr-communication-1

  • Talaera says written English tends to be on the formal side and asynchronous replies tend to be long and warm, and it recommends video calls over audio-only calls.

    Thin1 source2026br-communication-2

Work & careers

South Korea7 claims

Brazil4 claims

Open source & community

South Korea4 claims

Brazil3 claims