Burger King, KFC, and McDonalds — these are a few of the restaurants that are in both Korea and the United States.  While some of the menu items are different, much of the rest is the same in both countries.  However, if you were to go to one of those businesses in America, you would notice something at the entrance . . . something you don’t see on restaurant doors here in Korea.  A notice is posted at the entrance that reads “No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service.”

      Americans are rather casual about the way we dress, especially during our free time.  T-shirts, shorts, blue jeans, and sweatsuits are part of an American’s wardrobe.  In warmer weather, boys and men may not wear shirts, and people may go around barefoot.  Some restaurants, convenience stores, and gas stations post “No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service” to tell people to put on appropriate clothing in order to enter.

      Now, I have not seen that notice at a Korean Burger King.  Koreans tend to be more “dressed up” than Americans.  When I look around in EMart, on the subways, in restaurants, etc., men are most likely to be in business suits, and women are likely to be wearing kudu.  Even the hikers here have a standard “uniform” of sorts: hiking shoes; pants, vest, jacket, and backpack often made by Columbia or North Face; a hat or visor; a metal walking pole; and a mat for sitting/kneeling tucked into one pocket of the backpack.

      What does clothing have to do with university life?  Universities reflect the cultures in which they are located.  Walk into different American university classrooms, and you will see a wide variety of dress — from business suits to shorts and t-shirts, from dress shoes to flip-flops.   American university professors engage in many different activities during the day.  As a biology professor, I could be lecturing in a classroom in the morning, preparing a lab in the stockroom mid-day, and then taking students into the field in the afternoon.  Wearing business attire is not practical in the lab or field, as I have learned from experience: for example, the fabric of a Lands End shirt is amazingly acid-resistant, but the color is not.

      In Korea, more professors dress in business attire.  I have yet to see anyone lecturing in shorts and a t-shirt.  As a foreigner, I feel the pressure to fit in with university norms, to blend into the faculty at SKKU.  While I have never worn shorts in the classroom, I do feel under-dressed at times when eating in the faculty dining room because I do not wear business suits or dresses.  I admit that I have upgraded my wardrobe a little with more formal shirts and dress pants.  However, I am not certain how practical it is to wear those clothes in the classroom – I have ruined two shirts this semester because dry-erase marker ink does not come out of shirt fabric.  Who knew that dry-erase ink was a threat?

      Does it matter how a professor is dressed in the classroom?  At one time, I believed the answer to that question was “absolutely.”  However, an experience during my first semester in graduate school made me rethink my answer.

      A world-renowned expert gave a seminar on bee behavior.  I was so excited about getting to hear a talk from such a credentialed person.  I entered the seminar room, ready to be impressed, but I was shocked instead.  The speaker did not look like a scientist at all — he was wearing a flannel shirt, old blue jeans, wool socks, and Birkenstock sandals.  His hair came down to his shoulders and needed to be trimmed.  To be honest, he looked like someone from my hometown in the Appalachian Mountains.  Then, he started his seminar . . . and I was amazed.  His seminar was one of the best talks I have ever attended.

      I learned several lessons that day.  What is important in a scholar is the way he thinks, not the way he dresses.  In academic pursuits, logic is essential; looks are secondary. 

      So, should professors wear business wear (Korean style) or casual wear (American style) in the classroom?  You will have to answer that question for yourself.  I do know this — do not wear clothing to work that you do not want to have ruined or soiled.  And be careful when you use a dry-erase marker.