formality

A four-panel comic. In the first two panels, a man and a woman stand side by side talking. The man says, "Did you know that in Korean language there are seven levels of formality, each with special verb endings?" The woman replies, "Weeeiiird." In the second panel he says, "I'm glad we're not products of stuffy Eastern cultures with their weird rituals," and she agrees, "Yeah." In the third panel the man checks his phone and says, "Dammit, I need to call Ted. He's fifteen minutes late now," and the woman advises, "I would text. Calls make it seem like you're angry." In the fourth panel he asks, "Maybe just email, then?" and she answers, "Fine. Oh, and mention that I'm here, but do NOT cc me!" The joke: Western culture has just as many elaborate, unspoken formality rituals as the "stuffy Eastern cultures" the couple mocked. Votey: a close-up of the exasperated woman saying, "Nevermind. Let's tweet in general about disliking late people."