a buddy of mine sent me this to think it over before applying there
Cultural Safety in Korean Air
Cultural safety in Korean Air using the data gathered by FMAQ in 1998. According to the FMAQ data, Dr. Helmrich and the research team believes that currently Korean Air flight crews do not believe the senior management respects their suggestions on safety. However, there are no data in correlation to the number of suggestions, if at all made by flight crews.
A representative aspect of the Korean culture is "Face" (for a lack of a better term). A person’s actions and thoughts are in direct correlation to the position he or she holds and demands respect simply because of the position. If a subordinate does not give respect to the person, then that person's face is lost. Therefore, respect is not earned by the superior but demanded, which causes the subordinate to be humble.
(Question) "Has anybody questioned an action or a decision which you believe to be detrimental to safety?" "If not, why not?" This is Korean Air's current culture. Culture is not the responsibility of any individual, and certainly no individual is able to change culture. There are roles and standards for individuals in any culture. It is difficult at best to change and/or remove wrong or unhelpful habits without the effort of all involved. It would be difficult to redirect the Korean culture, which would be more conducive to safety if the people involved expect others to do it for them.
As long as save face prevails over safety they're simply screwed. Needless to say any expat working there will be guilty by default regardless whether right or wrong. What a disgrace to the whole aviation world.