Why is it that only Japanese and Koreans like to sit on their knees when they are all East Asians?

For Chinese, Koreans and Japanese, it's really hard to tell them apart just by their looks, leaving aside their clothing and small habitual movements due to cultural differences. But we know that both Japanese and Koreans have the habit of kneeling. In fact, kneeling is an ancient way of sitting in our country, i.e., sitting on the ground, with the buttocks on the ankles, the upper body straight, the hands placed on the knees in a disciplined manner, and the body with a dignified temperament.

Speaking of kneeling, in Japan this is mainly from Japanese customs and traditions. Japanese women have always been the beauty of the traditional kimono, and traditionally some of the lady type of activity is required to kneel on the ground. Japanese women are known for their softness, so when sitting and performing rituals, they need to kneel, and "kneeling" is a sign of obedience. Kneeling is not really "popular" in Japan, and there are not many occasions in daily life where kneeling is required. Only in some specific occasions, such as the tea ceremony, kendo and other traditional Japanese cultural activities, kneeling is required.

Korea still retains the ritual of kneeling, which is meant to be respectful and dignified. In some traditional families more common Korean dining table is a short legged small table, placed on the floor of the bed, eating, if in front of the elders should be sitting on their knees on their feet, and never straighten their legs. Otherwise, it will be said by others that they do not know how to be polite or insulting.

Kneeling is actually derived from ancient Chinese rituals, where kneeling was called sitting upright. And both Japanese and Korean cultural traditions are inherited from ancient China, where it was the custom to sit on the ground like this before the Tang Dynasty. It was only later that Japan and Korea passed down this culture. The reason why Japan and South Korea retained this tradition is because in ancient times was not affected by too much foreign culture, while in ancient China due to the influence of the Hu people, kneeling culture gradually disappeared. So are East Asians, only Korea and Japan have retained this habit.