Facts About Korea (from various blogs around the internet)

[Peachy-Chan]

1. Eye glasses are insanely cheap and take a really short amount of time to make. How cheap? I have two really nice pairs that I spent a combined $150 on. How quick? I walk in, and in 30 minutes I have my glasses picked out, my eye checkup done, and the lenses are fixed according to my prescription and ready to go.

 

2. Some people keep charred logs of wood in their fridges, this supposedly helps keep the fridge smelling fresh as the charred logs eat up any foul odors.

 

3. The subway cards are awesome for a variety of reasons, one of them is instead of a card you can have a little charm to put on your cell phone that will work as a subway pass. Also, you don’t have to take it out to swipe at the subway/bus machine, it can read through your wallet/bag. The card/charm works for most taxis and even at some convenience stores. It’s not flimsy like the Metro Card which can be destroyed easily. Also, look at them. There’s no way a Metro Card is better than this...

 

4. You can charge your cellphone in most convenience stores.

 

5. Everyone composts, even if they don’t have a yard to plant things in. Don’t know what composting is? Well, then you’re probably an American from a large metropolitan city and you should look it up.

 

6. Korean people don’t think white people can eat spicy food or use chopsticks. I have received many compliments on my ability to use chopsticks and get looks from people in restaurants when they see me eating spicy food. Sometimes I get overly dramatic (but serious) responses with people literally shaking their head and encourage me not to eat the food. Sometimes I see people elbowing their friend and pointing in my direction to imply “look at that white boy, he’s going to try and eat that spicy pepper!” It’s highly comical and I play it up when I have the chance.

 

7. Long stop lights. My old neighborhood had a light that took 3 ½ minutes to change through its full cycle (I timed it). People wait too because......Confucius. Follow rules, order. I nearly got a summons my first weekend there for crossing the street at 4am when no cars were insight, a cop came over to nab me but I played the dumb-foreigner card. The longest light I’ve seen was 5 minutes.

 

8. Most newer apartments you don’t use keys to get inside, they have an electronic keypad so you just punch in a code and you’re in. This is amazing. Think about all the time you’ve spent looking for your keys, how inconvenient it is to have to bring your keys with you when you go for a run or go to the gym, or think about the times when your jacket was stolen with your keys inside, and your roommate was passed out so you had to sleep on the floor outside of your apartment door to the horror of your neighbors (Hypothetical situation of course).

 

9. A number of fast food restaurants are open 24 hours.

 

10. Spitting is…how do I put this mildly…socially acceptable? Standing on the corner waiting to cross the street, and hearing a 70 year old woman loudly “hock a loogie” is not only not out of the question, but probably something you will see regularly.

 

11. All fast food restaurants deliver.

 

12. Excluding the “blue trucks” and some taxis which are orange, I’d estimate that 93% of the cars are black, white or silver. Nothing unusual really, just following the norm. Confucius.

 

13. Most apartments don’t have dryers or ovens. Clothes are air-dried on a rack, baking just isn’t very big.

 

14. Ping-pong halls, pool halls, PC rooms (think, internet cafe without coffee, just heaps of people playing computer games), and noraebang’s (karaoke rooms) are EVERYWHERE. If you walk 2 minutes without seeing one of them, you are blind.

 

15. There is a motorcycle delivery service where they will literally bring you anything you want. I always wondered why I saw some guys on a bike with crap stacked six feet high on the back, but now I know, he’s running errands for someone.

 

16. There is also a motorcycle taxi service. In a bind and don’t want to deal with traffic? MTS will weave through and bring you wherever the hell you want. Awesome.

 

17. __________ don’t ____________________ _________________ _____________. (Too lengthy to get into, use your imagination and get back to me.)

 

18. Being single is somewhat of a sin. I must have been asked about 100x if I had a girlfriend and each facial expression when I replied “no” was more sad than the next. Being 30 there (my Korean age) is like being 36 and single in the US. Basically, I’m close to being washed up (no offense to any 36 year old single people). Good thing I’m a man though as it’s worse for women. What does this lead to? Well, my roommate when I was back for this trip kept wanting to set me up so I could have a “girlfriend.” Guy surprised me by bringing along some random girl when he and I went out to dinner. She knew about 20 words in English and her first question to me was “are you disappointed by my age?” (Little does she know!!!!)

 

Seriously though, it was over-bearing how many times this guy would pester me about being single, trying to set me up, or being flabbergasted that I was meeting up with former coworkers or friends who were females and the relationship was just platonic. The important thing to remember though, is that he was just being nice. Sometimes the kindness can be overbearing, but you always have to remember that they’re just trying.

 

19. Cigarettes are $2.50 a pack. Foreigners come here and think “I’m in a new place, let’s change some habits of mine, no more smoking.” But then you see how cheap cigarettes are, you can smoke everywhere unlike most major American cities, and then they crack.

 

20. Dunkin Donuts is awesome. There is considerably less sugar in the donuts here, making it possible to eat six (if one were so inclined) without feeling sick. Oh, they also sell churros at some of them too.

 

21. Cell phones work everywhere...tunnels, highest peak in the country, subways, etc. everywhere. I mentioned this before, but the reason this is important is because the luxury isn’t abused like it would probably be in the US. On subways, if someone is using their phone, they are probably covering their mouth to keep their voice low and are talking for a very short period of time. It’s just not polite. C-ON-F-U-C-I-U-S.

 

22. The school buses are nicer than ours

 

23. According to the always accurate Wikipedia, there are 2,282 7/11’s in Korea and it’s the 5th most of any country in the world. I’m shocked by that number and believe it must be higher since that figure was calculated. There were two on my block alone less than 400 yards from each other. It’s insane, I saw more 7/11’s there than I see Starbuck’s in NYC.

 

24. Elevator buttons can cancel out. Pushed the wrong button? No problem, push it again and the light goes off. This would have ruined mine and some of my friends’ childhood, who made a habit out of pushing every button on the elevator before we got off on the floor we needed to. Kids.

 

25. Nothing gets stolen. Ever. People keep their gym shoes in a shoe rack at the gym so they can go straight from work and leave their shoes there. In supermarkets and some other stores, they have a bin in the front where you put your wet umbrellas so you don’t have to carry it around with you and get the floor all wet. CONFUCIUS.

 

26. Drinking in public is legal anywhere. I’ve said this before, but you have no idea how great it is (not trying to sound like a lush) to be able to hop in a cab with a road soda. Of course there’s dumb-asses who ruin it though and make foreigners look like ignorant "louts." Sitting on the floor of a subway car, drinking and playing card games? Really? It’s something great but shouldn’t be abused, it's a simple pleasure like cellphones working on a train. Do it undercover and in a way where it's basically kept to yourself.

 

27. People eat buffalo wings with a fork and knife. I only went to wing night twice, but every single person in the bar on both occasions was using a fork and knife. I didn’t want to be rude so I obliged and it completely ruined the experience of eating a buffalo wing.

 

28. Beer pong is played with water. I only went to a bar that had beer pong twice, so it’s not the greatest sample size, but all games throughout the night were played with water. No one drank the water, they just played to see who could hit the most shots. What kind of game is that?

 

29. Bus seats all face forward in the same direction. A lot of buses in other cities will have some sideways seats for space efficiency. I have no official explanation, but I can only believe the orderliness of the seats all facing forward has to do with a man named Confucius.

 

30. North Koreans who successfully defect to South Korea are given $10,000-$28,000 in start up money. In the US, Mexicans who cross the border get shitty jobs picking tomatoes and are blamed for the collapse of the US economy, crime and a number of other problems.

 

31. In the US, if there is a sale advertised, it usually looks like this “20%-40% off.” In Korea, it looks like “40%-20% off.” It seems weird, but it might make sense. Seeing the bigger number first might suck people in more. I believe a study needs to be done on this if it has not already.

 

32. A lot of gas stations look like this. Notice anything weird (hard to tell, shitty picture)? Well, there are no pumps, just an overhead thingie. This is a huge space saver and also let’s people not have to worry about what side of the car their gas tank is on. Genius idea.

 

33. Cabs are cheap as hell, probably 1/3rd of the price of a NYC taxicab. It’s awesome.

 

34. Traffic on the highways around Seoul is horrific, worse than NY, better than LA though (I think).

 

35. The vast majority of tennis courts are a clay/dirt. They also keep a chalk line maker there and some places even keep a bunch of balls too, but of course, none of them get stolen. Confucius?

 

36. Subways have vending machines, a digital map so you can see the overview/Google maps type view of the surrounding area to locate parks, restaurants, hospitals, etc. It’s awesome. There are also flat screen tv’s in a number of train stations showing commercials, news, etc.

 

37. Despite the constant references to him, Confucius is not from Korea, he’s from China, but the influence of his teachings reached Korea and I’m glad it did.

 

 

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Not That There’s Anything Wrong With That – It’s pretty common to see very young girls walking around holding hands with each other. Actually, it’s common to see girls in their 20s and 30s holding hands. It’s also not out of the ordinary to see two guys in their 20s sitting on the train next to each other, one of them resting his head on the other ones shoulder. Again, “not that there’s anything wrong with that.” Those that know me, are aware I’m a very open-minded person and have no problem with this whatsoever, all I’m saying is that seeing loads of girls in their 20s and 30s holding hands just as friends and guys resting on each others’ shoulders caught my attention, especially in a culture which isn’t known for its tolerance of homosexuality.

 

Fast Food – Pretty unique things get sold at fast food restaurants here. Cheese fries at Taco Bell, Kimchi flavored donuts at Dunkin Donuts, corn salad at McDonald’s, etc.

 

Jimjilbang – Wow, where to begin. If you’re familiar with the premise of a Russian bathhouse, then you’ll understand Jimjilbangs better. Jimjilbangs are basically huge bath houses with different types of saunas, steam rooms, hot tubs, massage parlors, etc. What makes them unique is that you are naked, there’s little kids running around, you can sleep in them and even get your haircut. I’ve been to clothed bathhouses before, but naked ones where fathers bring their little 5 year old son? Pretty weird.

 

I love Jimjilbangs though, for only $3.50 you can have a really nice time relaxing. They come in really handy for me too. On a number of occasions I’ve gotten back from a long hike, gone to the Jimjilbang, showered up, chilled in the hot tub for a bit to relax, got changed, and gone out. I don’t have to go home or anything, it’s amazing. This would never exist back home, too many creeps in the U.S. unfortunately.

 

PC Bang – Not everyone has computers in their house here, so they go to a PC Bang which is basically an internet lounge, except that everyone in there is playing computer games. These places are like dungeons; they are dark and have a room reserved for people who want to smoke and play computer games (sometimes they merely have a 5 foot wall which does nothing to separate the smokers from non-smokers). The lure of the PC Bang is they have extremely fast internet connection (probably 2-3 times faster than anything in the U.S.) which make gaming great, the monitors are very large, it’s cheap ($0.40-$1.00 for an hour), and they are open 24 hours. Some of my students spend 6 hours each weekend day at these places. It’s insane. They are always mobbed with people that are there for hours on end smoking, drinking soda and eating ramen noodles. People here are obsessed with computer games, there was a case recently about a couple that would go to a PC Bang and leave their infant child unattended at home. The child died of malnutrition. Another case of a guy dying at the PC Bang because he was on some insane bender, played for 50 hours straight.

 

Skiing in Korea – 24 hours at some places here. They have 5-7 hour ski sessions, and then go on a short break to blow snow at some places which have overnight skiing. I went once with my coworkers and we were skiing from 12am-5am. Something else weird is that most people don’t own their own ski clothes, they rent outfits when they get their equipment. Another funny thing is hearing Korean pop music blasting throughout the mountain. Also funny that 95% of people who snowboard take their board off when they got on the chairlift and carry it on with them. Another funny thing is seeing people in RIDICUOUS outfits, like full body rabbit, teddy bear, etc. outfits. I lost my memory card which had some great clips/pictures of this, I was pretty bummed.

 

Elections in Korea – I was unfortunate enough to be here in a year where there were elections nationwide. If you think elections in the U.S. are annoying, well, in Korea, it’s worse. On a busy street corner you’ll likely find all 4 corners taken up by various opposition. Each candidate will have it’s “support” on one corner. They are usually women in their 30s-50s who will be wearing neon colored shirts, and singing/dancing in unison. It’s ridiculous.

 

Korean Cafes – There’s some very interesting cafes here. They might be Hello Kitty themed, they might have birds flying around inside of them, cats walking around. You might have the option to wear various ridiculous dresses, or you can even go to a medical café where a doctor will do a quick checkup. Insane.

 

Cars Run Red Lights – I fear for my life sometimes crossing the street because cars have absolutely no respect for red lights. The irony behind this is that people will sometimes have to wait 3 minutes for a light to turn green so they can cross, and will wait despite their being absolutely no cars in sight. Not only do they wait, but they wait patiently. Put them in cars, and all hell breaks loose. I’ve been in cabs before where the guy was watching a baseball game when it was dark out, was stopped behind cars waiting for a red light, weaved into the OPPOSITE lane, got to the front of the cars waiting, got back in the lane, and then ran the red light and made his turn. It’s outrageous. Meanwhile, they snicker if you buckle your seatbelt, and many cabs don’t even have working seatbelts as well.

 

Misc. Facts

 

Cell Phone Chargers – ever been out and your battery dies? 7-11 and other 24 hour

convenience stores all over the place here, and all of them recharge your phone in 30 minutes for $1. It’s amazing.

 

Wedding Cards – They don’t really do them here. I had to search near and far for them. I mentioned it to my coworker and they said they usually just throw cash in a blank envelope.

 

Playing Cards – They run you about $12-15 at the convenience stores, I’m not kidding. I was slightly under the influence of alcohol and actually bought a pack. Good thing my brother didn’t buy me 2 packs of PINNACLE cards and bring them over for me.

 

All men have to serve in the military - some Olympians who win medals get special privileges and get excluded, or do a quick 4 weeks. Some other celebrities weasel their way out of it too. I think now you have to serve for 20 months, but I think the number will drop to 18 months pretty soon.

 

High Fives –Haven’t caught on yet fully over here. A number of my students flinch when I put my hand up passing them in the hallway hoping to get some dap back from them.

[Peachy-Chan]

1. You can have custom phone rings on house phones, not just cell phones, and many people do. It’s extremely annoying. I have to call about 50 of my students once a month to give them a speaking test over the phone and every time I hear these ridiculous rings……..some are so ridiculous I actually like them, but still…

 

2. 99% of the people here obey traffic lights even if there’s no cars around. There’s a traffic light in my neighborhood that’s 3 minutes and 45 seconds long and people wait for them all the time. It’s all related to their respect for authority and doing what you’re told. I was out with a group and some of us crossed a street even though we didn’t have the light. A Korean friend told my American friend who stayed back “you follow the signs.” Plain and simple. Furthermore, NOT obeying the traffic light can get you into trouble. I found this out at 5am on my second weekend here when crossing the street in my town. I wasn’t waiting 3+ minutes to cross the street, I got screamed at by a cop (god knows why he was monitoring traffic crossings at 5am) but used the “new, stupid foreigner” card.

 

Want even more proof how serious they are about violating traffic code? (No, skip ahead) Well, in a particular popular music video, the singer is shown running freely across a street. That video is BANNED and not shown on one of the TV stations which shows music videos because he is shown violating “rules.” This has happened to a few music videos before too. Pretty intense.

 

3. Everyone here knows their blood type. They write about it in their school diary when they are talking about themselves, and they are shocked that I didn’t know mine (had to ask mommy for it) which they have asked for on many occasions.

 

4. A good percentage of bars and restaurants have buttons on the tables. You push a button, a screen near the kitchen area shows the table which is calling for attention, and within 5 seconds you’ll notice someone walking toward you to help you out with whatever you need. So, the waiters NEVER bother you, you are in no rush to leave. You need something, you push a button. You want to hang out for a while, you sit there and enjoy it. It’s great. I think it’s more efficient, and I like being left alone. “Double bonus,” as a former coworker would say.

 

5. They call ALL running races “marathons”

 

BG: “I used to run a lot, now, not so much.”

Guy: “Oh really, do you run a lot of marathons?”

BG: “Not a lot, I’ve ran 3”

Guy: “How long were they?”

BG: “Ummmm, 26.2 miles”

 

Marathon basically means a race. 5k marathon, 10k marathon, half marathon, full marathon.

 

6. My students were FLABBERGASTED that my mother didn’t live in NY where me, my brother and sister live (if my sister is reading this she’s loving that). They didn’t understand why my mother would move away from us, we’re not married, we don’t have kids, why would a parent leave their children? It’s just not something that gets done here. It’s quite common for people to live with their parents until they get married, and a parent moving far away from their kids was like someone willingly falling off the face of the earth and breaking contact with everyone they knew in the world. An hour or so away? No biggie, but a few hours by flight? They couldn’t believe it.

 

7. My bank has an ATM fee when I take money out of it, at my own bank! That fee is about 40 cents. Meanwhile, if it’s not my bank or if I’m at a convenience store, the ATM fee is only 80 cents. Much cheaper than the US, but still it’s weird my own bank charges me.

 

8. No drinking at concerts. This was appalling to me, even more so than the fact you can’t drink at most bowling alleys. I went to a concert not too long ago and you could only drink in the lobby area, no booze allowed in the venue. Unbelievable. There’s some pretty big inconsistency regarding Korea and drinking. In a way, it’s more of a drinking culture than the US. Many of the people are overworked, and going out and getting sloshed every night isn’t out of the ordinary. Some bars are open till 10am, drinking is allowed in public and even in cabs, yet I can’t drink at a concert? Weird.

 

9. Perfectly normal for kids to come to school sick. Unable to function in class? It’s okay, come to school. You won’t get anyone sick, just wear a face mask instead. Only exception is if someone has an illness at the time of a “pandemic” like bird flu, swine flu, or any other flu related to animals. Sick days are RARE, for school and work.

 

10. Chopsticks are used to eat just about everything, even cake. For some reason they cut cakes into slices, then just maul it with chopsticks even though no cutting is really needed if you’re eating it that way. Weird.

[Peachy-Chan]

Facts about Schools

 

1. Kindergarten is not mandatory, therefore if a student goes to one they are private schools

 

2. Kindergarten is for kids aged 5-7

 

3. Elementary school students go to school for only about 5 hours a day

 

4. Although elementary school doesn’t have long hours, a high number of students go to “academies” after school (like the one I teach at). There are Math, English, Science academies, but if a student goes to piano lessons daily they call that an academy as well.

 

5. Some parents (like my principal) send their kids to a number of “academies.” My prinicipal’s son goes to SEVEN: English, Math, Science, Essay Writing, Piano, ‘All Subjects,’ and Chinese Calligraphy. The total cost for this is $1,700 per month. His hours are generally 7:30am-10pm and on Saturdays he has about 5 hours worth of school. I’m not kidding. What a tough life.

 

6. English is required to be taught in elementary schools from the age of 10

 

7. It’s not out of the ordinary for students to be physically punished if they act up or don’t do homework.

 

8. Students go to their public schools on the weekends too. However, they only have it on Saturdays every other week, and it’s only half of a day.

 

9. The majority of middle schools (for students age 13-15) have strict uniform and hair cutting policies

 

10. Elementary schools have about 30 kids in each class

 

11. Middle schools have about 40 kids in each class. That’s a lot of students.

 

12. The students do not go from class to class, they stay in the same class in their seats and the teachers switch rooms

 

13. There’s a breast pocket on the middle school students’ uniforms where they put a flap which has their name on it. Yes, there are basically nametags for each student in school. (“NAME TAGS JERRY!”)

 

14. The school year begins in March, not September like we’re used to in the U.S.

 

15. Since school is year round, they don’t have a big break before they enter their new grade, but they do have a summer, winter and spring break. Spring vacation happens about 3-4 weeks after Winter vacation ends which is weird.

 

16. A standard day for elementary school kids is about 5 hours long

 

17. A standard day for middle school kids is about 8 hours long

 

18. A standard day for the majority of High Schools is about 12 hours. Sometimes longer. I’m not kidding.

 

19. In Middle School and High School, the students often take a high number of classes, up to 11 subjects.

 

20. As if High School wasn’t demanding enough, the Korean version of the SATs is apparently one of the most difficult standardized tests in the world. Here’s a bunch of facts on that test alone…

a. Some parents make their kids start studying for it before they even get to middle school.

b. The test takes place on the same day every year, the second Thursday of November

c. All students take the exam the same day

d. The exam lasts about 9 and a half hours. No kidding.

e. Because everyone of the same age is doing the same thing at the same time on the same day. Traffic problems occur which lead to

i. Extra buses/trains running during those hours before/after the exam

ii. Workers allowed to show up an hour later to limit traffic

f. Having a quiet and peaceful atmosphere is essential as well, which leads to

i. A ban on honking horns near schools

ii. Flight schedules are changed

iii. Protests of any kind should not happen

g.Students get treated like GODS on this day

i. Parents will usually bring their kids to school, and there will be loads of people outside CHEERING kids on as they enter the school. “COME ON BEN, ACE THAT EXAM!!!”

ii. Underclassmen and past graduates might show up as well to show support.

iii. People will be handing out candy, tea, coffee, etc. to people as they walk in, to give them a little energy before the stressful day starts

iv. Taxi’s might give students free taxi rides

h. The test isn’t the be all and end all of your success, but if you get into a top University, you’re on cruise control from there on out. Just like they can be obsessed with personal appearance, the name of the school on your diploma carries a lot of weight from what I’ve read, more so than it does back in the US.

 

Although I’m envious that many of my students speak pretty good English AND can play an instrument or two, I’m certainly put off a little bit by what it takes for them to get there.

 

What does all this stress lead to? Well, here’s a direct quote from a website I found…

 

“Suicide and the CSAT - Because everything rides on this one exam, this one day, it is not surprising that there are suicides before and after the test, or when the results are published. Some students, convinced they will not do well, chose to die rather than take the exam. Although the highest number of suicides use to happen in December, these days they happen earlier since the answers are posted on-line hours after the test is over.”

 

Yikes.

[Peachy-Chan]

1. It is completely normal for students to call there teacher "(first name) Teacher." Not Mr. Gwynne, or anything else, just "Ben Teacher." I am a teacher, therefore they refer to me as one as a sign of respect for authority. They call the Korean teachers "Native Teacher." Furthermore, even my coworkers call the Principal…."Principal" and the Vice Principal…"Vice Principal." This carries on at places even like the GYM, a place which is pretty informal and friendly. People call the guy who works at my gym "trainer."

 

2. Drinking is NOT permitted in 99% of bowling alleys in Korea. I always assumed bowling and drinking went hand in hand, but not here. Here, it’s a "family atmosphere" so no drinking allowed. Some places have separate rooms that have vending machines with beer, but you can’t bring the beer down to the bowling alley. One place just opened up a few months ago that has a huge bar and is a traditional bowling alley like they have back in the US, however the place is a mob scene at night now. I hope they open more…

 

3. The word "perm" can be used as a verb in Korea. "I was late for class because I was perming my hair."

 

4. Bare feet are "offensive" to some elderly people. For this reason, most people wear socks with sandals if they are walking around with them outside. If you were to go to a restaurant with sockless sandals, you would be disgracing the place to no end (yourself as well).

 

5. After meals when using a toothpick in Korea, the correct method is to use one hand to cover your mouth, and the other one has the toothpick in it.

 

6. Usually, one person (customarily it’s the oldest) pays for drinks/dinner when you go out with your coworkers. Splitting the bill doesn’t happen much. I went out with my coworkers for drinks one night, we drank a lot and ordered some food, the Vice Principal footed the bill even though he didn’t drink and barely ate. No one flinched when the bill came, he paid for it as they expected him too.

 

6a) Another time at a bar, the head teacher (the oldest person with us this time) tried paying for the bill even though I was burying beer after beer. I hopped in paid half since I make more than them and was being a "tank" as they called me. It was outrageous to me that she was trying to pay for it even though half the bill was mine.

 

7. There are 4 seasons in Korea, and they pride themselves on it. All the students know it and write about it quite frequently. To be fair there is a real spring, summer, fall, and winter, unlike in NY and other places where sometimes an entire season gets skipped over.

 

8. There is no daylight savings time in Korea.

 

9. Things can be purchased and ordered without using a credit card. It’s quite common that places over the phone will place your offer and just expect you to wire them the money. What a sense of honor.

 

10. At many restaurants, the bill is placed on your menu right after you order. If you ask for something else, they just write it onto the bill. You also pay for the bill by bringing the receipt to the front of the restaurant, you don’t pay the waiter and wait for change. It's great, no waiting.

 

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Sorry if I'm spamming or anything. ;;;

I'm trying to learn all I can before I go to SK. ^^

[toby2663]

@ Peachy-chan ,thankyou for your post's I found them extremely interesting and enlightening.

[amayakaida]

that was very interesting ...

that exam made me to remind something we have in our country

not because of difficulty because of the importance ...

all about your future will decided by that if your not from some special families

[Elii]

Thanks for sharing these awesome facts about South Korea. They are really interesting.

This country is one of my dream countries to visit to, first is Japan ^_^

 

But this caught my attention:

Not That There’s Anything Wrong With That – It’s pretty common to see very young girls walking around holding hands with each other. Actually, it’s common to see girls in their 20s and 30s holding hands. It’s also not out of the ordinary to see two guys in their 20s sitting on the train next to each other, one of them resting his head on the other ones shoulder. Again, “not that there’s anything wrong with that.” Those that know me, are aware I’m a very open-minded person and have no problem with this whatsoever, all I’m saying is that seeing loads of girls in their 20s and 30s holding hands just as friends and guys resting on each others’ shoulders caught my attention, especially in a culture which isn't known for its tolerance of homosexuality.

 

This past few days, this topic caught my attention since I'm a K-pop fan, seeing the boy band/groups that I like whose hugging and kissing makes my ovaries burst. lol. My fujoshi mind really love it. But, honestly speaking, I also having doubts if they are just really close that they do the things that couples were doing (i.e hugging, kissing etc) or they are gays. I'm a LGBT supporter so I don't see any problems of anyone being gay. It's just that homosexuality is not yet acceptable in SoKor (maybe for some people but not majority). Well, I guess we have different culture that's why we see things in a different way. But I always believe that Koreans are affectionate and lovable person that's why they are so clingy and touchy with each other ^__^

[Miro]

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Interesting article! onion3

[1978]

I wanna try Kimchi flavored Donut

[Elii]

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Interesting! I would love to try those too

[pan1999]

Thanks for sharing these awesome facts about South Korea. They are really interesting.

This country is one of my dream countries to visit to, first is Japan ^_^

 

But this caught my attention:

 

 

This past few days, this topic caught my attention since I'm a K-pop fan, seeing the boy band/groups that I like whose hugging and kissing makes my ovaries burst. lol. My fujoshi mind really love it. But, honestly speaking, I also having doubts if they are just really close that they do the things that couples were doing (i.e hugging, kissing etc) or they are gays. I'm a LGBT supporter so I don't see any problems of anyone being gay. It's just that homosexuality is not yet acceptable in SoKor (maybe for some people but not majority). Well, I guess we have different culture that's why we see things in a different way. But I always believe that Koreans are affectionate and lovable person that's why they are so clingy and touchy with each other ^__^

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.. I am also a k-poper who have also notice theis closeness, friendship, college.. and many relationships... that they ARE TRULY AFFECTIONATE, LOVABLE, GENEROUS,..AND MANY MORE... PEOPLE

THEY ARE JJANG!!!:6onion72:

 

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.. you are awesome.. to be able to find to such an incredible and valuable information about such and amazing country.. that I would like to visit in the future!!!

:hamtaro-005 (10):

[Marygrace94]

woah!!

[JoycePrody]

i heard that this series is quite a long series. around 60 episodes, i think. it sounds interesting cux a lot of good actors and actresses are playing in this series. i want to watch it but sometimes just the fact that is very long is it worth it to keep catching it up?