Intercultural Life
It’s been a little while since we did our fake G-Dragon interview. What? It was fake??? Noooooo!!!
We have been getting some questions about how we found someone that looked like G-Dragon. Also how easy is it to find Korean guys that do look like K-pop stars?
I’ve written an article for DramaFever about it HERE.
I’ve mentioned before about the way he can be ‘grabby’ in a spontaneous burst of affection way. Not all Korean guys are like this, but if you’ve watched enough Korean romantic dramas you know exactly what I’m talking about.
I used to think the female characters in Korean dramas were too easily annoyed and pissed off all the time when the male lead does something but now I can understand that reaction. It can be annoying. My husband will sometimes do it to deliberately annoy me too, but claim he is just being romantic.
I just shoved him off again because I won’t put up with the bossy romantic act. He then cackled to himself, “Haha I think I’m really funny.”
He swears he never really thought the train announcement was this, but I distinctly remember him saying he thought it was this…. for a long time haha. Now that his English is better he conveniently forgets the problems he had before.
What things have you misheard and not even realised you heard wrong for a long time? It can happen even in your own language and then one day it all becomes clear… and it’s like “Ohhh!”
(remember these comics are just about my experiences and not a guide to all Korean men! haha)
Oh the difference between TV and reality! Funnily enough though, the other week when out with Korean friends, the girls told me I was lucky that my husband was always well dressed and well groomed. I just laughed because they have seen him at his best- which isn’t often. Sometimes it’s a real stand off because I want him to change into something nicer before we go out and he seems to think it’s such an effort.
I have noticed a difference between guys in Korea and Korean guys in Australia who are on working holiday or student visas. There is less pressure in Australia to look good and if they are busy working or studying they don’t care as much. Where as actually in Korea you will see some amazingly stylish men and more emphasis on fashion.
I think my husband is still stuck in “working holiday mode” although he is actually a resident now.
I actually didn’t start watching Korean dramas until after I met my husband. So when I did it was like, “What? They are supposed to look like that?!”
I shouldn’t be too hard on him, he’d much rather buy me something pretty rather than spend any money on clothes for himself.
Just have to make it clear. It’s not our 300 days now- this was a while ago!
Koreans tend to celebrate a lot more anniversaries than we do. I think this is a more modern thing that has been influenced by romance in media. It is normal to celebrate the 100 days anniversary and depending usually on what the girl expects, certain day anniversaries after that. This is 100 days of dating, not marriage.100 days is significant in Korea culture. For example, 100 days after a baby is born is celebrated.
We acknowledged our 100 days, which is obviously quite early in a relationship, but we didn’t do anything very special. I have seen Korean girls demand a lot just for 100 days though- like flowers and a cake and a gift and dinner. Not all are like that though.
So by the time our 300 days anniversary came around it wasn’t something I was thinking about so I felt bad when my husband (then boyfriend) surprised me with red roses and a cake. He knew I didn’t remember though, so it was okay. We haven’t celebrated another “day anniversaries” since then and I don’t pay much attention to all the other, often commercial, “special days” in Korea. Not every one does something for them, as there are a lot where you are expected to give something in particular or do something in particular.
My husband wasn’t the first Korean guy I dated (shock horror!). There were a few before him, but I only really discovered these anniversaries and days because of him. When I first dated a Korean guy (many years ago) I had never watched a Korean drama and wasn’t familiar with K-Pop. I had no idea of the things Korean girls expected from their boyfriends. I suspect that the first 2 Korean guys I dated deliberately withheld this information from me so they’d never have to do it. They were not very romantic guys at all. It was only as I got more involved in Korean culture later that I realised there was this whole very romantic culture with Korean youth. So I’m glad my husband finds it easy to be romantic and surprises me sometimes.
OKAY! Korean guys showering together? There are a lot of things that Korean men do, like: physical affection, holding hands, liking feminine stuff, liking pink, showering together, sleeping in the same bed, that a Western person might see as gay. Of course it is quite ignorant to assume Korean men doing these things are gay without taking into account that it’s another culture. It also doesn’t make them any less masculine either- which is an insult I’ve seen many times. Non Asians complaining about ‘girly Asian guys’ simply don’t understand the cultural differences. I find the Western concept of masculinity to be quite restrictive and stupid and I like the freedom Korean guys have to do what they want and like what they want without being called a “girl” like it’s a really bad thing.
Koreans are very used to nudity and aren’t afraid to be naked in front of each other. Going to public baths together is simply a social event. I think for Western men any showering together is somewhat forced, like in locker rooms. A Western guy coming home from work with his friend wouldn’t suggest, “Let’s make it quicker and jump in the shower together.”
The Korean guys next door to us would. When they either came home from work or had been swimming, they had no problem with showering together. Not every Korean guy does this though. Some of the other guys in the share house would laugh a bit at them and make jokes with me- possibly realising it was quite strange to me.
I have noticed that sometimes people who have grown up in a Western country can make too many assumptions when they start getting interested in K-pop. They will read about Korean male groups showering together or sleeping in the same bed and think they must be gay. Sometimes it even fuels their fantasies. But once you understand the culture more you realise that these things are no indicator of someone’s sexual orientation.
This comic is about the Korean guys who used to live next door to my parent’s house. My parents own the house and rent it out to Koreans on working holiday visas. These guys were also in THIS comic.
So…. this one is more about me secretly being 4 years old. Princesses! Unicorns! Yay!
So guys buying girly things to make it feel like there are girls there… I don’t know if that is a cultural thing or just a weird thing these guys do in particular… Cause they were kinda weird. Hilarious… but crazy.
They didn’t even really eat the cake and cupcakes because Koreans don’t like too much sweet stuff. Not me though, I love cupcakes so much! So I stole them and ran home and ate them…
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