Uniquely Korean

After being in Korea for 10 months I definitely see cultural customs and behaviors that are authentically Korean. I just wanted to list off a few of my favourite ones.

[NOTE: I will be generalizing a little bit just because that tends to happen when you make observations such as these. I do know it doesn't apply to every single Korean person out there. These are just a few things I have seen that I thought were interestingly uniquely Korean.]

1. Koreans are Shy!
In the first semester I had a really great group of girls as suite mates. Many of their personalities were far from shy, BUT the moment we put them in front of boys they would put both hands on their cheeks and say I'm shy. It was pretty cute. The guys will also claim they are shy around girls they possibly are interested in as well. It makes for an interesting dynamic sometimes.

I find both parties do this because they believe the opposite gender is more intrigued and attracted to shy boys/girls.

2. Koreans will always ask you, "Don't you think Kimchi is too spicy?"

It doesn't matter where you are from. If you are not from Korea (even if your original country has spicy food, very spicy food) they will ask you this question. It's kind of cute how they believe their gochu peppers are too spicy for most people to handle. At the same time you can also see how tourism and interactions between Koreans and foreigners is relatively new to the country.

3. December 25th is a VERY important Couples Holiday!

Ok actually I think Japan has a very similar stance on this holiday as well, but based on my observations Fall semester (compared to the Spring) definitely seemed to have more couples on campus as the single boys and girls rush to find significant others to spend the wonderful Christmas holiday with.

Although at the moment Korea has a large percentage of their population under Christianity, I think extravagant Christmas dates still prevail over Christmas service or mass, well at least amongst the younger generations.

4. Anthems in Korea for 2011: We Speak No Americano & LMFAO - Party Rock Anthem. You will hear these songs in stores, in the clubs/bars, on your friend's computer etc. Also if you see a Korean guy and he's playing an acoustic guitar, most likely if he plans to sing you an English song it will be Jason Mraz's - I'm Yours!

Everybody's shuffling in Korea

5. Traffic rules are only suggestions and guidelines in Korea.

I still remember the very first time my cab driver went through a red light. At first I thought maybe he didn't notice the light and happen to blow right by it. However, after he went through 3 more lights I realized he was doing that on purpose. It definitely makes for a very interesting experience.

[More to come...since I'm not in Korea at the moment I'm trying hard to recall these things. I'm sure the moment I return they will all come flooding back! Look forward to more posts like these.]