Relationships

As mentioned in my earlier post, I'm going to talk a little about what I've seen and understood about relationships in Korea.

This should be considered as opinion, as I am an American living in Korea, and there's only so much I understand. As always, if you have anything to add, share, or enlighten me about, please leave a comment or shoot me a message :)


So... Anyone who has walked down the streets or watched a Korean drama has probably seen couples in matching clothes. Sometimes it's the same colors, sometimes it's the same shirt and same type of pants. HOWEVER. I have seen couples with the same hair color, shirt, pants, and shoes. No longer a 'we belong to each other' statement, but more of a 'we are each other' statement, haha. When I first came to Korea and saw this, I thought it was absurd. Same type of jacket- okay. Same color- if you must. Same outfit in all of its entirety- WHY?! But now I think it's kind of cute. Not the 'we are each other' couples so much, but the matchy-matchy shirts.

Have I ever donned couple clothes? Nope. Will I ever don couple clothes? I can't imagine it. I think I'd be blushing constantly. I mean, as an American child, my friends and I would mock the old, married couples with their matching patriotic sweaters. How could I become that?! Not to mention that if I ever did wear matchy-matchy clothing, my sister would probably laugh till she cried, and my best friend would be rolling in a fit of laughter. At least their hearts would be happy.

But that's just one thing. Relationships here are less stifled, at least between the couple. American guys have this macho, nacho, tough-guy, bro-knows-no-feelings thing to live up to as the standard, and that doesn't exist here. From what I've seen, even outside of relationships, people here are much more honest with their feelings in general. You won't see someone telling off their boss, but you probably won't end up wondering what your friend is thinking.

This carries over into relationships. They'll get as mushy as they please, and as angry as they please. For me, though, it's a little different. My boyfriend and I do not speak the same language. How can you get your point across if you're yelling angrily? The opposite party won't understand. I mean, it's creepy if you yell slowly. I also tend to turn into a bit of a human dictionary when I'm miffed.

But it's nice, though... This idea and practice of being honest with your feelings.

Another part of dating and relationships is celebrating your time together! Here in Korea, there are many opportunities to do so. Many, many, many opportunities. So many, that I'll make a list. Here we go:

Big Deals:

Feb 14, Valentine's Day: Girl, go get your man and give him some chocolate

Mar 14, White Day: Fellas- If you like her, treat her to something sweet back

Apr 14, Black Day: Don't worry, singles! There's a day for you, too. Go eat noodles in a black sauce with your other single friends. (You gotta admit that it's better than crying and eating way too much ice cream.)

Nov 11, Peppero Day: Buy and give Peppero (Japan makes something similar- pocky)


Not-so-Big Deals:

Jan 14, Diary Day: Exchange planners with all your special days marked inside~

May 14, Rose Day: Give 'em a rose!

Jun 14, Kiss Day: You should be able to kiss those you love.

Jul 14, Silver Day: Couple exchange rings or silver things as a promise

Aug 14, Green Day: Couples play with nature, and singles down soju (the bottle's green)

Sept 14, Photo Day: Let's go someplace romantic and capture it on camera!

Oct 14, Wine Day: October is a good time to drink wine, I think.

Nov 14, Movie Day: Walk hand-in-hand to that cinema and watch something bad/cute/scary?

Dec 14, Hug Day: "Baby, it's cold outside~", so let's hug ^^


And there you have it. The 14th of every month can be a special, fun day for a couple!

Now, if you notice June 14th, you'll see the word, 'ring'. Yes. They buy and wear matching rings, and no, it's not a proposal. This is something I could never imagine happening in an American relationship. Asking a man to wear a matching ring with me would send him running away faster than Wile E chasing Road Runner. But here, it's something cute. It's a promise.

Some couples give these rings on other days, too. Maybe Valentine's day or your 100th day.

In America, we count the months. "Jan! We've been together for SIX MONTHS. We're totally getting married!" (I made my boyfriend come over on our six month-iversary to cook him dinner. No shame.)

But here in Korea they celebrate days. 100 days, 200 days, 300 days, 1000 days... It's a cute way to mark milestones, I think. I guess on your 100 days, people give you 100 won (ten cents?), 200 won on your 200 days... And so on.

Today is my 200! Haha :)

There is more to a relationship than this, but it's difficult for me to try and sum up something like how an entire culture is in general. There are good things, bad things, whatever things... But it's your relationship, so make it yours. Celebrate what you want, wear what you want, say what you want.

There's chicken in the other room, so I need to go now. But I'd like to do a part two somewhere down the road.

Till next time~

Don't You Dare, Dragon

"Don't worry! Just watch me twirl!"

Right now we are teaching the song version of the book Don't You Dare, Dragon. It's really cute!

I realize it's been over a month since I've posted. I'm so sorry! ㅠ ㅠ

Since I've posted, quite a bit has happened...

My art class is going well- the number of students who come each week is growing, and the art they make is really cool! I also like them as people, and it's so nice to be able to talk with them without so much of a language barrier (as opposed to my third and sixth graders). :D

May 3rd was Sports Day. Usually there is only a small sports day in the spring, but since the principal wanted to do a talent show in the fall again this year, our Sports Day was a little bigger. It was so much fun to watch! I took pictures of the students and the events. I got some really great ones! I'd love to share them on here, but they're young and I don't want to post pictures of their faces on the internet, especially without consent.

Every grade was split into two, creating the White Team and the Blue Team. Each grade competed in activities and races, winning points for their team. This year, the White Team won! Congrats ;)


May seems to be a big month for special days... May 5th was Children's Day, May 8th was Parent's Day, May 14th was Rose Day, and yesterday, May 15th, was Teacher's Day.

May 14th was also the day of my final exam for the 2A level in Korean at Sogang University. I forgot some things on the written exam, and as always, I totally forgot any answers I wrote down in response to the interview questions during the actual interview. But it seems to have gone well, though! I'll learn the results from both exams next week.

Now, Teacher's Day was super cute! I received quite a few letters, notes, food, and a flower! Some of our students from last year who moved on to middle school came back to visit, too! As well as some students who left this school before I came... It's fun to see how they've changed! Even the third grade students from last year are SO MUCH taller this year, already! It's kind of crazy to watch how quickly children develop.

Today the current third graders are going on a picnic! So, I won't be teaching today~
I will, however, head into Seoul to gander at some turpentine and linseed oil. Because tomorrow is Buddha's birthday, everyone is off from school! (Hahaha, and you thought I listed all of the holidays! Or forgot about Buddha, but that wouldn't happen...) So this weekend is threeeewhooooledays!

A lot of people vacation during this break, but since I want to save up money for summer and winter travels, I'm going to keep it local. :)

Also, today is my 200 days ^^
So, I think it is a good time to write about Korean relationships~
Maybe I'll do that later today ;)


Take care
xox