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Physical contact with Koreans. | ||
Tags: Cultural Identity | Korean | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Cultural Experiences in Foreign Languages |  | |
| remix Groupie Australia Joined 5668 days ago 41 posts - 46 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Korean | Message 1 of 17 01 May 2010 at 6:58am | IP Logged | |||||
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Lately, I have been hanging out with more and more Korean people. It's great. One thing I have found is that all the Korean people I have met (less than 10) touch me quite often. I will give some examples;
The first time I met one of my male friends, he playfully punched me in the arm when I payed for this coffee. We had known each other about 3 mins at that stage, lol... It kind of shocked me because I don't expect contact between two people that early on. I didn't mind it, I am a pretty relaxed person, but it just surprised me a bit. I met this Korean girl that I had previously emailed. She gave me a hug. She had never seen me before and gave me a hug straight away. Once again, I didn't mind, but was surprised. Sitting next to a Korean girl at a restaurant, having her press her body against me when reaching for water etc... Leaving her leg resting against mine while eating etc... Once again, I had known this person for about 2 hours at this stage. Walking down the street with a girl and having her walk so close to me that we are literally bumping into each other on every second step and I am slowly being driven off the sidewalk into the gutter. General playful hitting and pushing by both male and female. If I am writing something in 한굴 on my palm to check spelling they will make me write on their palm, or vice versa. Patting on shoulders too... Is this behaviour normal? Or have I stumbled across the most touchy-feely Koreans ever? Contact with people when first meeting in Australia is generally restricted to a handshake. Occasionally, you will find someone who is very touchy, but they are considered outside of the norm. A hug with a sister/brother in law, or a kiss on the cheek is acceptable too I guess. Normally, If a girl was touching me this much I would interpret it as interest, but I don't think it is in this case... I guess I am just experiencing a butting of cultures. I googled and I found this: "Koreans consider it a personal violation to be touched by someone who is not a relative or close friend. Avoid touching, patting or back slapping a Korean" In light of my experience I strongly disagree with this statement, unless I am being repeatedly violated without knowing any better haha... It would be great if someone could offer some explanations/interpretations/examples to help me understand this a bit better. Thanks! 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Warp3 Senior Member United States forum_posts.asp?TID= Joined 5535 days ago 1419 posts - 1766 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish, Korean, Japanese | Message 2 of 17 01 May 2010 at 7:53am | IP Logged | |||||
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What I've read in the "culture" sections of my Korean text books is much more similar to what you found in your Google search than what you seem to be experiencing firsthand. There isn't really much of a Korean population around here, though, so I can't speak from personal experience.
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| noriyuki_nomura Bilingual Octoglot Senior Member Switzerland Joined 5340 days ago 304 posts - 465 votes Speaks: English*, Mandarin*, Japanese, FrenchC2, GermanC2, ItalianC1, SpanishB2, DutchB1 Studies: TurkishA1, Korean | Message 3 of 17 01 May 2010 at 8:04am | IP Logged | |||||
Errrm...could it be that, the girls were trying to flirt with you? 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| remix Groupie Australia Joined 5668 days ago 41 posts - 46 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Korean | Message 4 of 17 01 May 2010 at 8:47am | IP Logged | |||||
Noriyuki, If that is the case - I AM A STUD, because I barely know these people. I am talking about 3 separate girls here as well. I think a better explanation is perhaps these people just feel comfortable with me for one reason or another... I also wonder if they are a little bit different to the average Korean. I am in Australia, so you have to be a little bit more adventurous to travel and live overseas. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| noriyuki_nomura Bilingual Octoglot Senior Member Switzerland Joined 5340 days ago 304 posts - 465 votes Speaks: English*, Mandarin*, Japanese, FrenchC2, GermanC2, ItalianC1, SpanishB2, DutchB1 Studies: TurkishA1, Korean | Message 5 of 17 01 May 2010 at 10:28am | IP Logged | |||||
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Remix: if the three girls are open/adventurous enough to live/travel in Australia, I presume that the probability that they are also open to having an Australian boyfriend/partner is higher.
Because it is especially "ambiguous" in your restaurant experience, where the Korean girl left her leg resting against yours while eating...that definitely doesn't sound like a typical Korean display of (pure)friendliness towards someone of the opposite sex! 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| GauchoBoaCepa Triglot Senior Member Brazil Joined 5419 days ago 172 posts - 199 votes Speaks: Portuguese*, English, Spanish | Message 6 of 17 01 May 2010 at 4:11pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Is it hard to find Korean girls who speak English?....obviously in South Korea.
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| Captain Haddock Diglot Senior Member Japan kanjicabinet.tumblr. Joined 6768 days ago 2282 posts - 2814 votes Speaks: English*, Japanese Studies: French, Korean, Ancient Greek | Message 7 of 17 01 May 2010 at 4:32pm | IP Logged | |||||
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It's not quite the same thing, but on a recent trans-oceanic flight with Korean Air, numerous Korean women
(complete strangers to me) were willing and eager to hold and even look after my infant son, even though none of them could speak a word of English. Japanese people, in contrast, will crowd around him and play with him or make faces at him, but be somewhat more reticent about asking to hold him. The way Koreans play with children also struck me as being totally different — the sounds, the gestures, etc. However, it seems to me that both cultures lack the paranoia of strangers that we've been cultivating in Anglo- Saxon countries. Edited by Captain Haddock on 01 May 2010 at 4:35pm 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| cordelia0507 Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 5838 days ago 1473 posts - 2176 votes Speaks: Swedish* Studies: German, Russian | Message 8 of 17 01 May 2010 at 5:24pm | IP Logged | |||||
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I have heard that Koreans are quite physical people, like to hold hands and so on.. even one man with another, but there is not anything sexual about it.
If you are really interested in Korean culture ask a Korean, or buy a book about it. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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