Travis has officially lived in South Korea for one month, and even in that short amount of time he has learned a lot about South Korean culture. I love hearing about the things he’s learned, and others I’ve talked to find South Korean culture very interesting too. There are so many things we didn’t know! I wanted to share what we’ve learned in this first month.
People dating in South Korea do not meet each other’s families until after they are engaged.
When a Korean baby is born, they are automatically considered a one-year-old. Therefore, a Korean may be 20 years old, but to Americans he is only 19.
Many older South Koreans still remember the Korean War, and because of that they have a lot of respect for American soldiers.
It is not customary to tip in restaurants. If you leave money on the table, the waiter may stop you from leaving to tell you you forgot your money.
You cannot turn left on green lights in Korea; you must wait for a green arrow. When driving, it is important to be confident.
In the large Korean cities, the traffic laws are more suggestions than laws. Driving can be dangerous if you don’t know what you are doing.
All Korean men have to serve in the military for at least 21 months. They are able to choose which branch of the military they want to serve in.
Koreans have a lot of respect for their elders. When greeting each other, the younger person always bows to the older person to show respect. The lower they bow, the more respect they are showing.
The Internet in South Korea is the fastest in the world. It can take only seconds to download and install an app on a phone, even while using 4G.
Korea has made a dramatic turn around following the Korean War. Before the war, they received aid from other countries. Now, they are giving aid to other countries. They are one of the only countries in the world to make this turn around.
Korean food is much less sweet than American food. Even their “junk food” is healthier than American food.
It is common to see women holding hands with each other or men holding hands with each other — this does not necessarily represent their sexual preference.
Koreans love children and in this culture, children are treated as “everyone’s treasure” to cherish and protect.
Koreans say their surname first instead of last like we do in America. The three most common surnames are Kim, Lee, and Park. These three last names make up about half of the ethnic Korean population.
Did you know any of these facts about Korean culture? You can learn more about South Korea by following my South Korea Tour Pinterest board.
So interesting! Although it is hard for you and your husband to be apart, it is a neat adventure and an opportunity not many have in life to learn about another culture. Enjoy and thanks for sharing these interesting facts with the rest of us. 🙂
You are welcome! I’m sure I’ll be writing more posts like this as we keep learning!
This is extremely interesting. God’s blessing he has given you and Travis is teaching all of us. Thanks for sharing this information. I really enjoyed hearing the differences.
I did a year tour in Seoul in 97-98. Hard to believe it’s been so long. It was a wonderful tour and the Korean people are lovely. I hope you get a chance to visit your husband while he is there and experience “The Land of the Morning Calm” for yourself.
Thanks Leslie. I am in Korea right now visiting! This is my second time over here.
“It is common to see women holding hands with each other or men holding hands with each other”
That’s wrong. All men walk without holding hands with each other. In woman case? Some girls walk like that, but not common.
It is not “common” to see men holding hands. Although, after drinking a whole bunch of soju you might see guys get a little more touchy with each other. Still after living in Korea for a year and a half, I have hardly seen that. Also, I do not agree that Korean food is less sweet than american food, they put sugar in a lot of main dishes. there is even a lot of sugar in their vinegar based foods, and I’m not so sure I would say it is all that healthy all the time, they sure love deep fried foods here. There breads are far too sweet for my taste. I have even had garlic bread here a few times where they added sugar to it. Also, men do not have to serve in the military they can choose other areas of compulsory service, like the police force.
Katie, maybe it depends where you live. I’ve lived in the United States and lived for a year in Korea, and I saw men and women walking hand in hand and arm in arm pretty often! It was usually when they were going out for the night though. Did you live in seoul? It is way more westernized so much of the food is a little sweeter than if you lived in the countryside.
And they can’t choose civil service, they have to be exempt from serving in the military.
I have been living in Seoul and very rarely see men walking arm in arm. Yes, it happens and far more often when compared to American men, but not at all “common”.
Yes, you are right, it not exactly a choice, you have to be exempt but the military is not the only conscription service.
I fully agree with Katie. Living in South Korea for 2 years, a lot of Korean foods are very very sweet. I can’t eat crackers or potato chips (crisps) for that reason. When you walk the aisles of Lotte Mart or eMart, there are honey chips, banana chips, and sweet cheese chips. Yogurt here is much sweeter. Also, cheese is sweetened here too as well as bread. When you go to the bread shops here, sugar seems to be the main ingredient. Heck, even garlic bread here is sweetened. My coworker asked me why Americans don’t like garlic bread…um, we love garlic bread, just not sweetened. Korean food seems to be much sweeter in my opinion.
Hey, thanks for your opinions Mike and Katie! I can definitely see what you mean about the bread being sweeter! I love sweet food, and I loved going to the bread shops there to pick out yummy treats! Thanks for chiming in, friends!
We leave Pennsylvania in about 12 days and are moving to S. Korea. Thanks for your blog, I’m learning a lot!! Camp Carroll, here we come.
I’m so glad I could help Juli. I hope you all enjoy it there!