EPTHow is sex(making love) treated over there? In the USA we are pretty open to discussing it and partaking in it at a young age.
The Modern Korean: Looks - Page 24
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guN-viCe
United States687 Posts
How is sex(making love) treated over there? In the USA we are pretty open to discussing it and partaking in it at a young age. | ||
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ashLoo
United States202 Posts
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Flaccid
8836 Posts
In western culture, it's typical that a person can be 'cool' by conforming to the social norms but can also be 'cool' in his own respect by being an outsider - hence the emergence of counter-culture to combat the social norms. Can you comment more on how this works in Korea? Is everything really such a homogeneous, vanilla soup? Is there good art in Korea? And where does it come from? Clearly not these North Face wearing dudes. There is an obvious overcompensation towards materialism and superficiality whenever we see a country industrialize at a rapid, unnatural pace. Still, with that in mind, I have to be honest that your post - while very interesting - certainly does not make me want to visit Korea any time soon. Superficiality exists in all cultures, but that doesn't mean I'm going to intentionally seek it out. Thanks again for the good read! | ||
rotinegg
United States1719 Posts
On March 21 2012 00:56 guN-viCe wrote: A+ post. How is sex(making love) treated over there? In the USA we are pretty open to discussing it and partaking in it at a young age. It's getting more and more open, but it's still a somewhat taboo subject, so while one-night-stands are rampant in the night life, you won't talk about that stuff in broad daylight with somebody you don't know very well. There's a term called 섹드립 which roughly translates into sexual innuendo, and it's a HUGE deal when celebrities make even the slightest references to sex on TV. All parents definitely frown upon sex before marriage, but the disconnect between parents and children is so large that many do it in college anyway. At a young age, though, like pre-college, not very common at all since most students live in their parents' house and study 24/7. On March 21 2012 00:58 Flaccid wrote: Really interesting post - thanks for taking the time to write that up for those of us on the outside looking in. In western culture, it's typical that a person can be 'cool' by conforming to the social norms but can also be 'cool' in his own respect by being an outsider - hence the emergence of counter-culture to combat the social norms. Can you comment more on how this works in Korea? Is everything really such a homogeneous, vanilla soup? Is there good art in Korea? And where does it come from? Clearly not these North Face wearing dudes. There is an obvious overcompensation towards materialism and superficiality whenever we see a country industrialize at a rapid, unnatural pace. Still, with that in mind, I have to be honest that your post - while very interesting - certainly does not make me want to visit Korea any time soon. Superficiality exists in all cultures, but that doesn't mean I'm going to intentionally seek it out. Thanks again for the good read! I'm glad you enjoyed it, thanks  I am going to assume you are a foreigner, so first, I want to say these are just the most extreme, superficial elements portrayed in the OP, and there is so much more to the culture that compensates for it. Also, none of this applies to you if you are a non-Asian foreigner; you will be exempt from all these rules and people will treat you with respect and hospitality. If you had an interest in visiting Korea, I strongly recommend you do, as you will experience none of what was mentioned in the OP, and I promise you will have a great time.As for your question about counter-culture, I'm sure it exists and there are a lot of indy band/underground hiphop/rap movements, but I am not all too familiar with the scene so I wouldn't be able to say much about it. Perhaps someone with more knowledge in this area can enlighten us. I can say with confidence, though, Korea really is much more homogeneous than places elsewhere from my personal experience, with the pressure to fit in constantly wrenching at you at a subconscious, if not conscious, level. | ||
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GreEny K
Germany7312 Posts
Edit: Quick question, I just saw the post above me and it made me think. You said that non-Asian foreigners are treated with respect and hospitality, would it be a plus if that foreigner had some of the features you mentioned or do they not really care? | ||
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babylon
8765 Posts
On March 21 2012 01:00 rotinegg wrote: I'm glad you enjoyed it, thanks I am going to assume you are a foreigner, so first, I want to say these are just the most extreme, superficial elements portrayed in the OP, and there is so much more to the culture that compensates for it. Also, none of this applies to you if you are a non-Asian foreigner; you will be exempt from all these rules and people will treat you with respect and hospitality. As for your question about counter-culture, I'm sure it exists and there are a lot of indy band/underground hiphop/rap movements, but I am not all too familiar with the scene so I wouldn't be able to say much about it. Perhaps someone with more knowledge in this area can enlighten us. I can say with confidence, though, Korea really is much more homogeneous than places elsewhere from my personal experience, with the pressure to fit in constantly wrenching at your subconscious. Cripes, poor Asian foreigners. Maybe if I dress dumpy enough ... I do like Korean indie music way more than KPop though. (I'm pretty sure Epik High started as an indie band too.) :B Though speaking of music, is KPop really that insanely popular over there as a musical genre? Most of the Korean pros here stream with KPop, and it makes my ears bleed. Guess I'm asking for the most popular genres, I suppose. | ||
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GreEny K
Germany7312 Posts
On March 21 2012 01:10 babylon wrote: Cripes, poor Asian foreigners. Maybe if I dress dumpy enough ... I do like Korean indie music way more than KPop though. (I'm pretty sure Epik High started as an indie band too.) :B Though speaking of music, is KPop really that insanely popular over there as a musical genre? Most of the Korean pros here stream with KPop, and it makes my ears bleed. Guess I'm asking for the most popular genres, I suppose. I hadn't thought of that, but you make a good point. And also, what is the music in night clubs like? | ||
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rotinegg
United States1719 Posts
On March 21 2012 01:10 babylon wrote: Cripes, poor Asian foreigners. Maybe if I dress dumpy enough ... I do like Korean indie music way more than KPop though. (I'm pretty sure Epik High started as an indie band too.) :B Though speaking of music, is KPop really that insanely popular over there as a musical genre? Most of the Korean pros here stream with KPop, and it makes my ears bleed. Guess I'm asking for the most popular genres, I suppose. More or less. We don't listen to it because we think it's good music, it's just something to listen to, white noise that fills the air. People who are into music will listen to other stuff, but the large majority of the youngsters will listen to Kpop by default. On March 21 2012 01:13 GreEny K wrote: I hadn't thought of that, but you make a good point. And also, what is the music in night clubs like? Night clubs, where you grab a room or table and they shuffle in girls all night long, I have never been to - ask rekrul instead. BTW, these are regular girls being shuffled in, not strippers, so it's not like a strip club. The waiters at nightclubs just facilitate the meeting of opposite genders, so to speak Regular clubs are where I go. Clubs are divided into two types: Hiphop and Electro-house. Clubs north of the river (강북) in the 홍대 area will play Hiphop, where American rap songs will play, and clubs south of the river (강남) in the 강남 청담 압구정 areas will play electro-house all night long. The crowds vary with the music as well. I personally enjoy the electro-house clubs more as the guy:girl ratio is good, people are generally richer and better dressed (and better looking/taller) than their counterparts in hiphop clubs, and the clubs just feel more upscale in general. On March 21 2012 01:07 GreEny K wrote: Quick question, I just saw the post above me and it made me think. You said that non-Asian foreigners are treated with respect and hospitality, would it be a plus if that foreigner had some of the features you mentioned or do they not really care? Well you might get extra respect and they might look at you in awe if you had milky white skin, blonde hair, blue eyes and were 6'2" or above with a small head, but tbh ppl don't really care, just the fact that you are a foreigner will make them treat you with respect. | ||
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GreEny K
Germany7312 Posts
On March 21 2012 01:14 rotinegg wrote: More or less. We don't listen to it because we think it's good music, it's just something to listen to, white noise that fills the air. People who are into music will listen to other stuff, but the large majority of the youngsters will listen to Kpop by default. Night clubs, where you grab a room or table and they shuffle in girls all night long, I have never been to - ask rekrul instead. Regular clubs are where I go. Clubs are divided into two types: Hiphop and Electro-house. Clubs north of the river (강북) in the 홍대 area will play Hiphop, where American rap songs will play, and clubs south of the river (강남) in the 강남 청담 압구정 areas will play electro-house all night long. The crowds vary with the music as well. I personally enjoy the electro-house clubs more as the guy:girl ratio is good, people are generally richer and better dressed (and better looking/taller) than their counterparts in hiphop clubs, and the clubs just feel more upscale in general. Ahaaaa, I didn't mean nightclubs as in strip clubs, just to clarify. And can you look at my first post? Same page, up a couple posts. | ||
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Stratos
Czech Republic6104 Posts
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Junaka
Denmark6 Posts
You don't write a lot about girl fasion and im just wondering how koreans are with the skirt lenght. Are too short skirts considered cheap, or is it more of a "the shorter the better" mentality? | ||
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rotinegg
United States1719 Posts
On March 21 2012 01:21 Stratos wrote: I can still get along if I find the 'ugly club', right? (as in a community, not a dance club..) you'll be just fine, the large majority of the population is in this "ugly club" you speak of. On March 21 2012 01:25 Junaka wrote: A really great read. You don't write a lot about girl fasion and im just wondering how koreans are with the skirt lenght. Are too short skirts considered cheap, or is it more of a "the shorter the better" mentality? Parents hate it, girls love it... (And naturally us guys love it too) You can see the girls' perception on skirts in school: school girls often try to reduce their uniform's skirt length and make them tighter at a tailor, but schools have strict regulations so there's this constant battle between the girls trying to bend the rules and the teachers telling them not to. Teachers used to be able to beat the shit out of disobeying students but these days I heard things changed. | ||
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Nos-
Canada12016 Posts
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Existential
Australia2107 Posts
Need to get my hands on some BB cream..... | ||
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Ragoo
Germany2773 Posts
Very nice read, altho it definitely didn't make me like Korea more hehe | ||
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Pippah
Denmark353 Posts
away ....... | ||
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opisska
Poland8852 Posts
On March 20 2012 21:05 Animzor wrote: Hahaha, wow, that is just silly. Looking good and being presentable is a part of growing up, you are in serious need of some growing up, nobody thinks you're cool because you're saying fuck you to society. Dressing and looking like shit doesn't make you one of the cool guys, it just makes you look like shit. I bet you're one of those people who thinks guys who dress well are gay because you wish you could dress like them, but are too afraid to. Well then I have no interest in this "growing up", I guess. Luckily, you do not get to decide what I am in need of. I am not trying to be cool, I am just me and it has worked perfectly for me my whole life. As I was trying to explain previously, it has the added bonus that I am naturally repulsive for people who I would probably consider assholes anyway, thus I am surrounded by some pretty amazing people, if you ask me. I don't care if someone is gay or not, I do not think that the whole world revolves around sexuality. I do not wish to dress like them", because it woudl be extremely uncomfortable for me and I don't like that. Do you have any more similarly educated guesses about me? | ||
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felisconcolori
United States6168 Posts
The blog post makes me wonder, though. A friend of mine (girl, about 5'9" or so, athletic but still a bit round, with long blond hair and blue eyes) went to Korea to teach English for a time. (She also is very into Tae Kwon Do.) She did learn a fair bit of Korean, but was also tongue-in-cheek - one of the t-shirts she would wear for tourist wandering was "Foreigner" in Korean. She told me that some of her students seemed to be scared of her and called her a ghost (which I thought was odd) - although she also managed to train in Tae Kwon Do with Grandmaster Park while in the country. I wonder if some of her experiences might have been like my cousin (who is insanely smart, but also tall, blond, "statuesque", and fluent in several languages of the region) had in Japan. (She describes walking down the street while Japanese guys followed behind her making very questionable comments about her physical appearance in Japanese, certain she couldn't understand them. Who would look like someone stomped their puppy when she turned around to address them politely in Japanese.) Also, I think the Confucianism mentioned by someone else plays a role in the difference - a strong tradition of having a model of what every person should aspire to be, and a strong culture of trying to make everyone into that. (The US has this, too, but that role model is of a rugged individual. And we are all individuals. Just like everyone else.) | ||
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Inverse1
United Kingdom61 Posts
A very informative post anyway it was definitely illuminating so thanks for that! It just seems so strange to me that a country that seems to have so much open progression in terms of technology and culture etc, whilst still maintaining a lot of natural beauty, can be so closed and backward in some of it's social ideology. | ||
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Lucumo
6850 Posts
On March 19 2012 06:14 Kurr wrote: Well, my daily routine is : shower, brush teeth, put on clothes that don't smell/have stains. I think I would not enjoy living in Korea. Don't get me wrong I look acceptable and dress pretty well but to have to actually put in more effort than that in it is too much... I shave once or twice a week only (except when I'm working but I'm at university right now so screw that) because I'm lazy. I get my hair cut really short once every 5-6 months so it stays looking acceptable for a long period of time instead of going often. Honestly even my normal routine is tedious. Following fashion is something I will definitely never do and it seems, from this post, that it's the norm in Korea. Well, it's pretty much the same for me. Guess I'm glad that I'm not living in Korea. But at least my height and head/body ratio seems perfectly fine(and probably the color of my skin as well). | ||
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