A Japanese in Korea

1. Despite the stereotype of "OMFG ALL KOREANS HATE JAPANESE WHAT SHOULD I DO, WEAR A SIGN THAT SAYS 'SORRY FOR WWII, KOREA'?", I find that 95% of young Koreans are very friendly and willing to befriend Japanese or Nikeijin, no matter how much Japanese blood you got in you/how much your Japaneseness shows. Koreans love Japanese culture, such as anime, manga, washoku, Nintendo/Sony, Street Fighter, Tekken, etc. They'll be pretty open to you, and in worse-case scenario, they'll just ignore you. As just another same Asian in Korea blending in with the general population though, yes, you will most likely blend in and get ignored, and you may get mistaken as a fellow Korean one too many times. You'll learn to get used to it though. You'll also learn to ignore screaming drunk old men who shriek racist profanities at you if you encounter them, but remember, their lives will end soon, so don't bother raging over them. They're not worth your time, seriously. And if they wanna pick a fight with you, don't be a fool and choose to fight. Just walk away while they continue to scream their heads off. Just walk away calmly. Then make a rage blog here on TL to vent your anger!

2. How to act around Korean peoples? Well, just treat them as normal people! Koreans aren't different from any other people, except they tend to look more down on others that pull fail moves. Don't pull any fail moves. Just be friendly and amiable to them, and they should return the same attitude to you. One thing to keep in mind though: Do NOT, I repeat, do NOT hang out with other English-speaking foreigners 24/7. Avoid them as much as possible. And if you insist on hanging out with Koreans that know fluent/good English, then at least try to practice some Korean with them. If you never speak a lick of Korean in Korea, what's the point of trying to learn Korean then? Try to not speak as much English as possible, not even a single word, unless you want to impress some girls, lolz. Even if you wanna impress some girls, don't take your foreignness too far though, or else they'll see you as some cocky foreigner.

3. Korean girls? Well, most Korean girls are shy, like any other girl that first meets someone new, but most should also be willing to talk and befriend you. If you wanna hit on them and get their number though, just be assertive, but not arrogant/cocky. Take small steps at a time, and don't overload them. You want to be the leader when you talk to girls, not a follower. Always make sure that you have their interest when you're talking, and look like you really care and are listening when they're talking. Reinforce this with nods and "ahs" and "oohs" and stuff to let them know that you're listening. This should be common logic with any girl though; you should know this stuff already. By showing that you're genuinely treating her like a human being and not some random wall painting, you should score someone in no time. Korean girls tend to like positive and kinda over-friendly guys, but not over-the-top-creepy-friendly, so always put on your best smile! Don't put on your creeper one though. Don't wanna scare them girls away.

4. Lastly, if you wanna break the ice, talk about how much you love Korean culture. Don't mention Starcraft a lot though, since Koreans kinda view it as a geeky thing like here. It's okay to mention Starcraft to guys though, unless they look like jerks. Instead, if you're into Korean dramas/K-Pop, spout out as much info you know as much as possible. Koreans are pleased when others know Korean culture. Although they'll be most likely be a little shocked that a foreigner knows so much about Korean media at first, they'll soon get excited and share their favorite Korean media stuffs with you too. If you keep up with stuff in Korea, talking about the latest episode of whatever drama/live music broadcast program like Inkigayo is a good way to keep connections with others.

5. Korea is mad cheap compared to Japan. You'll love how everything is priced dirt cheap there. LOVE IT. You'll be in bargain paradise.

6. Try practicing Japanese with Koreans as well! Some are also trying to learn Japanese since they love Japanese culture, so that'll be a fun thing to do if you run out of things to talk about.

7. Korea is fucking cold in the fall/winter. Enroll in spring, unless you're a polar bear. Watch out for the deadly, almost death-inducing humidity in late spring/early summer though. You'll sweat buckets. You're welcome.

I haven't been to Korea for like 4 years now, but I do have a friend who was recently on an exchange program (with Seoul Univ.) for a couple of months. He's Chinese-Canadian and didn't speak any Korean before he went there... he had a good time, made a couple friends, you know. He's not into e-sports at all though.

According to him, as long as you drank happily (but not like an idiot) it was easy fitting in. Don't be a clown or something, but do be sociable and always show willingness to learn/appreciate the Korean culture. Be careful when you want to criticize something, because some people can go nuts (you know how crazy Korean netizens can get). It's ok to have positive/negative opinions on issues but be careful if you want to declare them outright. I know my friend is pretty opinionated and a stubborn kind of guy, and he was able to somehow fit in, so any "average" person shouldn't have a problem.

Spend the first few days making sure you're settled in. Get the administrative stuff all set and done, locate the important places nearby (like grocery store). I suppose having someone help you with the translations and all would help.