Flirting in Korea / Korean 1

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It seems that Korean is catching the interest of our radio listeners, who have already sent me requests! This is great!

The first request... didn't surprise me at all! They asked for flirting phrases! And at the end of the day, the tone of the ErasmusU vibe is heading upwards a little!

Well then, I have to give you some bad news...

Because language comes tightly linked with culture, even more so in this case (Korean), I must explain first of all that... Koreans do not flirt!

They are very shy, the guys as much as the girls. To give you an idea, the Korean mentality in this regard is similar to that of the Spanish 40 years ago.

Let me explain: they joke and chat, but never actually touch (touch! Hands or hair) until the second or third date! Can you imagine? So be careful when you arrive there and try to put your hand on a Korean girl because she'll give you Hell!

They are so shy that they have a few ways of getting to know one another:

1. Sogaeting. Sogaeting consists of: a group of girls meeting with a group of boys. Usually only two of them know each other and each one brings his or her friends. They go out for dinner and so on and if some of them like each other they go out as a pair on a different day. This method is very effective in girl-only universities like mine!
2. Blind dates. A friend introduces me to her male friend. It's very typical that when a girl starts going out with someone, her friends go out with her boyfriend's friends.

Now that they've met each other, let's move onto dates!

1. On the first date they usually go to a cool cafe or restaurant. They talk, the boy invites her out and everything is very innocent. Maybe they'll share a gaze but nothing more.
2. The following date depends on the couple, but they usually do the same thing and if they become closer they start taking photos of each other or of them together. The boy gives her flowers.

This is the most common way to get something more 'intimate' if that's what you're looking for...

But in the red light district you can 'flirt' in a different way! There are easy girls, just be careful or one of them might hand you the bill afterwards... it's very common. Lots of my male friends complained about girls who would come up to them and ask for money to spend the night with them, but refused to leave. There's also the typical girl who wants to live the American dream!

For us girls, there is also one type of guy who is a little more bold! They don't usually ask for money haha but they have a tactic which is very... unique!

I call it the pest system. It's very easy. You (the girl) are dancing in the club with your friends, normally in a circle, when a guy comes up to you from behind and starts dancing 1 cm away from you. He stays there and if he sees that you're not responding he'll keep getting closer. After quarter of an hour he will assume that you have accepted him and he'll dare to put a hand on your shoulder. All this while dancing! You can imagine how it ends. But they are considered 'together' after this. However it is a little strange and if there are a lot of people you can't really move and it becomes very difficult to avoid them.

I know this not only from my work as an observer but I was a victim of them too! The first time, I didn't know what was going on. Someone came right up against my back and since it was winter I was wearing a puffy body warmer, so I leaned back onto him! Wouldn't you do the same? 4 in the morning, you've been dancing all night, you're tired and a 180 cm guy comes up behind you... what do you do? Run out the door? Noooo, you take advantage and lean against his soft chest! But it was a shame because I didn't manage to see his face at all and he only asked me for my number when I was leaving... :(

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