I would say it’s a facade in Korea too. There are love motels everywhere…

While it’s scandalous to live with someone before marriage there are plenty of ways to have a physical relationship.

That is a very interesting perspective, Nic! 🙂 I personally think that spending years dating someone is a waste of both people’s time, so I quite appreciate it that these things can happen quicker in Asia (it’s very similar in Greater China – Hong Kong, Taiwan, China Mainland).

But then I am curious about one thing when talking about Korea: if it’s that unusual (and would you say strict?) for people to live together, do they have any physical relationship at all or….? 🙂 I may sound naive, but who knows perhaps Korea really is THAT traditional?
I know that in China you will still hear that a girl is supposed to marry “unspoiled” :)))) and that guys, allegedly, prefer this type of girls for a wife. However, having lived there for 6 years I now know that it’s all a facade and in reality things are completely different….

Ok, thanks for answering my question! It’s fun to be able to learn things like this, that you don’t typically find in a guidebook about Korea for example. Most Koreans I know are 3rd/4th/5th etc generation Korean-American and would say they are a part of our island culture (Hawai’i is a very mixed place, much more so than the rest of America) a lot more than they feel they are part of Korean culture, so I can’t really ask them questions about Korea – they don’t know much about it. I will enjoy continuing to check out your blog & wishing you both the best!

Hi! Thanks!

It’s not really common for Koreans to live together with their partner the same way people do in the western countries. Often Korean people live with their parents until they get married. Another thing that is different is that dating, engagement and marriage happens a lot quicker in Korea. In western countries it’s quite normal to date for years, have year long engagements and a big lead up to the wedding. In Korea weddings are announced only a few months before and aren’t as big of a deal as in other countries. The time people spend dating can be quite quick, especially when people have reached their 30’s. There can still be an element of arranged marriages where people are introduced with the intention of marriage, so if both people (and their families) agree to it, the wedding arrangements can happen quite quickly. So because of these reasons, that it’s normal to live at home as an adult, and that dating is usually done with the intention of marriage, and being a more conservative country, that type of living together is not that common.

good job !! ^^