Category: Relationships (Page 19 of 22)

Relationships with Koreans- friendships and romance

Free Food

2012/08/11 / Nic / 9 Comments

My husband and I have been apart for a few weeks because he has been working in Sydney and I’ve been staying with my parents waiting until we had somewhere to live in Sydney. Even though we could talk every day, it is difficult to be apart.

He really does. He usually will take two and because I don’t usually want a sample he will make me go back and take two, pretending they are for me, and then make me give them to him. Greedy!

Anyway, I arrived in Sydney last night (what shocking weather there is at the moment!) so we are both now together. We are sharing an apartment with another Korean couple until we get our own apartment. Renting in Sydney is expensive! Especially the area we are in as it’s walking distance to the city. It is difficult for my husband, he is basically starting his life again in another country, so we are quite poor at the moment. Oh well at least we have our own bedroom and bathroom and we are together.

When I arrived last night these were waiting for me on the bed:

The bear has a cute hood on, and when trying to explain it, my husband said “You can take it’s head off!”

300 Days Anniversary

2012/08/02 / Nic / 19 Comments

Just have to make it clear. It’s not our 300 days now- this was a while ago!

Koreans tend to celebrate a lot more anniversaries than we do. I think this is a more modern thing that has been influenced by romance in media. It is normal to celebrate the 100 days anniversary and depending usually on what the girl expects, certain day anniversaries after that. This is 100 days of dating, not marriage.100 days is significant in Korea culture. For example, 100 days after a baby is born is celebrated.

We acknowledged our 100 days, which is obviously quite early in a relationship, but we didn’t do anything very special. I have seen Korean girls demand a lot just for 100 days though- like flowers and a cake and a gift and dinner. Not all are like that though.

So by the time our 300 days anniversary came around it wasn’t something I was thinking about so I felt bad when my husband (then boyfriend) surprised me with red roses and a cake. He knew I didn’t remember though, so it was okay. We haven’t celebrated another “day anniversaries” since then and I don’t pay much attention to all the other, often commercial, “special days” in Korea. Not every one does something for them, as there are a lot where you are expected to give something in particular or do something in particular.

My husband wasn’t the first Korean guy I dated (shock horror!). There were a few before him, but I only really discovered these anniversaries and days because of him. When I first dated a Korean guy (many years ago) I had never watched a Korean drama and wasn’t familiar with K-Pop. I had no idea of the things Korean girls expected from their boyfriends. I suspect that the first 2 Korean guys I dated deliberately withheld this information from me so they’d never have to do it. They were not very romantic guys at all. It was only as I got more involved in Korean culture later that I realised there was this whole very romantic culture with Korean youth. So I’m glad my husband finds it easy to be romantic and surprises me sometimes.

Cutesy photos

2012/07/31 / Nic / 18 Comments

Well I learn something new every day. I’ve mentioned before that I don’t use aegyo very much with my husband. Right from the beginning of our relationship I was a straight talking Western woman. I mean ‘western’ as in from a Western culture… not ‘western’ as in The Wild West! hehe.

I didn’t ever need cutesy words or mannerisms to attract my husband so I just assumed he didn’t like that much. I’m discovering now how these things that I thought only worked on other Korean guys work on him too. I was just messing around taking a cutesy photo like that. Trying to copy how Korean girls do it, just for a laugh. I was surprised at how cute my husband thought it was. If it was an average Australian guy I can imagine them cringing and telling me I look stupid. But I’m not with an Australian guy, I’m with a Korean and I’m beginning to realise that Korean girls have it all worked out! I should give them more credit. For a later post I might explain the certain techniques Korean girls use for photos too.

So if a Western woman wants to attract a Korean guy should she do cutesy things like this? I’m not really sure about this. Copying what Korean girls do may not have the desired affect. It is probably better to get to know a guy better first and find out if he appreciates cutesy things before attempting it. There are some Korean guys who seek out non-Korean girlfriends because they don’t like the aegyo things Korean girls do. Also some Korean guys don’t like it when non-Korean girls call them ‘Oppa’. So tread carefully. But if they do like it- relax and have fun with it!

Wedding Presents

2012/07/27 / Nic / 10 Comments

This was for our Australian wedding. After everything finished we opened our presents. Some family and friends were with us as well and everyone laughed at my husband tearing open the presents while I sat reading the cards. His excuse was that it was difficult for him to read the handwritten English in the cards and he didn’t know who they were all from. He became interested when there was money in a card though!

Of course all our money is shared but he organises it. Traditionally in Korea (and Japan) the woman manages the money but we decided it is better that my husband does the managing. I’m a creative type and not exactly good with money (and we are poor newlyweds at the moment).

We got a lot of nice presents but haven’t used them yet, even though our wedding was months ago, because we haven’t found a new place to live in Sydney yet. We have them piled up in a spare room at my parent’s house. Sometimes I like to go in and just look at them and say “Mine mine! These are all mine!” Hehe, I’ve never owned such nice things before.

Monsters

2012/07/24 / Nic / 8 Comments

When my husband isn’t here:

My husband is in Sydney starting a new job and I’m in my hometown because we don’t have a new apartment there yet. So I get scared at night!

I just showed my husband this comic and he said “What is under the bed?” I told him it is a monster and he told me confidently that there isn’t one there. Thanks honey, but they aren’t there when you are home! They only appear when you are gone.

Anne Hathaway

2012/07/24 / Nic / 11 Comments

I really don’t look like Anne Hathaway. Some of my Korean friends said that I did years ago when I had dark hair. I’m pretty sure the only reason they thought that was because I was the first Western friend they had. So because I was a white girl with dark hair: “OMG you look like Anne Hathaway!!!”

I was just trying to rile my husband up because G-Dragon can be a jealously inciting subject. He wouldn’t want me to look like anyone GD may have taken a liking too… because then I might run away with GD or something??? I don’t know. Jealously doesn’t always make sense. I like to push his buttons because of course he has nothing to worry about. And it worked.