Comments on: “I like you” in Korean Dramas

By: Victoria Yakovleva 維奇

Victoria Yakovleva 維奇 — Fri, 30 Jan 2015 17:41:00 +0000

That is a great question! I only watched 2 or 3 Korean dramas, but I, too, noticed how characters hardly ever use “I love you”, preferring “I like you” instead.
It’s amazing how similar it is in Chinese – the same thing, they just don’t say “I love you” even when have strong feelings for someone. “I like you” is the expression to use! :))

In my first language (Russian) “I love you” can in fact be used between two individuals who care a lot about each other, but it should be used carefully because it means A LOT to the one that you’re saying it to. It’d practically mean that you’re thinking about marriage or something. 🙂

By: Natalie Grace Coloma

Natalie Grace Coloma — Wed, 27 Aug 2014 00:50:00 +0000

I haven’t been looking at your blog for so long~ I think Han’s Aussie accent has gotten a lot stronger, ahaha

By: Roberta Mendes

Roberta Mendes — Fri, 08 Aug 2014 19:08:00 +0000

Han !!! Long time no see hahhaha !!!

By: Caitlin Hildebrandt

Caitlin Hildebrandt — Fri, 08 Aug 2014 06:09:00 +0000

I’m glad you guys talked about this! You both did a great job explaining it. I always wondered the reason behind this too. I feel like in here in the US “I like you” can mean many things. It can be quite confusing. Its really interesting that other languages have different ways of expressing how they feel ^^

By: M Lee

M Lee — Fri, 08 Aug 2014 01:12:00 +0000

In reply to yang janice. Since being in a relationship is such a huge deal in Korea (especially for women), any girl would be eager to call the guy she's dating her boyfriend as soon as possible, if only for the satisfaction of finally having a boyfriend. I'm not so sure about guys though- then again, being in a relationship seems to be a requirement for any young person in Seoul (there are couples EVERYWHERE), so yes, they probably wouldn't hesitate either. The Korean girlfriend/boyfriend label doesn't imply that you'll be marrying that person though, even if that may be the ultimate goal.

By: M Lee

M Lee — Fri, 08 Aug 2014 01:02:00 +0000

Great explanation! Just to add another language to the discussion: the well-known German phrase “Ich liebe dich” is actually just one way to say ‘I love you’ in German- the much more commonly used expression is “Ich hab’ dich lieb,” which denotes a much more familial relationship. I think ‘Ich liebe dich’ just sounds super dramatic, which is why I’ve never actually heard it being said (except in soaps, of course)- sort of like the Korean ‘당신을 사랑합니다’. I feel like K-dramas are all about ‘the relationship that is about to happen,’ so like you said the characters usually don’t get to that more ‘advanced’ stage of saying ‘i love you’ until the very end of the plot (or not even then).

By: yang janice

yang janice — Thu, 07 Aug 2014 22:05:00 +0000

This is so interesting. In my culture, it’s the same, we mostly say “I like you” because “I love you” denotes a more serious, we’re-going-to-be-together-for-a-long-time kind of relationship. This makes me wonder, do Koreans readily call the person they’re dating their boyfriend or girlfriend? I ask this because in my culture, boyfriends and girlfriends aren’t referred to as such but as friends because naming someone as a “boyfriend” or “girlfriend” means you’re on the road to marriage. At least in my traditional family, anyway. It was so confusing when my dad would refer to my sister’s boyfriend as “friend” and I’d be like “My sister kissed one of her friends?!”

By: Andréanne

Andréanne — Thu, 07 Aug 2014 20:44:00 +0000

In french there is only one way to say ‘i love you’ and ‘i like you’ so it can be very confusing. Saying ‘Je t’aime’ can mean you have a crush on that person, or that you like them as a friend, or that you are in love with them or just that you appreciate them.

By: stotanstar

stotanstar — Thu, 07 Aug 2014 15:15:00 +0000

Mr. Gwon’s hair looks really good in this video. 🙂 I like how there’s more ways to say “I love you” and “I like you” in other languages. I think English is really limited in this respect.

By: Claudia Carvalho

Claudia Carvalho — Thu, 07 Aug 2014 15:00:00 +0000

I really liked this question because I often wondered about that. I’ve noticed how even adults will say “I like you” instead of “I’m in love with you”. After a while of watching several different dramas it became clear that saying things like “I love you” isn’t very common. But going from “I like you to I love you”… it sounds a bit weird to me sometimes because In my language there are a couple of intermediate expressions between “I like you” and “I love you”. So in my language saying “I like you” if you’re an adult, it could sound childish, unclear or ambiguous. Oh you like me? ok, sure I like you too, you’re nice, I also like cats and apples. But in the same way, and because there are other expressions you can use, saying I love you becomes like an overwhelming thing, because so much meaning is put on those words, you feel you can’t live up to them.