The South Korean Stereotypes
It all started on November 26, 2014 when “mixo” commented on my professional stereotypes post, saying:
Hey MantisShrimp, been following your blog silently. Love your posts. Would it be possible to do stereotypes on KOREANS? Hope your blog grows
This short message from mixo was special, because it subtly states that; despite having few existing Korean Stereotypes posts and questions and answers pages already available on the web, he or she trusted me more than any other person in giving this topic a fair shot. Besides, this was the first request I have ever received to write any article; Up to that point, I’ve been writing purely out of my fascination with the way we human beings behave, thrive and evolve.
Korea at night
From Flickr user: Hector Garcia
Original: https://flic.kr/p/7g2DBw
I do not claim to be an expert in the Korean culture nor to be an expert in understanding the Korean people. I have never been to Korea and unfortunately, I have never had Korean friends; Am I the right person to write this? Probably not, but I decided to give it my best. By that I mean that I have been doing my research for the last few weeks. I have read numerous posts and questions and answers, watched many documentaries about Korea (both North and South Korea). It has been a long and interesting trip in which I knew that I cannot understand the Korean culture and the Korean people without studying and understanding their history. Not only was it necessary for me to understand Korea’s history with China and Japan, but I also had to understand the parallel history of North Korea and South Korea.
I have always admired the east Asian culture. By the end of my research, I had already fallen in love with the Korean culture and Korean people. I have always dreamed about travelling to an Asian country (especially east or south-east Asian country), away from “what is familiar” to experience what is unknown; to live life there as a resident and not only as passing by tourist. What changed? nothing! I want to do that now more than ever.
Note: This stereotype article is about South Korea only. I realized that there is a huge social, political and economical gap between South and North Korea and combining both stereotypes in one post makes no sense at all 🙂
Korean Women Stereotypes
Physical Characteristics of Korean girls
The population of South Asia, East Asia and South-East Asia is approximately 3.7 billion. Though, the population of these regions are simply referred to as Asian, these three very populous regions are ethnically diverse. What I am trying to say is that I believe that South Korean girls are the most beautiful of the whole 3.7 billion “Asian” ethnicities and are certainly one of the most beautiful in the world.
Typical South Korean girl
From Flickr User: Huiju Sin
Original: https://flic.kr/p/ffUd5a
Why do I believe so? Is it because the image of the beautiful models in Psy’s Gangdam style and Gentelemen songs dominate my inner deep psychology? Maybe! I do realize that the models in those two songs don’t resemble the average South Korean girl (more than half of the dancers in the songs have blondish hair :D); none the less, I still believe Koran girls are so gorgeous! or do I simply have a weak spot for Asian beauty?
I apologize, I did one of my very common off-topic “detours”, so here is what a typical Korean girl looks like:
- Beautiful black straight hair (very common in most East Asia and South East Asian countries)
- Flawless white and beautiful skin.
Gorgeous Korean smile, beautiful hair, perfect skin
From Flickr: user, hojusaram
Original: https://flic.kr/p/761NQb
- Very elegantly dressed, in a smart manner, finding the balance between the South Korean conservative culture and the western liberty and sexuality.
- I have always assumed that the average South Korean girl is a little short and thin (just like many other Asian nations such as Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam…) but I was wrong.
Here is what a teacher in Korea, rulerstothesky, had to say about Korean men and women in regards to their height and body-built in general:
I am right at 6 feet tall and a reasonably muscular 190 pounds. Seeing men who are taller, more muscular, or fatter than me is normal, and seeing women about my height only slightly less normal
Statistically speaking, the average height of a Korean girl is 160 cm or 5 feet 3 inches in contrast to an average of 151.7 cm or 4 feet 11.5 inches in Philippines and 152.2 cm or 5 feet in Vietnam which again proves that I was wrong :), Korean girls are perfect!
You might be interested in reading this Taiwanese blogger’s keen observations of Korean Women (mostly in comparison to Taiwanese girls).
Personality and Behavior of Korean girls
It is easy for us (human beings) to be drawn into a tunnel vision, seeing the world from the tiny window of our limited knowledge. I do wish one day to make my own observations, analysis and judgments, I do wish to experience the real “South Korean” way of life, but for now, I have to rely on my research (facts from reliable resources), use my reasoning and if still in doubt, hopefully, you can help me confirm or debunk these personality related stereotypes about Korean girls:
Attitude of Korean Girls towards money and dating
The Stereotype, Quoted from Connect Korea :
Money, as in every country, is important in Korea. Women like you to spend money on them and not be cheap. They like to go out and eat at nice restaurants. They prefer their boyfriends to drive nice cars, have good jobs, take them on trips, buy them expensive gift
Cute Korean Girl
From Flickr, user: Huiju Sin
Original: https://flic.kr/p/ffUcRc
- My Reasoning: This stereotype is always stated in a way that suggests that South Korean girls are materialistic. I believe this stereotype is false, Korean girls are not materialistic.
- Korea is very family oriented and children’s relation to their parents is based on a delicate mix of obedience, fear, love and respect. If a Korean girl dates a guy, it means that she think that he is a man that she would be proud to introduce to her parents. Someone broke who can’t afford a car, a descent house and a nice dinner every now and then hardly meets the criteria of a successful man that can make your parents proud.
- So how do I explain or justify the popularity of such a stereotype? Here is how. Korean girls aren’t easy and have high standards and high self worth, which is the reason why many Korean teenagers sacrifice leisure and fun activities for the sake of education. If a Korean girl doesn’t date a guy because he is poor, it is probably because of her belief that a poor guy is poor because of chronic underachievement and failures, which is really not attractive for the deeply rooted over-achieving culture of South Korea.
- South Korea is not poor. South Korean families are supportive and loving and South Korean parents wouldn’t spare any expense to ensure their sons and daughter’s well-being. It is hard for me to believe that South Korean women are “materialistic” knowing that the average South Korean girl hasn’t experienced poverty. If you eat sushi everyday, sushi is no longer a luxury that you desire.
The Korean family life
Stereotype: A common stereotypical assumption is that all or most Korean women, give up their careers to get married, have children and take care of their families. This is only partially true.
The facts: Quoting from Korean OECD report:
In terms of employment, nearly 64% of people aged 15 to 64 in Korea have a paid job, slightly below the OECD employment average of 65%. Some 75% of men are in paid work, compared with 53% of women, suggesting that women encounter difficulties in balancing work and family life.
It might be true that some women fit the “stay at home, Korean housewife” stereotype; However, statistically, most Korean women manage to maintain a day-time job in addition to their role as a parent and a wife.
Korean Men Stereotypes
Most Korean men, just like Korean girls, have straight black hair, black eyes and white skin.
Stereotype 1: The Stereotypical image of Korean men is that of a young computer nerd, wearing eyeglasses, thin and a bit short. This stereotypes originates from the fact that Korean adults are very hard working, Korean teenagers are very serious students and due to the fact that e-gaming is very popular in South Korea.
The facts: Korean men’s average height is 174 cm or 5 feet 8.5 inches. That is significantly higher than most east and south east Asian nations and only slightly less than most western nations. So I would say that this stereotype isn’t true.
Stereotype 2: All men look like cute and very young boys.
My Reasoning: I think most Asian races look younger than their actual age. Do you agree?
When I first moved to Dubai I could never guess the correct age of any of my Filipino or Malaysian or Chinese friends. Most Asian people seem to have baby faces 🙂 (lucky). So I do agree with this Stereotype.
Stereotype 3: Most men are very well dressed and spend a lot of time and money on shopping as part of an effort to look good.
Is it true? 🙂
Stereotype 4: Korean men are strict fathers and traditional husbands (i.e. Korean men assume that the wife should carry on all house related duties).
My Reasoning: I am sure that there many men do fit this stereotype and many others who don’t and unfortunately there is no scientific way to confirm or disprove this stereotype.
Education in South Korea
The Stereotype: South Korean schools are among the toughest schools in the world and are way superior than the average western schools. South Korean students are very intelligent, very obedient and study all the time.
These stereotypes are absolutely true. The general belief in South Korea is that the best way to secure a good future is by studying night and day. Studying hard is your ticket to a good college and a good college is your ticket to a good job in a good company, a good salary and a happy life. It is all part of the South Korean government’s belief that the most valuable natural resource is its people’s capability to create and innovate, which is why the government invests huge amounts of money on both private and public educational institutions. This believe is rooted in every parent and child’s psychology and it is a way of life and a way of serving one’s nation. As mentioned in the short BBC documentary in the video above, South Korea was transformed in just two generations “from mass illiteracy to a technological power house” and from one of the poorest countries into one of the richest and most advanced countries in the world.
The effectiveness of the educational system in Korea is undeniable. The OECD Programme for International Student Assessment result report (page 7) reveals that Korean students are the fifth performing students worldwide with a score of 554 only after Shanghai-China, Singapore, Hong Kong-China, Chinese Taipei, scoring an average of 613 , 573, 561 and 560 respectively. Here are some other scores that might be interesting to you.
Japan: 536
Germany: 514
France: 495
United Kingdom: 494
United States: 481
Korean Students
From Flickr user: Yeoju Students
Original: https://flic.kr/p/nYKysx
No one can argue that the educational system in South Korea is very effective, but let us see how tough is it for students in South Korea, here is a video of a South Korean student explaining the grading system in South Korean schools:
What does this mean? Your results are always determined in relevance to how everyone has performed on a certain exam. This means that if you are in a school of hardworking and intelligent students who are ready to ace each exam, getting few wrong answers (let us say 3 out of 30, which is still as high as 90% accurate), could be enough to drop you down to 3 or 4 which is equivalent to C or D. Now, you might understand why students leave day time school to go to night time school, then leave night time school to go home and study some more, because schools in South Korea are not only difficult, but are also very competitive.
The e-Gaming Culture
The Stereotype: South Koreans love e-games (especially Starcraft). Professional gamers in South Korea are like rock stars.
Beautiful Korean Models ( Starcraft is cool in Korea 😉 )
From Flickr, user: KRWonders
Original: https://flic.kr/p/7knk4H
This Stereotype is true. South Korea is the capital of e-gaming. Starcraft in South Korea is as big and popular as Football in Germany or BasketBall in USA or Cricket in India. It is the national sport of South Korea.
The first video sheds light on Starcraft in South Korea; the second video is a documentary about Starcraft worldwide and features Starcraft 2 casters from the United States and pro-gamers from all over the world. Starcraft is more than just a computer game, there is a whole economy based on this game now. There are professional gamers who are paid to play Starcraft, there are Casters (just like any sport), there is a huge fan base spending long hours playing the game as a hobby. In South Korea, the competition is more fierce and the players are substantially better than international players. South Korea is the only country having TV channels dedicated to Starcraft and this simply reflects on how serious the e-gaming culture is in South Korea.
Culture of hard work and dedication
South Korea is known to host a tireless workforce. According to the OECD labor force statistics, the average Korean works 2163 hours a year compared to the OECD average of 1773 hours and the United States average of 1789 hours annually.
When I think of Korea, I can’t help but feel that Korea is the younger and more energetic version of Japan. The youthful South Korean economy is booming with creativity and excellence. Few decades ago, “Made in Korea” was almost synonymous to “Made in China”; No one wanted to buy a Korean car or a Korean TV. However, things gradually changed and now Korean industrial products are one of the most trusted products in the world, Hyundai and KIA are competing with Toyota, Mazda, Honda, Ford, Chevrolet and Mitsubishi and LG and Samsung are competing with IPhone, Sony, Toshiba and many others.
Common Stereotypes (Superficial Stereotypes)
I left this section for some of the very common stereotypes that I found to be a bit superficial. I am still going to include these in this section just for sake of the completeness of this post.
- Koreans eat kimchi every day: True stereotype, I certainly would like to try it one day, must be delicious :D.
- Koreans eat dog meat: This stereotype seems to be haunting most Asian countries and not only South Korea. I found many sources on the web clarifying that “eating dogs” might have been true for older generations only (not that common even for older generations)
- Koreans and racism: I have read countless posts and Q&A about this. I will make it brief and straight to the point. Koreans are not racist. Most of these stereotypes came from foreign people who have visited Korea in the past and experience many staring eyes. I believe that most people stare out of curiosity or simply because they do appreciate foreign beauty.
That is all for now :), I hope you enjoyed reading. Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section.
Am I the first Korean to read this posting? well if it is, it’s a honour. As my personal opinion, I think you gave a very general judgement about them especially the women. There was also few parts that I agreed about. But sir, we don’t have white skin we’re yellow.
Hi Jihno,
I know that all Asian people are thought to have “yellow skin”, it is the common belief. However, to be honest, I fail to see how an Asian person’s skin is more “yellow” than that of a European for example.
I am happy that this post makes you proud of being Korean; you should be 🙂 . You are an inspiration to the world.
Thanks for leaving your comment.
Hello I’m Korean girl and this is so interesting.
I really wonder how you can know about Korea and Korean that well!
Especially, i absolutely symphathize with this sentence as i am also one who learn in Korea. ‘No one can say that Korean education system is effective’. In school they jusy instill the knowledge to student. So many student don’t understand but learn by rote. I think this system is too bad.
I am also a Korean girl, and this post is very interesting, and not like the other websites/blogs that talk about Korean people, in which they mostly talk about Kimchi being our only food… You gave specific description of how you think about Koreans-I really loved reading this piece of text 🙂
I was told by my Korean boyfriend that ”all Korean men love white skin, pretty face, beautiful face, cola-cola body. They don’t like tan dark skin, and weird face structure. I felt so insulted. that I look at myself in the mirror thinking my summer tan skin I got when I went to California is ugly, my nose is too arched, me myself is not beautiful. So I felt even more insecure.
Most men, not only Korean, Love a pretty face and coca-cola like body… the curves of the female body are very attractive to us. On the other hand, white skin, seems to be an Asian obsession (not only a Korean one), most other races find this an irrelevant factor in beauty.
Don’t feel insecure :), you are probably beautiful, with or without a tan; just remember that your bf wouldn’t have been in this relationship if he didn’t consider you beautiful
Korean men do like white skin because it apparently says poise and grace– but not everyone’s like that 🙂 My Korean friend is not the palest in the world, but she’s dating a Korean guy.
WOW!!! I LOVE YOUR BLOG! 🙂 Please, please keep writing more posts!
I am Viet (namese) and it’s sweet of you to say that you like Asian beauty. Its sad to see the influence that Holly wood has on Asia because so many ladies (especially Koreans) get surgery to look like Hollywoods ideal woman.
I guess I got lucky in terms of height because I am about 5’3. 🙂
Can you do some more stereotypes? Maybe on the Vietnamese? And the French? And the Laotians? 🙂
hi Dana,
Thank you for your lovely comment, I am very happy that you enjoyed reading through my blog posts, you have put a big smile on my face :D. Yes, I love Asian beauty, sometimes I do wonder why; shouldn’t I be more attracted to girls from my own race? within the same genetic pool? Is it something related to how our (or my) brain is wired to satisfy certain evolutionary requirements or is it just an outcome of some cultural conditioning or an unconscious thought process.
Yeah, unfortunately, Hollywood and the media in general have made girls confused about the definition of beauty… So let me try to help 🙂 . here is what i think, as a man, I do not find skinny (almost anorexic) models sexy. Fake lips, fake boobs… fake whatever… is simply a turn off. Just be who you are, this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t go to gym and eat healthy food (because you should). You should always take care of your body, you should always be the best version of you.
I am considering having a vacation in Vietnam early 2016 :), so maybe this will inspire me to write an article about Vietnamese stereotypes and it would make my experience more personal. Would that be too late? :p
Korean women and plastic surgery is another ridiculous topic to be explored. Many Korean Wave haters always like to point at the hot Korean musicians and actors and say they had plastic surgery. You should wake up and smell the coffee because most celebrities have had plastic surgeries or will have them later because haters, like yourself, will always point, judge, and criticize. It can’t be easy on them when millions of haters judge every bump and crease on their body based on pictures. It is true many Asian women get the double eyelid procedure done. I believe it is the most popular procedure done in all Asian countries as more than half of all Asians don’t have external eyelid folds due to inner epicanthal eyelid folds. This procedure is a simple one and is fairly common in all of Asia with the means. It is akin to eyebrow or eyeliner tattooing in murica. It might even be simpler than eyebrow shaving/tattooing. You must keep the numbers for this common procedure in mind and also the many foreigners from China, Japan, and Vietnam who flock to Korea for plastic surgeries/vacations. This is because Korea is not only a world leader in technology, but also medicine/health care. Many women in all of Asia save up money for plastic surgery in Korea as the Korean doctors are highly regarded by millions all over the world. I live in California and have heard many Asian women with fake tits/bleached blonde hair/colored contacts/ 5″ heels, etc criticize Korean women celebrities regarding plastic surgery. I can’t help but laugh at them and remind them to look in the mirror and pics of themselves pre bolt ons and “modifications.” I swear I think LA and OC has more plastic surgeons than GP docs because most rich white girls get fake tits, nose jobs, and now ass implants, while still in high school. Hollywood’s celebrities and wealthy muricans get plastic surgery on a regular basis. In fact, millions of us muricans think it is refreshing when celebrities, or even regular folks, are honest about their plastic surgeries. I say honest because most murican women will deny any plastic surgeries or injections til they die, claiming they are 100% real. We men call them real implants etc. I personally wouldn’t want my daughters to have implants, liposuctions, injections, colored contacts, etc but society today is all about looks and most people don’t look like Barbie dolls so they end up buying them. In the form of plastic surgeries, bleached hair, colored contacts, push-up bras, makeup, 5″ heels, etc. in summary, if you engage in any of the aforementioned, don’t judge cuz we know, you know, sans bolt ons, makeup, heels, push-up bra, etc you don’t look like the person you wanna “show” the world. Judge not lest you be judged.
Hi, thanks so much for your comment!
Do wait until you actually go to Vietnam before writing the post! I am Asian American, so I don’t live there (haven’t lived there since I was a baby), so I know next to nothing about Vietnam so it would be great to read your post!
I don’t think it’s weird at all. I have read a lot of articles about how mosts (many) people are attracted to “different” or “exotic” beauty. Since you as a white (I assume you are white) man it makes sense (or at least it’s know abnormal or weird) that you are attracted to Asians. I know some Asians are attracted to blacks, some are attracted to other Asian groups, some whites, etc. There are SO many asian/white couples here in America that it is practically common now days. haha. Personally, I think that there are some very, very good looking black guys. Basically, it depends on the person. 🙂
Please write some more blog posts before you go to Vietnam though! I haven’t seen too many posts from you lately! Don’t give up! Based on how many comments you get on your posts I am far from the only one who loves your posts. 🙂
I agree with what the poster ahead of me (Dana) said. Many people are attracted to different aka, “exotic” beauty. Such as Asians may be attracted to African Americans, Whites to Asians, Hispanics to Whites, whatever is “different.”
Anyways, I just wanted to say you have a GREAT blog!!! PLEASE keep on posting…. PLEASE….!
Also, what features do you find most attractive – White, Asian, Latina, Black, or American Indian? And why? Hey, maybe you should write a post on it! 😉
Can you write on Canadians and Mexicans?
Hi Audrey,
thanks to your encouraging and sweet words, I have decided to stop making excuses and finally write a post. 🙂
I have finished The Mexican Stereotypes post, I can’t believe that my last post on HumanBreeds was in February.
I think that the main reason that holds me back from writing more in Humanbreeds is that I feel that I do not know other cultures as well as I should (other than the ones I have already written about), I want my posts to be more personal and more about my observations rather than what people in general think.
I have big plans :), and I will be exploring the whole world very soon… so lets see
Hello! Thank you very much for this stereotypes of Korea of your many stereotype blogs.
I appreciate it every much and see some good points however I would like to comment on a few that I do not agree with completely.
– I am a white male from the USA. I have live in Japan – Korea and Hong Kong.
No offence intended at all! I have traveled in entertainment industry from Tokyo-Seoul-HK and Singapore often in entertainment industry and have lived in Japan and Korea ( Japan 10 years) and Korea 2 years, HK for 1.5.
Maybe the best way to voice my view is to start at tip and work down! And YES, this is only opinion.
From top photo of Seoul at night in this district first thing that i notice is in many ways how much it has copied Tokyo and still has not been able to quite be as well designed. Its an option but being in advertising also those colors are very weak, feminine and pink with purples and soft colors. Overall affect if feminine. Traditional colors in Korea are bright, modern day are very weak and look like they are washed out compared to Japan.
Photo # 2 : that is a pretty young Korean woman . Here is the difference between her and Say…Japanese? ! – she is not sitting straight! Japanese have impeccable posture and pride in tear personal posture. Also this young lady has her hands covering her mouth in a very unfinished manner to be politely said. Attractive as she is she needs to go to finishing school.
Also needs to sit straight and take a page out of the Japanese way of sitting and walking so elegant, straight always, line up at trains and also have much more swag.
I will jump down and pass on Gangman stye because it is tragically bad…….on to to the first pretty girl.
She IS pretty, She is also in need of finishing school again. Her clothes are decent but hanging off her unfinished, not quite straight, the buttons nt cute as perfect as the everyday Japanese would walk to the supermarket. A Japanese person in Tokyo would never have this. In HK, its more black business or untucks shirts and casual. I have to say this is hint on vulgar.
Also take note what we all know: Korean People have so much plastic surgery, she looks not real and can tell she has had it. White skin is all over Asia this is not unique to Korea.In Korea, Japan and HK easy access to creams to `whiten skin`. This beautiful young lady in my opinion needs finishing school on her image. Its not as well put together or elegant beauty as Japanese.
The two young school girls are again sitting sloppy and not straight. This would not happen in Japan could happen in HK more. I have designed these advertisements and Kore has copied Japan a lot. Sometimes they do well and other times mist often close but not on same level. Even though current Dram and K Pop is large. Knowing people and have worked with such people as BOA Koreans are good people and i of them. There is having said that nothing like the Elegant Beauty of Japanese. Korean won have bad skin compared t Japanese because they wear so much make-up and i think the diet may be a part of it. More North American = less healthy.
Perfection or as close to it as possible is normal goals in Japan and as hard as Korea tries it does not come close in my opinion. Japan cannot be perfect and it is not by the margin of error is very low as is customer survive. quality of build and also temperament. Koreans are known to be very HOT headed as are those from HK. In Japan people never throw money at you when finished at even a convenience store, they do much more so in Seoul and much more in fact rudely in Hong Kong (HK) in general.
( i know i have focused mostly on Korean-Japanese here, because they are likely in my opinion the closest)
Working in entertainment and also advertising the `Starcraft ` photo above e-games?
That would never happen in Japan. Way to over the top and semi vulgar. The Japanese have silent discreet and very clearly defined lines about what is cute, clean, sexy, vulgar and this comes close to ametuer and vulgar here would never survive as an advertisement in Japan.
In Japan where things get vulgar are well known and they hardly ever cross in marketing. In my opinion they do not. And this is whee the lines have not been as clearly defined in advertising in Korea, yet. it will happen sooner than later.
Chinese have the most intense tempers, followed closely by Koreans then far behind is the Japanese. In Korea the males spit so often and fight. I have been spit at for waling with a Korean women many times. That has never happened in Japan and no one cares in Hong Kong.
Seoul is a great city. Not as clean as Tokyo but very good city with great people.
Hong Kong is much dirtier, i like the directness go HK people they are veering on laughable rude! One must laugh sometimes!
Tokyo is by far the largest of the three and also the cleanest best run and by far the world best food city based on Michelin stars above Paris. It is not always the prettiest on the outside, but has a beautiful soul inside. The entertainment industry in Japan is superior run on the inside = how work is delegated and attention to detail. That said, Korea has gained a lot in this area and is learning fast.There is not doubt that K Pop and K Drama is the hottest. Canto Pop is not.
On a superficial and deep level for me and my colleagues the Japanese are rad to beat in terms of Elegant grace and class. I love all people all races, its just now becoming `cool` for past few decades in Korea and copying the Japanese. They will be fine in another 10-25 years! Good Luck!
I also believe the military presence in the city of Seoul has a massive influence on the way the city and people feel and how that shapes the city and its` energy/ feel a lot!
For me, this is not a good energy. Military playing around is not for me and my friends and colleagues as comfortable and inspiring.
Ok will move on:
I LOVE Koreans! I love Japanese. I love Chinese. I am a white male from the USA.
I have said things here not as positive as your view about Korean women and Korea but thats only my opinion. You have yours and I thank you very much for all the hard work you have done.
I look forward to reading more from you!
Thank you for you posts!
@asianexpert…lol
Nerdy Asianphile you don’t really know much about Korea do you?
I think Korean girls are tops in Asia. They dress very fashionable, thin, often tall and feisty. Never could understand why crooked teeth and walking pigeon toed is considered cute in Japan.
As for guys Korean guys are outgoing, more fashionable, taller with better build due to their mandatory military service.
Tokyo is cleaner than Seoul but guess what Seoul is way more cleaner than any major American cities. Seoul’s subway system is helluva easier to navigate than Tokyo. Taxi is too expensive. Food is expensive.. One damn melon cost $10 US dollars. Japanese people are polite because in Japan there is something called ” tatame.”
Not revealing one’s true feeling so not to hurt other person’s feelings. We call that two faced. Japanese are too polite that its annoying.
I love the their kindness honest straight forwardness of Koreans. Koreans know how to have fun they aren’t shy as the Japanese yet they aren’t obnoxious like Americans in bars or clubs.
Japanese entertainment business is superior? Yet they can’t even market themselves no wonder Kpop and Korean dramas surpassed them all over Asia. Well Japan still have that God aweful porn you forgot to mention when you were lapping up Japanese integrity.
Japanese girls have better skin? How the hell do you know? Korean and Japanese are very close races. Japanese even have some Korean DNA.
Starcraft gamers make millions way more than you ever will. Online games are not only popular with Koreans but with Chinese, Taiwanese, Russians, Americans, etc.
Then you rant about some photos.
Hi John,
I love comments because they usually cover the blind angles which I sometimes miss due to my limited experience. @asianexpert is not Japanese, that is how he introduced himself
🙂 finally @John, I agree with many of the points you mentioned, but I had to edit few points out, 😀 you can be mean to me, but please don’t be mean to other readers.
Sorry if I came across as being mean but I felt like this so called “asianexpert” was umfairly critizing Koreans. C’mon his name itself reeks with arrogence.
From some random photos he goes on to nitpick about posteur, fashion, etc. Very silly.
I wonder how he feels about Americans based on some random qphotos?
I agree with you, John-the person “asianexpert” has a stereotype that portrays the idea that Japanese people are WAY more perfect, pretty, polite than Koreans, etc…
While discussing height of Asian females, you state Koreans are one of the tallest Asians and are closest to “average western height” while southeast Asians tend to be a few inches shorter. You go on to say that this makes Korean girls “perfect”. WTF? Height has nothing to do with being “perfect” or a better/worse person any more than hair color, ethnic background, eye shape, voice, fingernails, or skin color does. Height is simply another unchangeable, superficial, unique quality one has.
I agree with many things you say. FYI I am korean but second generation.
I think one very interesting thing is happening with some 2nd generation korean women. They seem very confused at what they want and somewhat contradict themselves. For example, many korean girls I know want equality in the workplace but they also expect men to pay for most of their things. In addition, they also don’t want many of the responsibilities of being a stay at home wife (e.g. cooking, cleaning, etc.) It is also very normal for korean women to split the bill but in truth she does not expect the guy to say yes. She will almost feel shocked if the guy says yes to splitting the bill.
Good blog tho however. I almost feel like you’re a little too fair to korean people. But that is just me.
Love your blog, I hope you can review my country, Indonesia, and it’s stereotype someday.
I agree. I spent 2+ years there and a few things are wrong. And to the Korean who commented “Koreans are yellow not white”, no. Their white af. Yellow under tones like the rest of the Asians but WHITE. PALE. AF.
With the time i spent there, in the larger cities the women are beautiful with all the surgery and packed on makeup. See the same girl without and they are quite unattractive. Very wide noses, no boobs or butt,no figure at all, single eyelids that usually look like they’re swollen up. As a matter of fact when I’m slightly swollen in the morning my customers always ask if I’m Asian. The beautiful girls have reduced their nose, inserted a second eyelid, boob job, and chemically whitened their skin.
Let’s not even start on their diet fad. There’s only one and is allows you 1/4 cup of rice and 1/2 cup kimchi and veggies.
I could go on and on.
why would you stop reading a perfectly good post just because it clashes with what you think you know? I myself am a Korean girl and I am not materialistic, and I certainly wouldn’t expect my boyfriend to pamper me with designer bags or shoes as the ‘kimchi woman’ stereotype depicts. Nor would countless Korean girls around me. I think you’re completely overgeneralizing and taking a tiny part of the population for the whole.
oh my last comment’s a reply to chloe’s below hv no idea why it ended up here
I stopped reading this article once I saw ‘korean girls are not materialistic’.
I’m sorry but I’m almost puking haha.
You really should come here to Korea and rewrite this article again.
My rating here – 1 out of 5
all korean artist and kpop have plastic surgery.. thats why they are beautiful..
“If you eat sushi everyday, sushi is no longer a luxury that you desire.”
Therefore you would want something else, or more. Bam! Materialism.
Well written article and a great read, but much too biased on the part about women.
For whatever it is worth, the few Korean, (South Korean) friend s I have known, it is said that from other sources, that they are unbelievably hard working but lack brain power.
But then, when we see what South Korea has achieved today, it does not relate.
I am quite surprise that you did not made any Korean friends in Dubai, I had meet a few Korean friends while in Dubai ( a diverse Emirate), or it could maybe because I am a Malaysian(Chinese) and look more like a typical East Asian that I find that it is easy to make friends from East Asian countries?
Hello! I am a girl in South Korea and I really enjoyed reading this article. I’m amazed that you even researched our country history, just to write this article. The part you wrote about the education system is well… Extremely true. I have to study like crazy if I don’t want to become the stupid one in class and all my friends are busy with homework.
Oh, and the thing you said about eating dogs is sad but true. The young generation despises this part of the culture but few old people still enjoy dogs as a delicacy. Eww.sigh.
I just wanted to say this article is really well written !
I think it’s not so much about majority, but more like about individual, but yeah.. in some point. For example, Korea is known for healthy kitchen, compared to Japanese ( especially Okinawa, lot of pork and stuff, not so much veggies . But it doesn’t mean that they tend to be fat, u know. I guess depends on lifestyle and enviroment and genetic. So yeah … lets say that Korean care more about beauty in general, so they also care about healthy diet and look ( i guess ). but we can also found japanese girls, working out and eating healthy, maybe Koreans has benefit of good metabolism. Lot of articles says that and Koreans in my country ( i met them via HelloTalk ) are just… 😀 they eats everything and do not get fat. So maybe, maybe.. there can be some nationality preferences, they are also… yeah, i would say tallest from Asians ? ( I am not talking about these growth hormones, secret goverment plans and such 😀 )
Since i can’t edit. I also found one thing about culture. They tend to be competitive.. like really, they care about what other thinks, ( its most influenced via families ) about.. u know, he got better job, grades, this and that, better girl.. they’re righ, they’re poor, its circle of categorization and competition ( again, i don’t want to offend anyone, there are always individuals and it’s not applied on all dem people ) . 🙂
ITS REALLY HELPFUL.. I ENJOYED READING IT.. GOOD WORK
it really helps me a lot to understand korean attitude!
if from Philippines.
Many filipinoes more attracted in korean beauty…
Korean drama influences us a lot. Their love stories are so romantic..
Theres only one question in my mind that i dont think i can answer. Are koreans really that romantic in real life?
Im curious about it!
Koreans actors are so perfect! it looks like they are not aging as there age.
Thanks for this blog hope you read this comment
and i hope your next blog will be about filipinoes thanks!
I love South Korea. South Korea is super efficient, modern, clean country with very low crime. Seoul is a huge exciting city with 10 million people but so safe. Koreans are so honest you can forget your wallet somewhere and it will still be there or someone will return it to you. Seoul city by the Han river never sleeps with its bright neon lights beckoning you to party all night. Busan is great too with its beautiful beaches. Koreans work hard and party hard after work. They love their soju and beer.
Koreans tend to be shy with strangers but once they become your friend they are so outgoing and look after you. Young Koreans are very stylish and take care of their appearance. They are very hygienic I don’t know of any race that is obsessed with exfoliating their skin when taking a shower like Koreans. Koreans are very helpful. Most young Koreans can speak some English so for tourists don’t be afraid to ask.
And no not all Korean food are spicy like bulgogi, mandu, kimbap, garlbi, etc