The Courtship of a New Culture

Summer is here: the sun is shining and the streets are booming. People are happy, and, of course, the couples are out: couples in restaurants, couples cuddling in the park, couples, couples, couples everywhere. Being single, this could get pretty annoying, and being single in Korea, couples are so adorable, it makes you want to throw up. You'll see more couples riding tandem bikes around the city than riding regular bikes. Couples have matching cell phone cases, couple cell phone charms, couple glasses and, on a daily basis, you'll see couples wearing the exact same outfit from head to toe: shoes, socks, hat and probably even undies, taking corny pictures of themselves giggling their way through the streets. Couples in Korea do everything together, and in this collectivist culture, being single is basically unacceptable. One is never single and happy. One is either in a relationship or looking for one.

What does this mean for the dating scene? Well, throw your North American, Individualistic views out the window. The idea of playing it cool isn't necessary, the ball is never in anyone's court, and the lines are never running blurry. If you are being courted, you are fully aware, as your Kakoa Chat will be chirping away with cheesy emoticons and way-to-forward confessions of like.

Couples are so celebrated here that Valentine's day isn't enough day to express your love to your partner. The following is the list of celebrated days for couples in Korea:

-The 100th Day: You and your mate celebrate 100 days of knowing each other.

-Valentines Day: February 14th. You know this one. In Korea, though, Valentines day is when woman express their love to their men. Better known to us Westerners as Steak and BJ Day. Here, it's actually official!

-White Day: March 14th. Men, don't start packing your bags and heading to Korea quite yet. You're not off the hook. White day is your day to express your love to your special lady.

-Black Day: April 14th. In this country, singles get their own day too! On this day, singles get together and eat black noodles and revel in single misery.

-Pepero Day: November 11th. This was actually a brilliant marketing campaign done by Pepero that shockingly took off. Peperos are delicious thin cookie sticks, dipped in chocolate in a variety of flavours. Each printed Pepero box looks like a big post card and even has space for a note and a postage stamp, and, on Pepero day, you send these delicious chocolates to everyone you love. This marketing idea works so well that the company sells more chocolates on Pepero day then the rest of the year combined. The reason they chose Novemeber 11th: The date looks like 5 Pepero sticks (11/11).

The point is, relationships in Korea are pretty intense and it seems that everyone who comes here ends up coupling up, and often exploring the dating scene of their new culture. Don't though, come here with any prior expectations out of your relationship: stalker-like actions, public displays of over-affection both on social media and in real life and too-serious, too-fast relationships are all signs of a normalcy here. Crazy girlfriends, rejoice!