I thought I'd be fine with being single in Korea. Boy, I was oh-so wrong.
When I was brainstorming ideas for my second project, the topic of couple culture in Korea kept making its way back to me. I knew I wanted to find out more about the couple culture specifically in Seoul, but I wasn't sure which way to go with it. So I did what I do best: observe.
Before coming to Korea, I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't have any sort of expectations because you know, expectations usually lead to disappointment. As cheesy as it sounds, one of the expectations I told myself not to have was... to find love. This was really hard to do especially since I'm about to live in a country where all my favorite Asian dramas were filmed. It's also the place where my favorite Korean actors and artists live. Still, I had to push through.
About one week in, I was ready to throw it all out. I mean, how can a single lady like me be happily single in a city where, LITERALLY, everywhere you look and go, you see couples holding hands, taking cute selfies, fixing each other's hair, hugging each other, laughing and teasing each other, you name it. As if I haven't exaggerated it enough, if there was such a thing as the Couple Capital of the world, I really think it'd be Seoul. Or at least it should be.
"... if there was such a thing as the Couple Capital of the world, I really think it'd be Seoul. Or at least it should be."
Okay, so back to the project topic—couple culture in Seoul. The thing is, observing only took me so far. I needed to know more, which means that I needed to dig deeper, ask more questions. Luckily, I have a Korean friend who was more than willing to help. His name is Kim Byeong Su and we originally met when I lived in Indonesia. As a Korean man and someone who's had a relationship before, I thought he'd be a perfect candidate to interview.
According to him, couples usually meet about three times a week and dates here are pretty much the same as in the United States. Movie dates are a big hit, and so are dinner dates. One of the things that sort of differ, though, from the dating culture in the US are their coffee dates. Koreans love, love, love cafes. There are probably as many cafes as there are couples here, I kid you not. In the US, while coffee dates are getting more and more popular, it's an either/or situation. We either go on a coffee date or a dinner date. Here, in Korea, couples usually go to the movies, then eat dinner, THEN go to a really nice and, let's not forget about this, instagrammable cafe to finish their night off. Oh, and I forgot to mention that couples here absolutely love to match outfits. Some wear same shoes, some wear same shirts, and some even have the same tote bags (a lot of Koreans, men and women, wear tote bags).
While I was taking pictures of couples for my project, I noticed a pair posing for a picture underneath a canopy of beautiful flowers in LOTTE Mart. I thought they were really cute together and so, with the help of their friend who speaks English, I was able to take a picture and video of them being all sweet and stuff. It was absolutely adorable.
Korea also has a lot of traditions, legends, superstitions when it comes to love/dating. One such legend is that if a couple makes a wish at the top of Namsan Mountain, it'll come true. As seen below, couples also lock padlocks on the infamous Locks of Love near Namsan Seoul Tower to symbolize their endless love for each other.
As much as I would like to keep complaining about my *coughs* singleness, there are times when I can't help but get all soft and mushy inside every time I see couples being all lovey-dovey towards each other. It's sweet and it gives me hope that one day I'll be able to find something similar.
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