Korean Dating Culture According to Someone Who Fist-Bumped Her "Date"
I kind of feel like a fraud writing about dating in Korea when I haven’t actually actively participated in it yet. But the fact that I’ve observed it closely and chatted with a few locals should count for something… right? I hope so, because I would hate to be a fraud. That said, I did go out for Korean BBQ and somaek (soju mixed with beer) with a Korean guy. But I don’t think it qualifies as a date—mainly because I fist-bumped him at the end of the night. (I’m awkward, I know). The conversation also wasn’t romantic at all, and I didn’t view it as a date either. In my head, it was more like: I need local friends, and he seems nice enough. We were introduced by a mutual friend, which brings me to something interesting about dating in Korea. Here, romantic partners don’t always meet in the “traditional” way where a guy approaches a woman and clearly makes his interest known. Very often, two people are set up by a mutual friend—just like me and Mr. K...