I was a big fan of Korean culture before, I watch K-dramas and listen to K-pop when I was younger and it was my dream to be able to live in South Korea and that dream came true! I’ve lived in South Korea for 2 years and I was able to experience first hand the culture of South Koreans. Living there was a very memorable experience for me. I have grown a lot and learned a lot about their country and life in general. It made me realize a lot of things.

Now, I am back in the Philippines for good and a lot of my friends and people I know ask me this one common question, “Why did you come back? Why didn’t you stay there for long?”. My one simple answer is, I don’t want to live there and I don’t belong there.

So it made me think of the reasons why I didn’t want to stay there and the things I dislike about South Korea. For those who love the country or expects too much about South Korea, I’m sorry to disappoint you but I will reveal  the real world of South Korea. This is my own experience, I might exaggerate but I would say what I want to say. 

Here are the things I dislike about South Korea.

1. Ajummas (old women) and Ajussis (old men) pushing you on subways.

I’ve experienced this a lot! It’s quite annoying really. They don’t even say “excuse me” or “sorry”.

It usually happens in the market, subway trains, elevator and even in the streets. Well, I understand they are in a rush but at least they could just say a quick sorry. It seems like they don’t care about you, they don’t feel guilty and they think it is normal and not rude at all. I was culture shocked because in my home country, it is really rude to not say sorry when you bump someone. It is a basic manner for us.

2. They don’t speak English to you.

The first time that I went to the country I expected it will be easier for me since I am fluent in English but naah! They speak to you in Korean even though they know you are a foreigner. I experienced ajummas (here comes the ajummas again) asking me something. I don’t have any clue what’s the question, so I always say “molayo” or “I don’t know”.

Paying is quite a struggle too. They speak the amount in Korean so I need to look in the monitor and see the amount.

They actually have this “love of their country” mindset, like “Hey, I love my country so much I’m gonna speak Korean to you” and most people say, “You need to speak Korean because you are in Korea” or “You should study Korean language”. Don’t get me wrong, it’s actually a good mindset but a bit annoying sometimes. At the end, I studied Korean language to be able to speak and interact with them. It’s a good thing actually.

3. Similarity is in and being odd is out.

They wear the same design of clothes. In Philippines if we are wearing the same clothes with a stranger, we say “sasayaw ba kayo?” or in English, “Will you dance together?” while in SoKor it is normal for people to wear the same design of clothes. During spring, it is normal to see girls wearing floral dresses and denim jackets. It’s like there’s a coachella on the subway trains during spring time. They like uniformity. 

Sometimes I would say to myself, “Did I saw this girl/boy before?, Oh no, it’s just the same outfit”.  If you wear your clothes differently from them, you would be noticed especially in the subway train. I’ve experienced being stared at but it’s okay for me. 

4. Staring and accidental touches are rude.

They usually don’t stare at each other even for few seconds and if you accidentally touch them, they’ll look at you like you have committed a crime. No really, they stare at you like you’ve done something really wrong. People mostly don’t do eye contact to each other. They just look at the road or on their phone.

5. Girls have this habit of being too girly.

Being feminine is actually good and I like looking at Korean girls with all the dress up and natural make up look. They are actually quite fashionable too but when some girls start talking, they sound so childish (especially when they talk to guys or their “oppas”). They call it “aegyo”, it is acting cute or acting like a baby by changing the tone of voice and doing some action. Some of you might like it but ugh not me, I really can’t stand it. I would roll my eyes when I hear it.

6. Racism and Xenophobia

Racism and xenophobia is everywhere but let me just share my experience with them. Being a foreigner in South Korea, people will usually ask, “Where are you from?” and if you are from the America or Europe, they would react differently compared to saying Philippines. How you’ll be treated will depend on your country. If your country is rich they usually treat you nice, if not like South East asian countries like Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Philippines, etc. they will treat you like meh.

Their was this one time when my sister and I was eating a street food, the owner said excitedly, “Peru?! Peru?!” and we just say, “Aniyo, Philippine saramieyo” or “No, Filipino”, they will just say, “Oh, Okay”. Hahaha We feel flattered being mistaken as a Peruvian because Peruvians are gorgeous but we feel bad that they react differently when they hear Philippines.

7. Their materialistic and sad society

South Koreans are famous all over the world; their appearance especially. They have perfect white skin, small face, flawless skin, short but pointed nose, hair that shines and their small framed body. It’s just sad to see that image is their bases of how you will be treated. They usually wear designer clothes, wear expensive perfumes and they try to look perfect almost all the time. I can feel that society puts too much pressure on them and that is sad. I can hear suicide news almost all the time in the television; may it be a normal person or a celebrity. Even in the subway trains, buses or in the street, I can feel that people are checking out each other to compare themselves, and that is sad for me. There is so much pressure everywhere. They want to achieve perfection always. They also send their kids to academies like English, Taekwondo, Piano, Math, Dance, etcetera. Their kids go home late in the evening. Sometimes, on my way home around 11 pm, I can still see school buses everywhere. I just wish their society will change this because it leads to depression and suicide.

In general, these are the things that I don’t like in South Korea. Mainly it’s because of culture difference. My attitude doesn’t fit in their society as well. For now I am back in the Philippines for good. I would still go back in South Korea for vacation purposes but to live there again, nah.

Of course there are also things that I like in South Korea so I will write a different post about it.

Thanks for reading my post!

Annyeong!