South Korean flag consists of four black trigrams and um-yang (음양) symbol called taegeuk in Korean (태극) lying on a white background. The meaning of elements of Korean flag are explained in the infographic: Click on the image to see the South Korean flag infographics in larger size. You might also like: What … Continue reading »
Loving Korean was featured on a radio segment in Korea
The most amazing thing happened on Friday to Loving Korean: our latest article “Is it normal to talk to strangers in Korea?” got featured on a tbs eFM radio’s 1013 Mainstreet show. In Korea! I accidentally found out on Saturday and even though I was really happy and thought it’s so cool I felt a bit … Continue reading »
[Q&A] Is it normal to talk to strangers in Korea?
Is it normal and common to talk to strangers in Korea is the newest question we attempt to answer: Anonymous asked: Hello, I’m heading to Seoul in March and studying Korean for one month by myself, I would like to know is it common to talk to strangers in bookstores, coffee shops and make some local … Continue reading »
Your Korean love story, part 2
<- Your Korean love story, part 1 While it may seem that romances with Korean guys are a rare experience for non-Korean women (even more so for Western women), many sweet and bitter-sweet stories you submitted to Your story section may prove otherwise. Isn’t it wonderful that we live in the age of fast internet … Continue reading »
[Q&A] Korean single mom in the eyes of Korean man
What is Korean men’s view on someone who is a single mom? single mom asked: Hello, I just actually today discovered your blog, and it is so very informative and wonderful. Thank you for all the knowledge you are sharing. I would please like to solicit your opinion on the situation I find myself in. … Continue reading »
[Interview] Canadian woman married to a Korean man living in Korea – Msleetobe
Canadian women and Korean men, married AND living in Korea, make quite a rare type of family even today. You can read a lot on this site about my experience as a European woman dating a Korean man, so it is going to be enlightening to read about relationships with a Korean man from a … Continue reading »
How to get a Korean guy to like you
How to get a Korean guy to like you and how to make him fall in love with you are some of the most common search terms that bring people to our site. We’ve addressed how to tell if a Korean guy likes you, but haven’t given an answer on how to get him to feel … Continue reading »
Should I learn Korean language to have a Korean boyfriend?
Why would you need to learn Korean language to have a Korean boyfriend? Well, according to a 2003 study, despite spending the most money on English education, Koreans score the lowest on English ability out of the 12 Asian nations that the research looked at. I’ve also come across claims that Korean guy you date … Continue reading »
[Q&A] Are Korean men only attracted to skinny women?
Do Korean guys only like skinny girls, one of our readers is curious. Anonymous asked: How do Korean men feel about women who are a little bit heavy but not over weight? The answer to your question is simple, but I would also like to address a more general issue concerning Koreans and weight, and … Continue reading »
[Q&A] Do Korean men like black women?
Anonymous asked: Are Korean Men attracted to African American Women? First of all, as much as it is becoming a cliché, I think we can all agree each Korean man is unique and has unique taste in dating partners. Also, what does it even mean to be attracted to African American women? Does it mean … Continue reading »
How to send mail to Korea
Get tips for sending mail to Korea, find out about Korean address system, how to send packages and envelopes, and see examples of proper addressing. My fingers were trembling with excitement as I pried opened the package. The package that had been sitting on his desk in Korea just a few days ago. Now it … Continue reading »
Survey results: Learn which Korean free text, chat and call app is the most popular
Before I got an Android device and Kimchi Man helped me install my very first Korean app, I was stuck with texting him in a very annoying way. You see, for some reason SMSing from Europe to Korea doesn’t work. I had contacted all the service providers, and they assured me they have contracts with … Continue reading »
[Q&A] Is it very rare for a Korean guy to share his personal life?
Our reader is wondering what does it mean when Korean guy is sharing his personal life with you: Lindy asked: I have some situation here. I have a Korean penpal was a very friendly person. We met through a Internet site and communicate with one another is smooth and very personal. After knowing him for … Continue reading »
[Q&A] Korean wedding customs: do brides give a lot of money for grooms?
Is it tradition in South Korea for woman’s family to pay large dowry when couple gets married, even if the bride is a foreigner, one of our readers is wondering. Missy asked: I am surprised to read when a Korean couple married, the bride family have to fork out certain amount of money to … Continue reading »
Look back at 2012
Exactly a year ago we created this blog. And then an amazing thing happened. You people actually read it. :) Loving Korean was envisioned to be a place where we could help out and answer questions and it wouldn’t exist if you haven’t shown us the trust to answer yours. Amazingly, we got two questions on our very first … Continue reading »
[Q&A] Korean men do not think foreign women are attracted to them?
We are going to assume: are foreigners attracted to Korean men = are western women attracted to Korean men in the following question. If you were wondering about something else, please leave your question in the comments bellow. This question was submitted on our post Dating Korean guy – the clash of prejudices. Anonymous asked: … Continue reading »
Korean emoticons
Korean emoticons can make chatting and texting with your Korean friends a lot more fun and genuine. Also called Korean smileys, they are similar to other East Asian emoticons, with the exception that Korean emoticons use Hangul letters like ㅂ, ㅇ, and ㅅ. Below you can find Korean emoticons list with translations. The cute picture … Continue reading »
Free text and call Korean apps: KakaoTalk, Naver Line, MyPeople, ChatON
Get to know how to call to Korea for free and how to text or chat with your Korean friends, boyfriend or girlfriend for free. Free text and call functions are crucial when making a long-distance relationship bearable. Whether it is love or friendship, communication is the only thing that can bridge all those miles and … Continue reading »
Survey: How do you keep in contact with Koreans?
In our series of posts about long distance relationships we want to share with you easiest ways to keep in touch with your faraway boyfriend/girlfriend/friend. We tested out many free Korean instant messaging apps and wrote a post titled 4 best free Korean apps. We would like to find out what you think and which ones you … Continue reading »
Long distance relationship advice
He lives in Korea, and I live in Europe. That’s as long distance as it gets. I’ve spent more than seven years in long distance relationships so far. This is my second one and it is a lot more successful and enjoyable than the previous. The main reason is that I found real and passionate … Continue reading »
Free wallpapers – holiday gift from Loving Korean
With Christmas, New Year and other holidays coming soon, your desktop should be decorated to fit the festive mood. Of course, it wouldn’t be Loving Korean if every wallpaper didn’t have a hint of Koreanness in it. Over the last few years I saved every ribbon that Kimchi Man sent with the packages from Korea. When I chose … Continue reading »
Your Korean love story, part 1
My Korean boyfriend and I have an unusual love story – meeting online, falling in love without ever seeing each other, and becoming a real couple while being of different nationality, race, culture, and speaking different languages… all in the name of love. But we are not the only ones! Other girls and women have … Continue reading »
[Q&A] What does it mean when Korean guy texts me a lot?
M asked: I´ve heard that Koreans do texting a lot more than for example me (European girl). Is that true? Because when I texting a guy very much it´s because I like him. So how would I be able to know if a Korean guy that is texting me a lot likes me or is … Continue reading »
Be the Change
I was sitting yesterday at a family lunch, looking around, thinking how very different we are. Brothers and sisters and grandparents and cousins all sharing same genes, we have spent our whole lives in the same town, and yet we could hardly agree on any given topic that arose in the conversation. What kind of … Continue reading »
What does it mean to be Korean?
“… he is a Korean but he doesn’t speak Korean.” The first thought that popped into my mind when I read that was that the man is mute. When I scanned the rest of the comment which that sentence was a part of, my hasty conclusion didn’t seem to fit the context. So I came … Continue reading »
Top 5 things you should know about Korean guys
Dating Korean guys is not much different than dating other people, but here are top 5 things about Korean guys that are good to know: Korean Age Korean age is calculated differently than international age. When they are born, they are one year old (approximation for the 9 months they have spent in their mother’s belly). … Continue reading »
Korean men are men before they are Korean?
“Korean men are men before they are Korean” is a phrase I first read over at fellow blogger’s Ask a Korean. Since then I have seen it parroted out by many who think they are being progressive and seeing beyond someone’s nationality. While I completely agree with its premise, that our culture has very little influence on our … Continue reading »
Dating Korean guy – the clash of prejudices
Dating outside your race unavoidably brings about stereotypes and prejudices. Unusual thing about dating Korean men is that it brings two sets of stereotypes that are completely opposing and mutually exclusive. I must admit that there is rarely a thing that can throw me off balance as much as prejudices. But this conflict of stereotypes … Continue reading »
What does oppa mean?
Korean dictionary defines Oppa ( 오빠 ) as “older brother of a female”. However, addressing other people in Korean language is never that simple. To truly understand the meaning of the word oppa, you must understand a bit about Korean culture. For Koreans, it is really important to observe the relationship between the speaker and … Continue reading »
[Q&A] Can I find Korean Muslim to marry?
A woman wants to know if she can find a man of Islam in Korea. lonely101 asked: I am a Muslim girl who thinks Korean men are good looking (as in people from my culture are not). As a Muslim, I can only marry a respectable Muslim guy but it seems impossible for me to … Continue reading »