Korea Q&A: Pseudo Gay Korean Celebrity Sightings – Seoulistic

Korea Q&A: Pseudo Gay Korean Celebrity Sightings

He y’all! We’re back from a short year end vacation with a new Korea Q&A! Questions include: “Are celebrities easily spotted in Seoul?” “Why do Koreans laugh the way they do?” “Why do Korean men touch each other?” “What’s up with ‘flower boys’?” “Do Korean men actually pull/drag girls by their wrists like in Korean dramas?”

 

Are celebrities easily spotted in Seoul?

Celebrity sightings aren’t as common as they used to be. Back when kpop was just starting out (circa late 90’s, early 2000’s), they were easily seen in one area: Apgujeong-dong. But now that they’re international superstars, they’ve got bodyguards and super fancy Starcraft vans to take them around. If you see one of those vans, that means your favorite boy band is probably inside or close by. But actually seeing them in and about Seoul going grocery shopping or something isn’t as common as it used to be. Sorry sasaeng fans!

Why do Koreans laugh the way they do?

Korean girls tend to cover their mouths when they laugh because it’s seen as more lady like. Instead of a hearty sailor-like guffaw, it’s a cute lady-like “tee-hee.” Aside from that, Koreans also tend to clap loudly, slap their own legs, or hit other people when they’re laughing hysterically. It’s common throughout the peninsula, and we have no idea why. Watch out for overly excitable Koreans that love to slap friends with funny jokes.

Why do Korean men touch each other?

Touching among the same sex in Korea is pretty common, especially with older Korean men who are under the influence of alcohol. We all need a few drinks to tell our bro “I love you,” and that’s no different in Korea. But walk down the streets in any business district at night and you’ll see plenty of older men hand-in-hand expressing their love to their homeboys. In Korea, it’s just a very innocent way of showing affection to each other.

What’s up with ‘flower boys’?

Flower boys (꽃미남) is a description for super pretty Korean men. They’re usually seen in dramas and on Mnet countdown with heavy makeup, which result in perfect faces. But that’s the entertainment business. In everyday Korea, it’s rare to see men with makeup (although it does happen). But there definitely are pretty boys. And in Korea, it certainly is a type that women like. Everyone has their own taste. And face pack using flower boys are just one type of men.

Do Korean men actually pull/drag girls by their wrists like in Korean dramas?

Korean dramas are.. well.. dramatic. Someone’s either dying, caught in a lie, cross-dressing, etc, and that means the situations are pretty dramatic. Sure the hand wrist drag is totally plausible, but to be honest, there’s not many situations where it calls for a wrist grab/pull. If you do have situations where the wrist grab/pull is common in your life, you should write your own movie script 😉

Have questions you want answered? Remember to leave them in the comments below! 😀

Keith
Keith
Keith Kim is a Korean-American who has been living in Korea for almost a decade. Being in a unique position as both a Korean and a non-Korean, he's put all his experience and knowledge for surviving in Korea in Survival Korean . Read it to learn how you can survive in Korea. Follow him on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.

10 Comments

  1. Christian says:

    Starcraft vans, aha I always thought it had something to do with, the game starcraft.
    Always just assumed it were people who liked the game and wanted to show it, on their car xD.

  2. Dan says:

    Hand in hand? That’s quite a surprise. They must be having a strong brotherhood..

  3. Haru says:

    Keith and Hyojin, you two have such great chemistry. I love when you do videos together!

  4. JonB says:

    I see the hand-holding in public quite frequently–maybe once a week. And my high school students would do it in class. Maybe I scared them and holding hands helped them be strong? XD

    • Aram says:

      LOL cute~ and possible 😀
      I still find hand holding far more common among Korean women than men.
      With older women (in our 20-30’s) arm linking is far more common than hand holding. I think this may have a lot to do with the fact that the girls grow up and get BFs…that’s when the hand holding becomes more reserved for bf-gfs.

  5. Darrell says:

    Starcraft vans are luxury conversion vans. The name comes from an American company that operated from 1977 to sometime in the 1990s. The company shifted its focus to other sectors of the automotive industry but sold off their “conversion assets”. I’m not sure who is authorized to produce the vans now. The brand name ‘Starcraft’ might not even be a brand name anymore.

    My Google-fu keeps sending me to a handful of custom van businesses and at least one of them sells their conversions in Korea. (You would not believe how difficult it is to find information on Starcraft VANS in Korea.)

  6. Daniel says:

    You guys are homophobes!

  7. Aram says:

    OMG… you had me ROTFL!!!!!!
    I’m a Korean who have lived overseas most of my life and am now the prodigal daughter who has returned home at last. (I guess I can be considered a ‘banana’ by some US-based Koreans…) I’ve returned to Korea just a few months ago and am still having a lot of fun AND difficulties adjusting to this “Korean” way of life.
    KEITH, you totally nailed the ‘laughing’ part of Korean women in general.
    As I translated this article to my Korean co-workers, I got beat up pretty bad! They found this article hilarious yet accurate and will not cease slapping my arm around.

    I’m so glad I found Seoulistic~ It’s awesome and super helpful!
    Kudos to you~ 😀 😀

  8. Mrs. Park says:

    Here in my country we also clap and hit others while laughing. Especially me, I tend to hit others a lot lol. Mianhae chingus haha.

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