::Prince on a White Horse from the Land of the Morning Freshness. Part 1::
There will be a series of posts (well, at least 2) based on the book “I want to love Korean boys” bought and nearly finished on my trip to Japan last October (yes-yes, October. I know.). You should have seen faces of people on the subway. What a sight :D
Anyway, the book was written by Japanese people and is aimed at Japanese girls that are so into K-POP and K-dramas that they want to find themselves a Korean BF/husband.
So, let’s start this thing.
Introduction or “K-pop is the main evil”
Do you know why Japanese girls listen to K-pop? You might be thinking that it’s all about good voices (obviously, if there are any) or handsome guys (mmm... nice), but NO! Apparently, they think that Korean boys are romantics, gentlemen who can frankly express their opinion on love and can really FEEL. Not a bad combination, right? Even if you take Japanese and Korean versions of the same song, you will see that the Japanese one will be “light and fresh” love song, while the other one is a song about a broken heart or unconditional love (everyone angsts! And cries! And maybe dies! But mostly angsts some more).
The other major influence is the TV-program “We got married” that started airing back in 2008. For the people who are not familiar with the show (I hardly doubt that there are more that two people that watched it, apart from me), the point of it is: take a girl from a girls group or an actress and take a guy from a boys group or an actor, “marry them off” and watch how the newlyweds are doing (this is actually a pretty entertaining show, especially for the pairs with chemistry like Khuntoria *___* ← still a fan). In general, there are 3-4 pairs and each pair signs a contract for at least a year (some stay more). Within this year they have to do a lot of “pair” things like celebrating each others BDs, anniversaries (of which Korea has TOO MANY, seriously!), etc. But the main point here is not what they are celebrating, but How. And that is being done in a way to rival Takizawa Hideaki (although not really ‘cause Tokyo Dome rental for an evening for Tsubasa to play baseball on his BD...). For example, the guy can rent a skating rink to have a romantic dinner (cake, champagne, Love Note and romantic music included) and profess his love/ask the girl to marry him, etc. Very nice, you might say, and very much TV-ish, no average Korean does that. And you would be wrong again. Korea has a great amount of places providing “couple services” for any occasion for something like 600 USD. On the other hand, Japan...
Next. We do live in the social media age: Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, FourSquare, Instagram, we use it all. And so do the idols. K-pop idols spend a huge amount of time online professing their love to fans (in general), showing presents they received from fans, etc. Also, concerts. What do Japanese girls see? Bold and confident handsome guys not afraid to show their feelings. How new and fresh! How unlike what we have here! they say.
All of this leads to the path to find your one and true love in a land far-far away. But really, what path does not have its own potholes and ruts? This is where this book comes along.
These strange Korean boys
So what is so different between Japanese and Korean boys?
Let’s start from the very beginning.
1) Korean are straightforward.
If a boy likes a girl, he will definitely tell her. Directly. In case of a group date, for the whole evening he will be talking only to her and then at the very end he will ask for her number (and not in a secret way). Meeting Japanese guys? Complete opposite.
Of course, this straightforwardness can be a double-edged sword. For example, your Korean BF would definitely tell you if previous haircut was better and that dress makes you look fat. No, really.
2) Koreans don’t know the word “enough”.
Let’s imagine a situation where you like a girl, you confess and she rejects you. What do you do? Sulk, drink, find someone else. What do Koreans do? They will continue trying to get the girl. If he has your number, be prepared to receive numerous texts saying “whatcha doing?”, “wanna see a movie?”, “wanna grab a bite?”, etc. However, that’s not all. There might even be calls like “I just wanted to hear your voice~” (and that coming from the person who you might have not even dated). Such a fierce attack scares many Japanese girls since in their opinion (and seriously, at this point, I have to agree with them) this is not dating, it’s stalking O_O
3) Koreans study sex through Japanese adult movies (This is freaking sad)
Many Japanese girls are not too excited about their BFs in bed since often they know only one missionary pose and the whole act is “too simple”. Also, fun fact: they truly believe porn and think that even if girl kicks and shouts “no! go away”, that’s all a show and she secretly craves you.
Some guys specifically “get” Japanese GFs in order to check whether reality is same as porn.
4) Korean boys like strong and sexy girls and not over-cute girls (dating difference. In Japan the more kawaii the girl is, the more chances she has to attract a guy. No, really.)
Example of strong and sexy women: Ayumi Hamasaki, Aoi Miyazaki.
Conclusion: Japanese girls have to stop acting super-cute and change their wardrobe: get rid of non-form fitting dresses and flats and put some mini-skirt, skinny jeans, fitting dresses. Special focus should be on legs and arms.
5) Koreans are in awe of Japanese politeness
Situation: in Korea it’s believed to be a man’s job to BBQ meat, so Korean girls take it for granted. Japanese girls will be thanking the guy each and every time.
In addition, Korean boys love how thoughtful and caring Japanese girls are. For example, upon entering the restaurant, the girl asks waitress for the ashtray since BF smokes w/o him mentioning anything.
(I’ll just go and facepalm over there...)
6) Koreans are “Italians of the Asia-Pacific region”.
Romance, passion and no “off” swtich to make them stop until they reach the goal and get the girl despite all the difficulties.
7) 1-on-1 meeting is ALWAYS a date (presents, flowers and compliments included).
Date is the time when BF pays for everything. Literally. At the very end there’s also going to be a text message with smth like “you were so beautiful today that I fell in love with you all over again” (shocking in Japan!) from BF and possibly from his friends (!) saying smth along the lines of “he is such a great guy! Think about it!” or “So smitten with you! I have never seen him like this EVER” (attacks from all sides!)
8) Koreans believe that girls need protection.
Is it obvious? Yes. Korean boy will be carrying your bag, open doors for you, call/text in order to be sure that you’ve got home safe, etc.
9) Korean BF will make sure you meet ALL his friends and family (horror!)
In general, you’re going to spend the whole time Together. Literally Together. BF can accompany you to a hair salon or while you’re doing your nails or even while you’re shopping with your girl friends. He is also going to pay for it since that's still considered as “together” time.
10) Koreans have serious problems with condoms (no, really! this is the shocking part, trust me!)
According to the latest statistics, only 8% of Korean guys use condoms at all (out of them 25% wear all the time, 25% use only because the girl asks them to, 25% rarely and 25% nearly never). It is certainly worth mentioning that Pills are scarce in both Japan and Korea (again, according to statistics, in Japan only 1% of women are on a Pill, in Korea? 2%). In addition, if you want the guy to use a condom, bring one since it’s your responsibility.
(I’m just going to go and facepalm somewhere there... yeah.)
11) Skinship is the KEY
Koreans love skinship. There’s going to be A LOT of touching: brushing shoulders, touching hands or knees. Even in coffee shops, unlike in Japan where couple sits across the table from each other, in Korea couple sits together (full-body contact).
12) Koreans pay special attention to girl’s skin
It has to be flawless and look as natural as it can get. No more layers and layers of make-up (which is basically how all girls in Japan look), time to invest some serious cash into healthy-looking skin (Korean make-up can help as well. on a plus side, it’s not that expensive. At least most of the brands like Misha).
To be continued.
Anyway, the book was written by Japanese people and is aimed at Japanese girls that are so into K-POP and K-dramas that they want to find themselves a Korean BF/husband.
So, let’s start this thing.
Introduction or “K-pop is the main evil”
Do you know why Japanese girls listen to K-pop? You might be thinking that it’s all about good voices (obviously, if there are any) or handsome guys (mmm... nice), but NO! Apparently, they think that Korean boys are romantics, gentlemen who can frankly express their opinion on love and can really FEEL. Not a bad combination, right? Even if you take Japanese and Korean versions of the same song, you will see that the Japanese one will be “light and fresh” love song, while the other one is a song about a broken heart or unconditional love (everyone angsts! And cries! And maybe dies! But mostly angsts some more).
The other major influence is the TV-program “We got married” that started airing back in 2008. For the people who are not familiar with the show (I hardly doubt that there are more that two people that watched it, apart from me), the point of it is: take a girl from a girls group or an actress and take a guy from a boys group or an actor, “marry them off” and watch how the newlyweds are doing (this is actually a pretty entertaining show, especially for the pairs with chemistry like Khuntoria *___* ← still a fan). In general, there are 3-4 pairs and each pair signs a contract for at least a year (some stay more). Within this year they have to do a lot of “pair” things like celebrating each others BDs, anniversaries (of which Korea has TOO MANY, seriously!), etc. But the main point here is not what they are celebrating, but How. And that is being done in a way to rival Takizawa Hideaki (although not really ‘cause Tokyo Dome rental for an evening for Tsubasa to play baseball on his BD...). For example, the guy can rent a skating rink to have a romantic dinner (cake, champagne, Love Note and romantic music included) and profess his love/ask the girl to marry him, etc. Very nice, you might say, and very much TV-ish, no average Korean does that. And you would be wrong again. Korea has a great amount of places providing “couple services” for any occasion for something like 600 USD. On the other hand, Japan...
Next. We do live in the social media age: Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, FourSquare, Instagram, we use it all. And so do the idols. K-pop idols spend a huge amount of time online professing their love to fans (in general), showing presents they received from fans, etc. Also, concerts. What do Japanese girls see? Bold and confident handsome guys not afraid to show their feelings. How new and fresh! How unlike what we have here! they say.
All of this leads to the path to find your one and true love in a land far-far away. But really, what path does not have its own potholes and ruts? This is where this book comes along.
These strange Korean boys
So what is so different between Japanese and Korean boys?
Let’s start from the very beginning.
1) Korean are straightforward.
If a boy likes a girl, he will definitely tell her. Directly. In case of a group date, for the whole evening he will be talking only to her and then at the very end he will ask for her number (and not in a secret way). Meeting Japanese guys? Complete opposite.
Of course, this straightforwardness can be a double-edged sword. For example, your Korean BF would definitely tell you if previous haircut was better and that dress makes you look fat. No, really.
2) Koreans don’t know the word “enough”.
Let’s imagine a situation where you like a girl, you confess and she rejects you. What do you do? Sulk, drink, find someone else. What do Koreans do? They will continue trying to get the girl. If he has your number, be prepared to receive numerous texts saying “whatcha doing?”, “wanna see a movie?”, “wanna grab a bite?”, etc. However, that’s not all. There might even be calls like “I just wanted to hear your voice~” (and that coming from the person who you might have not even dated). Such a fierce attack scares many Japanese girls since in their opinion (and seriously, at this point, I have to agree with them) this is not dating, it’s stalking O_O
3) Koreans study sex through Japanese adult movies (This is freaking sad)
Many Japanese girls are not too excited about their BFs in bed since often they know only one missionary pose and the whole act is “too simple”. Also, fun fact: they truly believe porn and think that even if girl kicks and shouts “no! go away”, that’s all a show and she secretly craves you.
Some guys specifically “get” Japanese GFs in order to check whether reality is same as porn.
4) Korean boys like strong and sexy girls and not over-cute girls (dating difference. In Japan the more kawaii the girl is, the more chances she has to attract a guy. No, really.)
Example of strong and sexy women: Ayumi Hamasaki, Aoi Miyazaki.
Conclusion: Japanese girls have to stop acting super-cute and change their wardrobe: get rid of non-form fitting dresses and flats and put some mini-skirt, skinny jeans, fitting dresses. Special focus should be on legs and arms.
5) Koreans are in awe of Japanese politeness
Situation: in Korea it’s believed to be a man’s job to BBQ meat, so Korean girls take it for granted. Japanese girls will be thanking the guy each and every time.
In addition, Korean boys love how thoughtful and caring Japanese girls are. For example, upon entering the restaurant, the girl asks waitress for the ashtray since BF smokes w/o him mentioning anything.
(I’ll just go and facepalm over there...)
6) Koreans are “Italians of the Asia-Pacific region”.
Romance, passion and no “off” swtich to make them stop until they reach the goal and get the girl despite all the difficulties.
7) 1-on-1 meeting is ALWAYS a date (presents, flowers and compliments included).
Date is the time when BF pays for everything. Literally. At the very end there’s also going to be a text message with smth like “you were so beautiful today that I fell in love with you all over again” (shocking in Japan!) from BF and possibly from his friends (!) saying smth along the lines of “he is such a great guy! Think about it!” or “So smitten with you! I have never seen him like this EVER” (attacks from all sides!)
8) Koreans believe that girls need protection.
Is it obvious? Yes. Korean boy will be carrying your bag, open doors for you, call/text in order to be sure that you’ve got home safe, etc.
9) Korean BF will make sure you meet ALL his friends and family (horror!)
In general, you’re going to spend the whole time Together. Literally Together. BF can accompany you to a hair salon or while you’re doing your nails or even while you’re shopping with your girl friends. He is also going to pay for it since that's still considered as “together” time.
10) Koreans have serious problems with condoms (no, really! this is the shocking part, trust me!)
According to the latest statistics, only 8% of Korean guys use condoms at all (out of them 25% wear all the time, 25% use only because the girl asks them to, 25% rarely and 25% nearly never). It is certainly worth mentioning that Pills are scarce in both Japan and Korea (again, according to statistics, in Japan only 1% of women are on a Pill, in Korea? 2%). In addition, if you want the guy to use a condom, bring one since it’s your responsibility.
(I’m just going to go and facepalm somewhere there... yeah.)
11) Skinship is the KEY
Koreans love skinship. There’s going to be A LOT of touching: brushing shoulders, touching hands or knees. Even in coffee shops, unlike in Japan where couple sits across the table from each other, in Korea couple sits together (full-body contact).
12) Koreans pay special attention to girl’s skin
It has to be flawless and look as natural as it can get. No more layers and layers of make-up (which is basically how all girls in Japan look), time to invest some serious cash into healthy-looking skin (Korean make-up can help as well. on a plus side, it’s not that expensive. At least most of the brands like Misha).
To be continued.