Dating: Korean Style

On a Saturday night, after accidentally losing my friends while dancing in the noise basement, I was just about to head home when I met a lovely man named Dong Hyun. Before heading home, I thought it would be a good idea to find the infamous and prestigious Juliana nightclub, which I've heard so much about. I ducked out of the rain, under a stairwell doorway to ask a few people in my best Korean: "club-uh Juliana, odi yo (where)?" Dong Hyun was the one who told me that this club used to be right in front of me, but it moved recently. We talked for a while and ended up exchanging phone numbers on the premise that he wanted to learn English, and I wanted to learn Taekwondo (which he teaches).

He called me within two days. I was surprised that one, he called, and two, he called so quickly. I think that boys in the U.S. should learn something here. ;) We planned to meet in Jongno at subway door number one at six the next day.

He arrived in a nice pinstripe business suit, as he had just gotten off work, and I in my girly, white, ruffled Korean top and jean capris, was happy to make it. He took me to a cool fusion restaurant in Jongno called Indipia. It was a charming evening. He was kind, and fun, and sweet, and sincere...all those things girls want in a man but have a hard time finding. Interestingly, he has only been speaking English for about 6 months. Though he started learning English in middle school, he said they never spoke English at school; they only memorized vocabulary and practiced writing. Regardless, it was painless to have a real conversation with him. Over a chapchae, sausage, washi? (fruit in a milky soup) dinner, we had a nice getting-to-know-you conversation and exhanged some funny stories. I told him about my work, how I'm teaching the Korean teenagers tongue twisters, and he decided to teach me a Korean one too. I'm still working on it. One of the funnier moments was when we started talking about words that don't mean anything, and somehow I ended up learning "suri suri ma suri" and teaching him the English translation "abracadabra" in return! Later, he was so patient to help me read the menu and speak with perfect intonation!

I loved his little mannerisms, he kept saying, "me?" everytime I asked him a question. And, it was cute how he'd ask me, "Do you love it?" instead of a more common phrase like, "tastes good, don't you think?". It made me giggle inside when he looked in the opposite direction, turning away from me each time we drank our soju (a sign of respect). I've seen this custom before on a Globe Trekker: Korea episode, but it was quite a different experience to sit across the table, one on one, in this situation. I wasn't exactly sure what I was supposed to do, so I just did it back! Everytime our small shot glasses of peach soju clinked in a toast, I forced myself to turn away slightly. Of course, my wandering eyes often glanced back at him to see if he was still doing it, and he was. I kept watching his glass to see if he was drinking the full shot glass or just a little bit--one never knows in this situation!

Overall, I had an enchanting evening. It was a million times better than the dude who stupidly took me to the DVD Bang on our first date and went home early, since I didn't want to make out with him. Dong Hyun, on the other hand, was a a real and kind character and I think I will be seeing him again soon. :) It was really fun to get to know a true Korean boy, and of course, a little romance is always welcomed.