Korean Job Discussion Forums

[billybrobby]

Is it lame to date a girl who barely speaks English?

The other day, I was thought of a post that I read in Dave's long ago about a guy who spoke almost no korean who was dating a girl with almost no english skills. I can't find the thread, but the gist of it was that the guy said that he and his girlfriend spoke an incredibly basic pidgin english along with a lot hand gestures and stuff. And it got me thinking. Is this an example of love conquering the language barrier? Or is this some lame retard who can't get a woman who speaks his own language? Is this a guy whose respect for, or ability to communicate with, women is so low that he doesn't need a girl who can speak his language? I mean, don't people just REQUIRE some level of deep communication? Or can you get by on hugs and kisses and fairy dust?

I think that white guy/korean girl relationships get a bad rap, and frankly, I can see why. I mean, there are too many times when I've seen a guy on a date with a korean girl in a restaurant going, "I really like soccer. Soc-cer. Do you know soccer? When you kick (makes kicking motion) the ball (makes circle with hands), you know?" and then the girl goes "ahhh! ok! ok! I know soccer." and giggles and I realize she can barely put 2 words together and I just shake my head and think, "Man, there is no level this dude won't stoop to so that he can just hang out with a pretty girl."

but...i dunno...am i wrong?

[laogaiguk]

[SPINOZA]

He might be a fairly normal non-loser guy who just really fancies this girl despite the language difficulties. I've been there (not in Korea though and I was a lot younger).

[seoulsucker]

I'm seriously fighting the urge to post a hilarous, yet incredibly crass comment here.

How tolerant are the mods here of that kind of stuff? I don't want to get booted off the board after only a week, and from what I've heard the PC police are like the Gestapo in this mother.

[mithridates]

No, it's not weird. Generally in spite of the language barrier you can totally fall for somebody as soon as you realize something about them that just knocks your socks off. Say you're with two few Korean friends and there's another girl that doesn't know any English; the two go off to buy something and you're alone for a while and have to make conversation.

"So, what do you do?"
"Uh...I... brush."
"You brush?" (this girl seems really lame)
"Yes. Brush." (makes weird motion with hand)
"Oh."

Now the silence is awkward, and she realizes it so she says:
"Um...see."

Reaches into backpack, pulls out something like this:



"Oh, BRUSH!" (*beep* this girl seems cool now)

[kermo]

I think some people are more focussed on words than others. Obviously, some of us rely on our verbal abilities to impress others, and robbed of that opportunity, we feel at a loss. I imagine that some people focus more on body-language, acts of kindness, shared experiences, and don't mind using a dictionary as a stop-gap.

I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt because I've known people who seem to have genuine connections despite the language barrier. I can't fathom it, personally, but I'll take their word for it.

[xingyiman]

[numazawa]

Ah, but who's to say? He could even be an inspiring loser in a pathetic love story...

As for me, I'm too much of a language-nut to be caught in linguistic limbo like that for long. However, being also a romantic sap and inveterate horndog, I can see the angles there, too. Where there's a will (or wood) there's a way.

And don't forget, to posterity we are all losers.

[Corporal]

In general, I'd say life is too short to worry much over other people's relationships.

Concern yourself with what you need to be happy in a relationship, but be careful not to project those needs onto others.

[billybrobby]

double post

[billybrobby]

[xingyiman]

[billybrobby]

[numazawa]

[xingyiman]