Couple Culture

Couple outfits sold at Top 10 at Edae

Am I seriously really writing this at 2am in the midst of finals? B*TCH I MIGHT BE.

People often wonder how big couple culture really is in Korea. Many, like I was, are sceptic that couple culture is that big in Korea. Couple items everywhere, couples frequently seen in couple outfits, couples acting all lovey dovery with each other but don't quite breach across the indecent PDA boundary.

Having spent 4 months in Korea I have grown to loathe couple culture
Yet I secretly want to be a part of it because being surrounded by couples, thus reminding me that I've been forever alone and single since birth, is tiring and really sad.

Couple culture, to an extent, is pretty big amongst youths - particularly the university crowd and maybe perhaps up to 30s too. Around campus it is not uncommon to see a couple here and there, heck, you can't escape them, they're practically everywhere in Seoul.
Wherever you are there will always be a couple.

How do we know that they're a couple?
The thing is that Korean couples are so damn obvious.
If you look at a couple in England you don't immediately conciously think that they're a couple, because they tend to have their personal space and don't wear similar/matching items. So you tend to carry on walking by without thinking much about it. Whereas in Korea, couples either wear couple outfits, or outfits that match each other in some way or a another - such as having the same shoes, similar bag style, outfit style, etc. Furthermore, they tend to walk very close to each other. Guys are commonly found with their arms draped across the shoulders of their girl, or snaked around their waists. I remember a few years ago the internet (probably EatYourKimchi's Simon and Martina) told me that couples tend to be less touchy-feely with each other than friends. Bullshit. It's around the same level. Plus the intrusion of personal spaces reaches to an extent where it looks as if their skin are touching through the tiny gap between them! Earlier today in Baskin Robins, I had a couple sitting on the table next to me where the girl was going through her phone and her boyfriend was literally hovering his head  a few centimetres above hers whilst looking at the phone too. She could probably feel him breathe down her neck. I'm pretty sure he can still see the phone if he sat back a little since it was placed right between them. And later when me and my friend were heading back to our dorm, whilst waiting to cross the intersection, there was a couple standing right in front of us where the girl was basically nestled against her boyfriend's body while he opens out his coat to block out the cold winter air for her. Romantic, but not when you constantly talk to her ear with your lips just a centimetre away. It gave me the shivers despite feeling incredibly warm in my duck down coat.

Curry couple set, 1 drink for 2! So romantic?!

Going back on topic, at restaurants and even fast food joints - like Lotteria, there are couple set menus that singles too can take advantage of.
I recall eating at a curry restaurant (Benares) in Anam once with a friend, we ordered a couple set because it was cheap and made decision making a lot easier. Upon taking a look around us, everyone had ordered couple set. It was obvious since the set involved the sharing of one drink and two straws, which everyone had on their table. And more amusingly, everyone there were girls - very likely to be friends unless I'm wrong and everyone there were in fact lesbians.
I have yet to notice if couples do in fact take advantage of these couple sets.

I've made the assumption that dating and relationships are popular amongst university students purely because:

1. Everyone are now free of hardcore High School education and can socialise and have time to find significant others more
2. 'Sogaeting' is common, a casual thing, and very popular.
3. A lot of the students appears to be in a relationship, or at least trying to get into one.
4. So far most of the Korean students I've met and befriended have/had boyfriends.
5. One of the first few things a newly-made Korean friend will ask you is: "Do you have a boyfriend?" And if you don't have one, they will say: "WHY?!"

Super-blurry-stalker-ish picture of this couple holding hands
whilst guy is holding his girlfriend's gift box with a
huge red heart on it, d'awwww~

Don't take my word for this, but so far it seems that dating is one of the most popular things amongst students.
I've talked to the Korean members of one of my group projects about this over casual drinking, and all of them have had experiences in dating. Most of them sounded very casual. They were very open about it. And a week ago, one of them revealed that they recently attended a sogaeting (blind date) set up by one of their friends. Even though they told me that they prefer being single now! So far for her, she's finding the guy difficult. They're not dating, met once, exchanged numbers, but have yet to message each other. So she's currently dead confused about how he thinks of her and it's driving her nuts - her friend expressed that she does not approve of the guy already haha!
I guess it's a social pressure thing. Kind of like me right now where I believe being independent and single for now is perfect since it gives me more freedom, but at the same time having a guy to hug in this cold winter season sounds lovely.
Korean winters can drive us crazy.

I also have this other Korean friend whose boyfriend is currently serving his military service. Apparently couples tend to split up when the guy enters military service, but there are still quite a lot who try to keep the relationship going, despite their boyfriends having their phones confiscated. There is even an online community for girls whose boyfriends are in the military, where they can console each other and talk about their hardships with their absent boyfriend. They can also provide news and outside world information for their boyfriends on this site apparently - don't take my word on this (I couldn't recall the talk exactly!!)

I've only seen couple outfits being sold a few times in stores. Then again, I rarely pay attention to these displays/shelves so don't take my word on it.

I'm kind of mentally laughing at the irony of all of this right now because I've actually experienced it all recently in Korea whilst not being in a relationship.
I don't really plan to reveal it all on the internet right now, but let's just say I can't quite figure my Busan guy out.

I don't really plan on dating anyone whilst in Korea. Mainly because:

1. I still feel incredibly newb-ish to dating
2. Believe that I am not ready to commit
3. I'm a pretty damn oblivious and blunt person, thus far from being girlfriend material
4. Being intimate with a guy feels foreign to me (October-self laughs hysterically)
5. I'd rather date a guy who I've known for a really long time like a best friend
6. There's still time to find a guy
7. Dating a guy in Korea can only mean a long-distance relationship awaits later next year

But yet, at the same time I want to experience Korean dating culture with no solid feelings attached. Korea's couples makes me feel uncomfortable for being single, even though no one is actively trying to make me be in a relationship. The constant presence of them pressures me to seek out for one, just so I don't feel alone. Even if I am with friends, knowing that a majority of them have or are in relationships makes me feel...left out..? Outdated? Lonely? Unloved?
Yet, there's a small part of me who's still berating me for even considering such wishful desires. Constantly reminding me everyday that I don't need a guy and that I can survive this year abroad guy-less, and return to England without having to deal with the pressure of couple culture ever again.

Korea is messing up my life.