1. shushubytheshore

    shushubytheshore New Member

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    Story set in Seoul (South Korea) and I'd like some advice on their culture

    Discussion in 'Setting Development' started by shushubytheshore, Mar 11, 2020.

    Hello! So, my story is set in Seoul despite not being Korean. I was to stay true to the culture as much as possible and avoid giving the perception that this story is made by a "Koreaboo" (yikes!). I thought about changing my setting to North America, but that made just too many inconsistencies, so I turned back to Korea.

    For context: my story is a romance that follows the love life of three siblings. The eldest is recently married to a wealthy man and struggles to fit into high society. The second is more friends-to-lovers with a mixed-race classmate and learns that relationships take work. And the last sibling, who despite has autism, wants to be independent and fall in love.

    So I would like as much advice on Seoul and it's surrounding regions. Specifically knowledge on:

    - Neighbourhoods/communities in Seoul
    - The social culture among College-aged people
    - geography on the surrounding areas of Seoul
    - How people react to bi-racial people (African-Korean) and People with Autism and People with amputations
    - Nightlife (clubbing, parties, high-society parties, etc.)
    - What is considered "cool" in terms of a person

    If you can answer any of these questions, thank you so much!!
     
  2. Thorn Cylenchar

    Thorn Cylenchar Senior Member

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    I would suggest watching some K-dramas. You can find a bunch on netflix. Well they do play things up for drama, you can get an idea of some of the cultural aspects.

    Something I have heard about Korean Culture: In many cultures it is considered polite to smile at someone you don't know when out. In Korea, it is not, it is considered a bit insulting as it is considered pitying(aka-you think the person is mentally retarded).

    Another thing-Korea has very rapidly undergone development and democratization, so the difference in social norms is huge between the different generations.

    All Korean males have to do mandatory military service for I believe 2 years.

    Smoking is way more common- I saw a statistic that roughly half of all men smoke.
     
  3. big soft moose

    big soft moose An Admoostrator Admin Staff Supporter Contributor Community Volunteer

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    Normally i'd say go visit, but thats not the best idea right now - the rough guide series are pretty good for background, as is the simple use of google, and google map/streetview for getting a feeling for the area
     
  4. Iain Aschendale

    Iain Aschendale Lying, dog-faced pony Marine Supporter Contributor

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    You could look into some expat Facebook groups relating to Korea. I live in Japan, but I've got friends in Seoul who share from a couple of them on occasion. Since I don't know how accurate the life they portray is I'm not going to link to them, but searching FB could probably help.
     

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