Trouble making friends in Korea or wherever you are in the world, maybe this little gesture can help you? BY NO MEANS am I suggesting this method will buy you friends, but maybe a simple gift can build a new relationship:) What do you all think?
I love this. When I moved here 2 months ago, I started the same sort of giving for the people around my apartment. I make sure, for example, if I leave to get coffee and come home, if the door security is in the lobby, I always bring a coffee back for him.
Francois, I’m definitely with you on the gift giving. Here at home I love to give away homemade bread or desserts, but that option isn’t open to me in Korea because the Airbnb I stay in doesn’t have an oven. I feel it’s especially incumbent on me to bring gifts when I visit my friends as a small way to reciprocate for all they have done for me, whether it’s hosting me, taking me out for a meal, introducing me to new places in Korea or simply meeting up to take a walk and perhaps have some coffee. In all of the above, they give of themselves, even if it’s just their time, which, in truth, is the most valuable thing they have to share. When my friends protest that I don’t need to buy them such expensive gifts each time I visit, I tell them that if I had some assurance that they would visit me in the States, I might listen to them, but I can’t let the giving be unidirectional. I need some way to show how much I value what they have done for me. One final thing, after we say goodbye, I often sit down and write them a long note letting them know my feelings…about the places we’ve been together, the moments we’ve shared, my reflections on the things they’ve told me, how I feel about how our relationship has grown, how Korea means so much to me because of them. I often hear back from them about how what I wrote touched them and brought tears to their eyes. I think it’s the sincerity that touches them, and I feel sure that the butchers and shopkeepers also feel your sincerity, which is why they respond so positively to you and greet you with warmth and a joyful smile. You keep doing you!!!
Francois you are incredible sweet person! I was so happy seeing you giving chocolates from my country to koreans! Thank you. I wish I could live in Seoul and be friends with you 😊🙏 but I'm in America now and can't wait to get out from here hehe lol
Kazakhstan chocolate is the best treat to give!! We can be virtual friends until you make it to Seoul! Hahaha what makes you want to escape America? Hahah
The sincerity of giving and sharing really makes the difference. I think the idea of gift-giving is a beautiful gesture. I agree that it should not be necessarily seen as an act of buying friendship, but more of an affirmation of the joy that the act gives us both as givers and receivers. PS. I'd like a bar of that Kazakhstan chocolate lol
i enough understand that toilet paper as a gift could look weird to foreigners. the truth is, koreans like efficiency and dont like to fail. we all use toilet paper, so the kind of gift would never fail. that is the primary reason.
We plan to move there within a year. We have visited before. I’m on your channel to learn somethings before we go. How long did it take you to learn the language? We’ve been practicing.
Hey there!! Learning speed is up to you:) I'll be doing a video about a Korean book that you can use to learn at a comfortable speed:) Thanks so much for watching!:)
In general, I think so many people see love, attention, or gifts as transactional... which illustrates how few people received love unconditionally as children while also getting bombarded by consumerism in most modern societies. Its sad, so I'm all for gift giving cultures, including just giving strangers compassion without the expectation for that kindness to be returned. Its a hard lesson to live by, but its worth the effort...
Astute observation. I didn't realize the power of giving a gift until I started living with my grandparents. I saw them give everything they had to everyone. Alas, at the end of their time in this realm, they had no tangible assets to leave behind. I struggle with that part sometimes; I love giving gifts, but sometimes I suffer from the internal conflict of how much is too much to give. Anyways, I 95% love to give more than receiving. Feels so much better.
What you said about making the day better with a gift is very nice. There is a quote I read years ago: "Be kind, because everyone you meet, maybe they are fighting a war you know nothing about."
3:16 it is my first time hearing you speaking korean. but, is that really the korean skills all you have got? after all 14 years? in korea, for foreigners, language is everything. once you got the skills, koreans immediately absolutely be kind to you and things gonna be easy even more than for koreans to make korean friends. to elaborate, the gift-giving doesnt work that simple. if you meet a korean in public places and give a gift without any context, it is kinda ackward. but still koreans get not bad impressions from you then tho. i recommend you to would rather do gift-giving when you visit somewhere koreans own like home or office as a visitor. coffee would be decent for gift. but it is not mostly to make friends. it is rather in order not to be rude. to make friend in korea, join any group. almost every korean has their own group. it can be church, language exchange or hiking club. individual person to person is not gonna work well.
I can speak better, but when there are only Koreans around, I'm so nervous! And right, I think there should be a context! You dropped some nice gems here!!
![[Vlog Korean] What Locals REALLY Say in Korea's Historical Village📍🚗](/img/1.gif)
Trouble making friends in Korea or wherever you are in the world, maybe this little gesture can help you? BY NO MEANS am I suggesting this method will buy you friends, but maybe a simple gift can build a new relationship:) What do you all think?
I love this. When I moved here 2 months ago, I started the same sort of giving for the people around my apartment. I make sure, for example, if I leave to get coffee and come home, if the door security is in the lobby, I always bring a coffee back for him.
That's a very nice gesture from you to him:)
Francois, I’m definitely with you on the gift giving. Here at home I love to give away homemade bread or desserts, but that option isn’t open to me in Korea because the Airbnb I stay in doesn’t have an oven. I feel it’s especially incumbent on me to bring gifts when I visit my friends as a small way to reciprocate for all they have done for me, whether it’s hosting me, taking me out for a meal, introducing me to new places in Korea or simply meeting up to take a walk and perhaps have some coffee. In all of the above, they give of themselves, even if it’s just their time, which, in truth, is the most valuable thing they have to share. When my friends protest that I don’t need to buy them such expensive gifts each time I visit, I tell them that if I had some assurance that they would visit me in the States, I might listen to them, but I can’t let the giving be unidirectional. I need some way to show how much I value what they have done for me.
One final thing, after we say goodbye, I often sit down and write them a long note letting them know my feelings…about the places we’ve been together, the moments we’ve shared, my reflections on the things they’ve told me, how I feel about how our relationship has grown, how Korea means so much to me because of them. I often hear back from them about how what I wrote touched them and brought tears to their eyes.
I think it’s the sincerity that touches them, and I feel sure that the butchers and shopkeepers also feel your sincerity, which is why they respond so positively to you and greet you with warmth and a joyful smile. You keep doing you!!!
Wow!!! I love this!! Thanks so much for sharing your experiences!!
Great content Francois, I really appreciate this.
Hey, thanks so much for the wonderful comment!")
always love your videos
Hey, appreciate you watching and your support!:)
Francois you are incredible sweet person! I was so happy seeing you giving chocolates from my country to koreans! Thank you. I wish I could live in Seoul and be friends with you 😊🙏 but I'm in America now and can't wait to get out from here hehe lol
Kazakhstan chocolate is the best treat to give!! We can be virtual friends until you make it to Seoul! Hahaha what makes you want to escape America? Hahah
The sincerity of giving and sharing really makes the difference.
I think the idea of gift-giving is a beautiful gesture.
I agree that it should not be necessarily seen as an act of buying friendship, but more of an affirmation of the joy that the act gives us both as givers and receivers.
PS. I'd like a bar of that Kazakhstan chocolate lol
Agreed with everything! I'll give you a chocolate when I see you, bro!!:)
When we invited some Korean friends to our home for the first time one brought toilet paper as a gift and it was the best toilet paper ever!
i enough understand that toilet paper as a gift could look weird to foreigners. the truth is, koreans like efficiency and dont like to fail. we all use toilet paper, so the kind of gift would never fail. that is the primary reason.
I really appreciated this gift because the quality of paper was really good and I changed to this brand from my regular one.
Oh yes, I think that is the culture for being invited to someone's home for the first time. I've done that often:)
I agree with you.
A small gift is a good way to open a relationship 😊
Who doesn't like a gift?
I like the way you think!:)
We plan to move there within a year. We have visited before. I’m on your channel to learn somethings before we go. How long did it take you to learn the language? We’ve been practicing.
Hey there!! Learning speed is up to you:) I'll be doing a video about a Korean book that you can use to learn at a comfortable speed:) Thanks so much for watching!:)
I totally forgot abt this channel 😭
I'm glad you found it again! Welcome back!:)
In general, I think so many people see love, attention, or gifts as transactional... which illustrates how few people received love unconditionally as children while also getting bombarded by consumerism in most modern societies. Its sad, so I'm all for gift giving cultures, including just giving strangers compassion without the expectation for that kindness to be returned. Its a hard lesson to live by, but its worth the effort...
Astute observation. I didn't realize the power of giving a gift until I started living with my grandparents. I saw them give everything they had to everyone. Alas, at the end of their time in this realm, they had no tangible assets to leave behind. I struggle with that part sometimes; I love giving gifts, but sometimes I suffer from the internal conflict of how much is too much to give. Anyways, I 95% love to give more than receiving. Feels so much better.
Giving gifts is better than receiving them.
I totally agree! There's a since of euphoria I get when I see the other person smile from my gift!:)
What you said about making the day better with a gift is very nice. There is a quote I read years ago: "Be kind, because everyone you meet, maybe they are fighting a war you know nothing about."
3:16 it is my first time hearing you speaking korean. but, is that really the korean skills all you have got? after all 14 years? in korea, for foreigners, language is everything. once you got the skills, koreans immediately absolutely be kind to you and things gonna be easy even more than for koreans to make korean friends.
to elaborate, the gift-giving doesnt work that simple. if you meet a korean in public places and give a gift without any context, it is kinda ackward. but still koreans get not bad impressions from you then tho. i recommend you to would rather do gift-giving when you visit somewhere koreans own like home or office as a visitor. coffee would be decent for gift. but it is not mostly to make friends. it is rather in order not to be rude.
to make friend in korea, join any group. almost every korean has their own group. it can be church, language exchange or hiking club. individual person to person is not gonna work well.
I can speak better, but when there are only Koreans around, I'm so nervous! And right, I think there should be a context! You dropped some nice gems here!!
Where is my chocolate!!
Hahahha I'll save one for ya!!
GET A LOW TAPER FADE IN KOREA
If I had any hair! Lol