On the most recent episode of KBS 2TV‘s ‘Talk Show Do Dream‘, Superstar K2 runner-up John Park talked about his struggle with adjusting to Korean culture.
The singer who recently made a comeback with his digital single ‘Childlike ‘ revealed on the show, “In the United States, everyone does ‘cheers’ only for the first round of drinks and continues to drink individually. But because the drinking culture is different in Korea, at one point I was misunderstood for having bad manners.”
He continued, “When I would get a bit more friendly/touchy (?) as I would do so naturally with my female friends back in the U.S., people would misunderstand me as a player. After being taken in the wrong way, I would second guess myself when I wanted to give someone a friendly hug and think ‘should I or should I not’, and as a result the atmosphere would just get awkward.”
Another aspect of Korean culture that John Park struggled with was the language. The singer explained, “Whether I’m on broadcast or meeting up with people, I can’t fully express my inner thoughts and feelings.”
Because of the language barrier and the misunderstandings with his actions, the singer’s vibrant personality he once had while living in the U.S. is slowly becoming more quiet and closed-off and consequently, he has become somewhat fearful of developing relationships with people.
What do you think about the struggle of stars who come to Korea to pursue their dreams, but face severe culture shock?
Source + Image: TVDaily via Nate
