I have lived in Seoul, South Korea for about five months, now. While living in Seoul, I have been exposed to Korean culture as well as Seoul's international community. Seoul is South Korea's capital as well as its most populated city. Additionally, there are a lot of foreigners who live in Seoul for work, tourism, or education. Because of this fact, I am surrounded by people from many different backgrounds and have met many people with a lot of different perspectives.
As a foreigner, I am still learning how to fit into South Korea and understand the way the people here live. South Koreans place a huge importance on the community, on respect and on social status. Because of this, Korea is also known to be a collectivist society, which means Koreans prefer to belong to a group rather to emphasize their individuality. As Americans, we usually value individuality. I am, for instance, used to dressing how I like and to expressing myself however I feel. But I noticed in South Korea, it's more common to follow the social trend and try to fit a certain stereotype. If you do not do this, you will definitely stand out in Korea.
