How to Make Korean Friends in Korea

As we all know, moving and living in a new country may be challenging at time.

And one of those challenges is often loneliness. Of course, living in Korea is no exception to this! One of the best ways to make sure you have a great time in Korea is to meet Korean friends. Having a good group of friends in Korea will also make your life here much more comfortable and enjoyable.

If you’re new to Korea, Korean friends will most likely know the best places to go for food, drinks, shopping, or otherwise just having a good time. I mean, if anyone knows about Korea, why not the locals?

And if you want to learn Korean, who better than a native speaker of the language to help you practice, right? Besides these benefits of course, Koreans are just a lot of fun to be around!

Now, the question would be how can we make Korean friends here? Well, look no further. Here are some ways you can start making Korean friends right now.

1. Language Exchange Parties

Also known as 언어모임. There are plenty of these kinds of parties in many different areas of Seoul. Some of these include Languagecast and Danny’s Party. There are always a good number of Korean people eager to make new friends with foreigners. If you’re also interested in learning Korean, many of them will also be willing to help you learn Korean as well. A lot of the people that come here may also be good at English as well, so if you’re not very confident in your Korean, this is a good place to start.

Languagecast has a meeting in Chloris coffee shop in Hongdae every Monday evening, and entry is simply the price of one coffee. Danny’s Party is held on Saturday nights in the hotspots of Seoul, such as Hongdae, Itaewon, Gangnam, Shinchon, or Hyehwa. The charge is 20,000 won. It’s a bit steep, but a good deal considering the 무제한 (unlimited) food and drinks provided.

2. Online

If you’re shy about meeting people in person and would like to get to know them through online exchanges first, look no further than the internet! One of my personal favorites is Couchsurfing.com, a popular site for backpackers looking for a place to stay, specifically, a local’s house.

I highly suggest this method for anyone who’s coming to Korea to visit. Not only can you get the authentic experience by living in a Korean household, but you also save yourself a few bucks you would have spent in a hotel. Now, who can say no to that? Even those of you already live in Korea or if staying at another person’s house isn’t your cup of tea, this is still a great way to arrange meetings with locals just to hang out for some 삼겹살 or drinks.

Couchsurfing isn’t the only website from which you can meet friends from the internet though. Other sites include SeoulMate, Friends In Korea, and MyKoreanfriends.com. SeoulMate is particularly good if you’re looking to find a group of friends who can take you to the popular sightseeing places of Seoul.

3. Your Own Hobbies

Korean people love to kick back and enjoy hobbies after a hard day of studying or work. Since some of these hobbies may be the same hobbies you enjoyed back at home, so why not find where you can do those things in Korea?

Are you learning the guitar? Why not take up some guitar lessons?

We’re you a boxer? How about joining a boxing gym and training with the locals at that gym?

Are you a big fan of a specific music genre? Find where they have concerts for that kind of music and enjoy the music with the other concert goers?

How about basketball? You can go to the basketball courts in various parts of the Han River and there is most likely a group of people playing. How about asking to jump in?

The possibilities with this are endless and different depending on your own individual hobbies and what you enjoyed doing back home. The benefit of finding friends this way is that you can make friends with whom you have something in common with, so it’ll be much easier for the both of you to have something to talk about. This may be difficult and possibly require you to tap into the powers of Google or Facebook searches, but it pays off.

These are just a few of many ways to make Korean friends during your stay in Korea. I am sure there are many other ways to befriend the locals, but here can be a good start.

Do you know of any other ways to mingle with the locals here in Korea? Let us know by leaving a comment below!

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