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About socializing with Korean
Hi! I meet a Korean friend, and seems like we are the same age, but everytime we talk, he talks to me in Korean honorifics. What does it mean? Is he distancing from me? Maybe he thinks that I want to date instead of just being friends? 🙁
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4 Replies
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It’s good that he’s using honorifics. It means he respects you. It’s polite to wait until the other person gives permission or suggests to speak in informal language.
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I think it mostly just depends on his personal preference. It is pretty normal for people to use formal language until the person they’re speaking with gives permission. If I was in your position I would let him know you’re okay with him speaking informally with you.
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Speaking to you in a formal way is just showing that he respects you and to be polite. It is normal for korean to speak formally to people they just met, and if you prefer him to drop the honorific, then you can let him know, just tell him you are okay with it.
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Using honorifics is they’re style, it’s normal lol
Mostly all of them talk with honorifics even if you’re younger, and a foreigner. And I mention being a foreigner cuz some others can be the opposite, if you’re the same age, they can talk to you in banmal cuz they think you’re “western style” therefore it’s ok not to be that formal lol
Just tell him something like “If that’s ok with you, we can talk in banmal” or “since we’re the same age, can we use banmal?” (make sure you’re actually the same age lol).
