Recently more and more people are being interested in moving to and living in South Korea. However, when people come to Korea, one of the hardships they face is making friends. At the first sight, Korean people do not seem very willing to get to know you and become your friend. However, this is not so. In reality, the majority are very excited and willing to make new friends, but they do not show it first, that's why it is better to find the right way to approach them and become friends. Regarding this issue, I would like to share my own experience.
When I came to Korea first, I did not have any Korean friends. Although I am a very social and extraverted person, first, I found it difficult to make friends in this country. It made me think why this was so and I started to observe these people. They have quite a lot of friends they hang out with, so? Is the problem in me? Is it because they do not like me? But after some time of attentive observations I got the point. Korean youngsters are usually very shy to make the first step. I had never thought about this before, because where I lived before, people usually naturally communicate with each other, so I didn't have difficulties in making new acquaintances. So I thought how I could change this situation and the answer is easy! "Make the first step!". So what I did was, I texted my university mate from the same class (that I'd never talked before) and asked her a question. She was so nice to answer friendly, and we started chatting. The talk ended up us deciding to grab a coffee in the campus and talk in real. And when you already get to know the person, you can see how actually this person is friendly and willing to spend time with you. The other day, after classes I asked the 3 girls sitting next to me in the class to have lunch together. During that lunch we talked so much about our lives that after I went home I had a feeling that I know these girls for years. I want to give you the last example of how my first step helped me to find my two best friends in Korea. Me and my dormitory roommate went to a party held in Itaewon (Seoul). Then, my roommate went to buy a drink for herself and while I was alone waiting for her, I saw two girls dancing together. I really loved their vibe and decided to join them. I just approached and we started dancing together. After dancing we exchanged our instagrams and since then we meet every week and do different things together. For example, last week one of the girls invited us to the slumber party at her place.
So, as you can see, making the first step is a clue to making friends in Korea. After you make the first step, you realize how nice these people actually are. This way made me lots of nice friends. You can do this too!