Do Koreans like foreigners?

koreans are polite, not friendly, there's a difference. politeness is a social script, like bowing and saying "thank you" at the mart, everyone gets that. friendliness is warmth, and that's earned over time, usually through shared drinking sessions or repeated visits to the same shop.

the video's probably shot in hongdae or myeongdong where foreigners are basically a tourist attraction, so yeah, you'll get smiles and free samples. but walk into a gimbap place in nodong or a market in mangwon, nobody cares if you're white, they just want your order right.

one thing nobody mentions: older koreans, like 60+, will sometimes treat foreign men like curiosities, pat your arm or ask where you're from in broken english. that's not privilege, that's just them being amazed a foreigner exists near their neighborhood. it wears off fast once they realize you're not leaving.

the real privilege is being a white guy in gangnam or itaewon, where staff assume you'll drop cash. but even then, it's transactional. nobody's inviting you to their family dinner over it. if you want actual friendship, you gotta learn korean and stick around, that's the only way past the politeness.

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i mean the video's not wrong but it's also not the whole story. the friendliness is real but it's mostly aimed at short term visitors, like the guy in the shorts probably. if u stay a while people just stop caring, which is fine but also kinda lonely sometimes.

the privilege thing tho, that's about being a visible minority in a good way. white guys get free stuff at clubs, girls will approach u in hongdae, and the ahjummas at the market will throw in extra banchan. but that's not because they like u, it's because u're a novelty. a black or southeast asian friend of mine gets the opposite, people cross the street at night and taxi drivers skip him. so the "koreans love foreigners" thing is really "koreans love white foreigners who look like they have money".

if u actually want to know if koreans like u, try speaking korean badly. the ones who still smile and help u out after that, those are the real ones. everyone else is just being polite. also avoid itaewon if u want the real experience, go to like sinchon or even bucheon, way less filtered.

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honestly it depends a lot on where u are and what u look like. in hongdae or itaewon yeah people are gonna be extra nice, they're used to tourists and foreigners there. but go to like a random neighborhood in nowon or gangseo and nobody's gonna treat u special, u're just another person.

the "privileged life" thing is real but it's more about being a visible foreigner, not about being liked. you'll get served first in some places, people might give u free soju at a pojangmacha, and taxi drivers will actually stop for u more often than not. but that's because they assume u're rich and gonna tip or spend more, not because they genuinely love foreigners.

also if u're east asian or mixed, u might not even get that treatment, u just blend in. and if u're black or south asian, honestly the experience can be different, more stares and sometimes people avoiding u on the subway. so the video is kinda cherry-picking the white foreigner experience.

bottom line: koreans are polite to everyone by default, but the "privilege" is situational and tied to how u look. don't expect it everywhere, and don't take it personally if u don't get it.

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the whispering thing is real but its not about the sauce lol. that guy runs a 2am handoff with the chicken supplier, they drop off fresh birds from a farm near Chuncheon three times a week instead of using the frozen stuff most hongdae spots rely on. thats why the texture hits different, not the sauce itself. if u go back ask for the neck & wing combo off menu, its cheaper & honestly the best cut they do

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the thing nobody mentions is that Dogdogdog's sauce gets its body from cheong, the Korean rice syrup, not sugar. thats why it coats the wing so thick and stays glossy instead of going sticky. i asked a guy who worked there and he said they also add a splash of maesil (plum) extract at the end off the heat. that fruity tang under the garlic is what you're tasting. go on a weekday before 6, weekends the wait hits 40 min easy.

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honestly the "secret sauce" thing is prob just marketing. every fried chicken place in Seoul has a version of that story. the real difference at Dogdogdog is they double fry in rice bran oil and toss the wings in the sauce twice, once right out of the fryer and again after a 30 sec rest. thats where the crunch comes from, not some mystery ingredient. if u wanna taste the actual base, order the banban half plain half spicy and dip the plain one in the spicy sauce yourself.

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