Hey everyone!

Hey everyone! I’m a 28-year-old guy from Argentina, and I arrived in Korea about a week ago. I’m currently staying with my Korean girlfriend in Suwon, and although we’re doing great together, I’ve started realizing how much I miss having other people around. Don’t get me wrong, I love spending time with her, but I guess I need more human interaction than just being with my partner. Especially when you’re in a completely different country, where everything feels unfamiliar. Back home, I’m used to people being quite outgoing. You can start a conversation with someone at the gym, chat with strangers, or just randomly meet people and end up hanging out. So I thought I’d try going to the gym here to meet people, but everyone seems to keep to themselves. Which is totally fine, of course, but it made me realize that making friends here might be harder than I expected. I also wonder if being in Suwon makes things more difficult, since a lot of the international community and social events seem to be concentrated in Seoul. I’d really like to meet people to hang out with, grab some coffee, go hiking somewhere, play videogames, work on random projects, or just have a beer and talk about life. I don’t necessarily need to become best friends with everyone I meet, but I’d love to find people with whom I can build genuine friendships over time. I’m also interested in meeting Korean people of course, but my Korean is honestly terrible right now, so I imagine that might make things a little harder. I know I’ve only been here for a week, and I’m not expecting to build a whole social circle overnight. But moving to a new country has made me realize how much I took those little everyday interactions for granted back home. Sometimes you don’t even notice how important they are until they’re gone. So, for those of you living in Korea, especially foreigners who arrived without knowing many people: how did you meet your friends? Did you find it difficult at first? And for those living outside Seoul, do you feel like it’s harder to meet people? I’d also love to hear from Koreans who have experience making friends with foreigners! Thanks for reading :)

Salom, hammaga! Men Argentinadan kelgan 28 yoshli yigitman va Koreyaga taxminan bir hafta oldin keldim. Hozir men koreyalik qiz do‘stim bilan Suvonda yashayapman va bizning munosabatlarimiz zo‘r bo‘lsa-da, atrofimda boshqa odamlar bo‘lishini qanchalik sog‘inayotganimni endi tushuna boshladim. Noto‘g‘ri tushunmang, men u bilan vaqt o‘tkazishni juda yaxshi ko‘raman, lekin faqat sherigim bilan bo‘lishdan ko‘ra ko‘proq insoniy muloqotga muhtoj ekanimni his qilyapman. Ayniqsa, hamma narsa begona tuyuladigan butunlay boshqa mamlakatda bo‘lganingizda. Vatanimda odamlar ancha ochiqko‘ngil bo‘lishiga o‘rganib qolganman. Sport zalida kim bilandir suhbat boshlash, notanish odamlar bilan gaplashish yoki shunchaki tasodifan odamlar bilan uchrashib, oxir-oqibat birga vaqt o‘tkazish odatiy hol. Shuning uchun bu yerda ham odamlar bilan tanishish uchun sport zaliga borib ko‘ray dedim, lekin hamma o‘ziga berilib yuradigandek tuyuldi. Albatta, bunda hech qanday yomonlik yo‘q, lekin bu menga bu yerda do‘st topish o‘ylaganimdan ham qiyinroq bo‘lishi mumkinligini anglatdi. Shuningdek, Suvonda bo‘lish ishni qiyinlashtiradimi, deb o‘ylayman, chunki xalqaro hamjamiyat va ijtimoiy tadbirlarning ko‘pi Seulda jamlangandek ko‘rinadi. Men haqiqatan ham birga vaqt o‘tkazadigan, qahva ichadigan, bir joyga sayrga boradigan, videoo‘yinlar o‘ynaydigan, turli tasodifiy loyihalarda ishlaydigan yoki shunchaki bir piyola pivo ichib, hayot haqida suhbatlashadigan odamlar bilan tanishishni istayman. Men uchrashgan har bir inson bilan eng yaqin do‘st bo‘lishim shart emas, lekin vaqt o‘tishi bilan chin do‘stlik qurish mumkin bo‘lgan insonlarni topishni xohlayman. Albatta, koreyaliklar bilan ham tanishishni xohlayman, lekin rostini aytsam, hozir koreys tilim juda yomon, shuning uchun bu ishni biroz qiyinlashtirishi mumkin deb o‘ylayman. Bilaman, bu yerda faqat bir haftadan beri yuribman va bir kechada butun bir ijtimoiy doira yaratishni kutmayapman. Ammo yangi mamlakatga ko‘chib o‘tish, vatanimdagi o‘sha kichik kundalik muloqotlarni qanchalik tabiiy deb bilganimni anglatdi. Ba’zan ular yo‘qolmaguncha, qanchalik muhim ekanini ham sezmay qolasan. Shuning uchun, Koreyada yashaydiganlar, ayniqsa ko‘p odamni tanimasdan kelgan chet elliklar: do‘stlaringiz bilan qanday tanishgansiz? Avvaliga qiyin bo‘lganmi? Va Seuldan tashqarida yashaydiganlar, odamlar bilan tanishish qiyinroqdek tuyuladimi? Shuningdek, chet elliklar bilan do‘stlashish tajribasiga ega koreyaliklarning fikrlarini ham eshitishni xohlayman! O‘qiganingiz uchun rahmat :)