Well, honestly, not just in Jeonju but in Korea as a whole. However, while Hanieh and I were on the bus on our way to Jeonju, we saw this adorable couple. As you can see, they were riding the scooter while wearing matching trousers. I couldn’t resist taking a picture….
As a quick explanation to those of you who are perhaps not too familiar with Korean couple culture, in Korea many couples like to display their ‘coupleness’ by wearing matching items of clothing or in some cases, complete matching outfits. These items can be anything from shirts, trousers, socks or shoes to bags or hats.
When I try to explain Korean couple culture to my Western friends, they generally can’t imagine what I’m talking about. “But…why? Why would you want to wear the same clothes as your boyfriend?” exclaim my friends (male and female alike). To most of them, wearing matching clothes or accessories (or heaven forbid, both!) screams of childishness and clinginess. For me, it still brings back slightly traumatising memories of my sister and I being dressed in matching outfits as kids.
Despite this, I have to come to accept it and almost welcome couple culture. I think it’s kind of cute – don’t get me wrong, at risk of being ridiculed mercilessly by my friends I would never wear it in the UK but when I’m in Korea…well, I’m open to the idea.
