Raised by a Korean family in Brazil, we have had our share of surprises and letdowns when visiting Korea. Of course, every society has its own norms, and adjusting to a different way of life is one thing. Building personal relationships, however, means navigating a whole new set of social dynamics and expectations, which we are still learning to do. Recently, we’ve come across several Instagram Reels and YouTube videos discussing the difficulties of building close friendships with Koreans, with many creators saying they only have a small number of close Korean friends. Discussions on Reddit suggest that developing a genuine friendship can take a year or even longer. Across these conversations, one theme comes up repeatedly: Building meaningful relationships takes time, patience and consistency. Living in Korea, we have also come to realize that Korean society is very high-context. There are many unspoken social rules and nuances that Koreans absorb from an early age, often through experience rather than explicit instruction. For us, this realization has been particularly interesting