I MISS YOU between guys

Yesterday one of my good korean friend texted me in Kakaotalk. He said he's been missing me so bad. And after we were texting for a while, I said that I have to sleep because I have 7 o'clock class for the next day. Then he concluded with saying, "Love you, bye bye". Well some of you might think negatively when you see something like this. But for me it's rather a normal thing. Haha, no no, not that, dont get me wrong, I dont wanna say that I am gay, I want to say that in Korean society, expressing "I miss you" and "I love you" between guys doesnt mean that they're gay. Such an interesting culture difference that at first I also find a little bit creepy.

Then if it's not a problem then what does it mean when a guy say something like that to you ( if you're also a guy ). It means that you two are good friends and he really likes you ( not in the gay way ). In korean society, there's a thing called "정" Jeong or can be translated roughly as "love". But its not like the love we might perceive as affection between guy and girl. I dont know how this "jeong" thing originated and literally means, but what I heard from many korean I got the point of what jeong means in general. So, jeong is a kind of feeling of togetherness, brotherhood, affection, attachment, sharing, and caring. So, jeong is kind of hard to explain, because it's a complex feeling. Jeong is also tightly related with korean culture which shapes the character of the people in general. To make more sense I will give few example of jeong in korean society I've witnessed myself. First, korean shares their food. You might find that if you go out with your friends to eat, your friends would offer you their food. Sometimes, they will feed you ( menyuapi ) with their own hands. That happens between same sex too, so dont freak out if that happens to you, they just wanna express that they like you if that make sense. Second, saying "I miss you" or even "I love you" to the same sex. I'm not sure about this but saying "I love you" to the same sex is way easier than saying such thing to opposite sex, cause it could mean you wanna date her haha. Third, korean guys really like to do "skinships" when they feel comfortable around particular people. What I mean by skinships is like holding hands and other frienly body contacts. I experienced all these stuff myself, and kinda feel uncomfortable and even tried to resist it at first. But once I know how it's just part of the culture and the way they express their affection to people it's all fine.

In my opinion jeong culture has made korean culture and its society unique in its own way. Furthermore, how korean society is influenced by jeong also makes stronger bond and relationship between friends. I see korean society is a communal one, the people likes to be gathered in groups of people they comfortable with, not like the western one which embrace individuality. Maybe jeong could be one reason behind this too. So, if you ever visit korea in the future and would witness or experience something like these, dont freak out :). Cheers!