American YouTubers share a story of why Korean elderly randomly gave them money
Source: MBN TV via Nate
An American YouTuber couple 'Chris and Sara' shared an experience where an elderly couple came up to them and gave them 10,000 won seemingly randomly, making them wonder if they had looked like street beggars. They later explained that they had learned that it is common for Korean elderly to give sweets or money to children they see on the streets, and that it was likely because they were carrying their dog around in a backpack that the elderly couple found cute.
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1. [+671, -25] Korean elderly do enjoy giving allowance money to any cute child or pet they see on the street. I'm glad that their misunderstanding was resolved.
2. [+540, -9] I remember when my niece was a baby, I'd take her to the market and grandmothers would flock to us with bits of allowance money to put in her hand.. It's just the 'jung' of our society.
3. [+404, -6] I remember when my son was young and he'd walk around the streets saying hi to people or babbling on his own, grandmothers would say he's so cute and put 1,000 or 5,000 won in his hand. Even when I would tell them it's okay, they would tell him to go buy some candy with it while actually saying they were sorry that they couldn't give more. They would give me positive words of parting, telling me that my child is so precious and that they hope he grows up healthy and strong.
4. [+27, -1] I've lived in many countries and currently live in the US. In the US, when someone gives you money, they do it in response to a service they may have received because they have a 'tip culture' here. I'm sure the American couple wondered what they had done when given money in this situation and wondered if they looked like beggars or something. Koreans have a culture where they will give small bits of allowance money to any child they see without any strings attached, and I've never seen this in any culture except our own.
5. [+23, -2] I had a grandfather come up to me when I was playing with my kid at our playground and he gave me a few bucks telling me to buy him something yummy. He was obviously a stranger so I was a bit taken aback at first but I thanked him and accepted it. I hope that I can remember his face and offer him a pack of soybean milk the next time I see him but I feel sorry now that I wasn't able to greet him properly the first time ㅠ
6. [+22, -1] And that is what we call the 'jung' of our country... I'm glad they were able to understand in the end~~
7. [+13, -0] The article doesn't mention that they have a really cute dog in their backpack that they carry around like a baby
8. [+7, -1] ㅠㅠ My baby knows all the grandmas at our local market because they always give her 1,000 won for being so cute and precious.. (they force the money on her so I try to buy their market goods back).. it's all just 'jung' ㅎㅎㅎ I miss my own grandma now
9. [+7, -1] I know our elderly do it with pure intentions but I can now see why foreigners might not understand why they're being given money...
10. [+7, -1] Korean elderly love it when they see a cute dog and put some money in its mouth to hand back to its owner
11. [+3, -1] Koreans are the country with the most 'jung' in the world! Try and translate 'jung' or 'hateful jung' or 'pure jung', it's impossible ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
12. [+2, -0] The elderly obviously didn't mean for the dog to eat the money but for its owners to use it to buy it something yummy to eat ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
13. [+2, -1] Koreans sure do have a lot of 'jung'
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