Japan or Korea? which country is better to live in as a foreigner

Comments · 5.8K

• TA

  @takashiifromjapan · 8 months ago · pinned

  Let’s start learning Japanese 🇯🇵<br>→<a href="https://takashii.shop/">https://takashii.shop/</a>

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• CH

  @chsyrp2437 · 1 year ago

  I&apos;m Japanese, but I like Korea, so I really can&apos;t stand videos that stir up unnecessary nationalism by comparing the two countries. Japan, China, and Korea shouldn&apos;t be pitted against each other like this. Too many YouTubers exploit it for views, and it&apos;s just exhausting.

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• BR

  @BrianHSC · 1 year ago (edited)

  I know many Americans who lived in Japan and Korea. &nbsp;Big difference is that none of them have Japanese friends. &nbsp;I mean true friends, not just acquaintances. &nbsp;But they have Korean friends they keep in touch with. &nbsp;Japanese are polite on the outside but very difficult to get close to. &nbsp;Koreans are very direct but open.<br><br>EDIT: I see a lot of replies saying this isn&apos;t their case. &nbsp;Of course there always are exceptions. &nbsp;But in &apos;general&apos;, it is true Japanese as a young age are taught not to express their feelings. &nbsp;There&apos;s even a term for it. &nbsp;Honne and tatemae. &nbsp;If you get past that, then yes, you can make Japanese friends. &nbsp;But getting past that in the first place is what makes it more difficult than other cultures.<br>Also depends on your preference. &nbsp;If you prefer people being nice to you on the outside and don&apos;t care what they really think, you&apos;d love Japan.

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• DA

  @darkanghell666 · 1 year ago

  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDGgIawaSl0&amp;t=415">6:55</a> that&apos;s bizarre, it&apos;s completely the opposite from my personal experience. Everyone in Korea knew a little english to help me out, whereas in Japan, 99% didn&apos;t speak any english whatsoever.

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• B8

  @B823_cy · 1 year ago

  My British husband has travelled to both cities multiple times for business, though he has never lived in either. From his experience, he found Koreans are easier to communicate with in a business setting. They tend to speak better English and are more straightforward when expressing their needs or pointing out errors. In contrast, while his Japanese business partners were always very nice/polite, he often found it difficult to gauge their true thoughts at the end. Of course, doing business is quite different from living in a country, but I find it fascinating how communication styles shape different interactions between 2 countries.

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• MO

  @MoGaKuRi · 1 year ago

  어느 나라나 장단점이 있기 마련이지요.<br>결국 본인의 성격에 따라 한국이 더 좋을수도, 일본이 더 좋을수도 있습니다.<br>꼭 한국이나 일본이 아니더라도 어느곳에서 살던 항상 행복하길 빌겠습니다.

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• YY

  @Yy3cc · 1 year ago (edited)

  I&apos;ll preface by saying this is simply my personal experience. I lived in both places - Japan first, then Korea. 2 Years more in Japan than in Korea. As a non-Asian, I liked Korea more. For me, I found Japan to have a facade that was hard to break, even after I learned a decent amount of Japanese. The people are polite, nice, and friendly in both countries. Both countries are clean, safe and easy to get around. And both countries have amazing sights and food. <br><br>But Korea just has this... upfront honesty that doesn&apos;t make you feel as if you&apos;re doing something wrong or walking on eggshells. Japan, even within the major cities has this.... &quot;we&apos;re us and you&apos;ll never be truly accepted&quot; kind of attitude. Yes, that is something to be expected as a foreigner in any country but Koreans embraced me as a true member of their community, and has a direct politeness that&apos;s simply refreshing. <br><br>It has been a few years, I&apos;ve moved back home around 2018. But, I miss both countries, and Korea especially. Good to see its people, culture, and nation as a whole getting way more exposure these years. Cheers!

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• MA

  @mashc7157 · 1 year ago

  totally agree koreans understand more english, it was harder in Japan

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• MU

  @Mundanesoup4 · 1 year ago

  I&apos;ve gotten drunk and passed out on a bench in Korea before. Someone could have easily taken my watch and phone but I woke up with all my stuff. Someone even left me a bottle of water lol

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• 41

  @411faithhopelove · 1 year ago (edited)

  Lots of people saying Korea is for extroverts, but I am an introvert and I prefer Korea. I have lived 10years in Korea and 10 years in Japan. I am of Korean and Japanese ancestry (US citizenship) and speak both languages fluently. Yes, I like to be left alone, but in Japan, it was unbearably isolating to do that. I was forced to become somewhat extroverted in Japan so that I wouldn&apos;t go crazy. In Korea, people bother you enough so that you are able to decline and be like, &quot;nah, I&apos;ll stay home tonight&quot; but always have someone checking up on you so you&apos;re not isolated. I also prefer Korean food (Japanese food was very heavy/greasy and the healthier/traditional options basically all had the same taste and the vegetable options were very minimal when eating out.) There are lots more options for entertainment and ways to have fun without breaking the bank in Korea. In Japan, anything you did was extremely expensive. Costs overall are cheaper in Korea and you can find ways to cut costs. Also, I found Japanese to be in general nationalistic and although subtle, 99% of the people blatantly &quot;othered&quot; non-Japanese people. It didn&apos;t matter if my father was Japanese, I was &quot;foreign&quot; and thus not one of them. Every time I met a new person in Japan, they would say things like, &quot;I bet you eat bread and potatoes everyday&quot; &quot;Can you use chopsticks?&quot; etc. It was annoying to be stereotyped as if I were a white person from Kansas. I have always felt &quot;accepted&quot; by Koreans. They are curious about my birthplace, but they treat me like a distant cousin, which was refreshing.

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• YO

  @youngblood3907 · 1 year ago (edited)

  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDGgIawaSl0&amp;t=412">06:52</a>......I couldn&apos;t disagree with her more. <br>I&apos;ve traveled abroad a lot. <br>Japan is one of those countries where English is not really spoken.<br>Korea, on the other hand, I was surprised to find quite a few people, especially young people, who are very good at English. (I lived in Japan for 1 year and Korea for 3 years)<br>Also, Koreans have better pronunciation than I thought. <br>It&apos;s amazing that she has such opposite ideas after living in both countries for so long. <br>Objectively speaking, there are a lot more English speakers in Korea than in Japan.

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• JO

  @joonlee3663 · 1 year ago

  This question should also be asked the same to foreigners living in Korea

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