This one is often used also at the end or middle of sentences! It is just a smiley face but it is supposed to be like smiling eyes 😋

Hi! Hope you don't mind that I shared your response. I thought some people might have also felt like this so I wanted to explain that I described the way that bus and subway is in Korea according to the ideal cultural and social norms 🤩🚆 but reality doesn't always pan out that way. 

It is widely known and agreed that calling/talking loudly is not acceptable on the bus or train and people think it is not mannerful or following etiquette if you talk for a long period of time in person or on the phone! I'm sure you're right about your experience living in Seoul/Daejeon & that some people are talking but I'm just talking about the expected etiquette. (I guarantee you people are silently annoyed haha) Again, as I mentioned in the previous newsletter, this is not referring to small talk it is referring to full on long/loud conversations. 🤬

A lot of Korean cultural norms are based on something called 눈치 (noonchi) which is like social tact and knowing what others are thinking. So talking loudly on the phone or with people near you would be considered as having no 눈치 and people will definitely glare and be annoyed. As someone who is from Korea & lived here for 20+ years I would never just generalize Korea and Japan but I'm sorry you felt that way! 😥

Hope that makes sense & I'm sorry if I didn't clarify that this was just the expected etiquette and not always the reality of how things are ❤️😎