Skinship

"Konglish" is the use of English words in a Korean context. Any foreigner here in Korea has probably heard their fare share of re-interpreted words and expressions.  A new one I heard last week was a colleague telling me she was going "eye shopping". I couldn't help but laugh out loud when it finally dawned on me that she meant "window shopping" as opposed to going out on the hunt for a glass eye.

Expressions like these are all the rage over here, and despite making it at times difficult for English teachers, some of them are frankly quite catchy. One of my new faves is "skinship" and I'll be bringing this one back home with me for sure. It essentially means a relationship that focuses on the exploration of another's skin ( I bet you can see where this is headed).  It's origin comes from the closeness shared between mother and child. Nowadays in Korea, it basically means many forms of intimacy and  sexual contact.

"Skinship" is the new term for casual sex. A non-relationship, based purely on skintimacy. If you're trying to define your "relationship" to a Korean friend, and you use the term casual sex- you'll receive a blank stare, raised eyebrows and utter confusion in return. However, if one uses the "correct" phrase, "skinship"-- you're bound to get a sly smile and head nod instead.

Despite, the idea that most people in this World are looking for a real relationship connection, here in Korea, whether you're an ex-pat or a Korean, skinships appears to be taking hold of the community. Everyone, it seems, is looking for just a little skintimacy.

I wonder if it's because as ex-pats we're moving in and moving out of the country. Really- who has time and energy to devote to establishing a real relationship within a limited amount of time? Maybe it's just easier to share in some skinship and get out. Or, is it that relationships for the younger generation are just evolving... or devolving-- however you wish to see it.  Both (the younger) men and women seem to be searching for skinships rather than relationships. Have we gone back to the 60's era of free love and sex? Are committed relationships a thing of the past?

Whatever the case may be- if we're only here for a short while, why not have a little fun while we're at it? Having a little skinship never hurt anybody, and let me tell you it could just be the end-all cure for culture shock, as long as you're both on the same skintimacy page.