This was an interesting question that came up the other day. While this is not a question that I hear often, it is a question that has come up in the past. The feeling is that to Korean women, money means more than love. The main way you can impress a Korean women is to buy her expensive things and to let her know that money is no object. But is this a true statement? Let’s first look at where this question comes from.
Perception
Depending on you, the perception that Korean women are materialistic could come from the following places:
Korean men who complain about Korean women
Other Asian men who complain about Korean women
Non Asian men who complain about Korean women
Being around materialistic Korean women
Media showing Korean women being more impressed with money than anything else
The Model Minority theory
Being around wealthy Koreans, or those pretending to be wealthy
Korean dramas where a hansom, wealthy guy is everyone female character’s desire
Reality
Are there Korean women who care a lot about material things? Yes. I’ve known Korean women who admitted that they fell in love with their husband once he bought them something expensive or took them to an expensive restaurant. I’ve been in areas where the most basic car I saw was a used BMW. I’ve had friends that lived in areas where a BMW or Mercedes was viewed as a base model car, and that you had to get something more expensive to get not be looked down upon. I knew one Korean woman who was happy that her friend left her husband because he wasn’t making enough money for her lifestyle. And I’ve heard in some areas, if you have to ask how much something cost instead of just pulling out your credit card, you don’t belong there and women will leave you alone.. The truth is that there are some Korean women who are easily impressed with material things. But this does not mean that all Korean women are this way.
Just like women in other ethnic groups, most Korean women care more about how they will be treated than what you can buy them. The truth is, many Korean women are educated, so they can get a job and buy their own things. So just because you can buy a Korean women something expensive, it doesn’t mean that she will love you and want to be your friend or wife.
At the end of the day, Korean women are women. There are good and bad women in every group. So one should not judge a woman by what they have seen in the past. You could be missing out on a great friend or great wife by assuming that all the women of a particular ethnic group are the same. But what are your thoughts? Do you feel that most Korean women are materialistic? If you are Korean, what do you feel about the materialistic label being given to Korean women? Let me know in the comments down below.
The Waygookin Way 
I read your blog by chance after an year.. .nice.write up
.since you have asked for feed back I am writing to give my feed back. this is very delayed response .
..I was once an watcher of south korean tv serials three years since 2002( thankfully i did not waste too much of time as I used to watch only selective serials and intermittently ).By the way I used to see japanese shows as well.
Using the prefix *south korean *women everywhere because I saw only south korean tv serials .
..south korean or hallyu wave as they called it was there at the peak that time and south korean Tv shows of that period were all well written with new themes and very great actors (both male and female) .I thoroughly enjoyed watching them .,but dont watch them anymore.The reason being i was disappointed with the reel being different from real.
.Let me explain how it was that time in south korean tv shows and how i was disappointed later upon knowing that the reality of modern south korean women was very different through the articles that i read and various comments on the net .
You may say that feed backs based on some expereinces might not be ultimate ..But as they say there is no smoke without fire.
After reading that .
.I ultimately decided enough of seeing exaggerations and imaginations on tv and quit seeing south koran tv serials totally.
….well! In those tv shows many of the heroines were all loving/ understanding/ caring /compassionate /innocent hardworking and from ordinary backgrounds etc
.And male heros were many a times foreign educated and returned / holding top positions in companies and quite well off and yet the hero had to struggle a lot to win over the heroines
.Heroines did not perhaps see the money or social status of the hero as the main attraction .
Based on that I had thought that most south korean women would be like that and that they would choose men based on character and qualities and material aspect was secondary only .
.I admired those tv show and those women characters .I wanted to know more about the real women of south korea.
i started to slowly try to know about south korean women out of curiosity based on tv shows.
.However the more i read the more I started to understand that as per feed backs perhaps it seems
1. that many of the modern south korean women were very much self obsessed with beauty /colour/ skin and cosmetic surgery etc.They want the perfect look as perceived by them and they spend a lot and even make fun of their own gender or those women who look average .
2.It seems that they are eager to reach the top some times even by hook or crook /
3.And they dont seem to respect elders like mother in law or care for the aged people at home and many are left with none to care.and in poverty .
4.the love that they seem to show to their husbands/ boy friends etc seems to be based on material gifts and possessions.
5.They dont seem to mind switching over boy friends or at times even husbands if they find the fellow more richer.They even seem to initiate divorce.
6.Because the south korean women(including those who themselves are from ordinary financial back grounds or lower middle class) dont wish to marry men who earn less these men are forced to look for brides from other countries like vietnam /philipines etc..
That The women seems to have become much much more materialistic than their earlier generations and seems to have pushed back the feminine qualities of soft nature (gentleness )compassion and unconditional love etc etc etc .,
Also i realised after reading those views opinions comments and feed backs that that south korean women have become too much westernised much more than they should have been .. .
I personally think the women have the important responsibility of being cultural torch bearer of any culture .Many of the modern south korean women it seems that they have forgotten their own culture or dont seem to care about their traditions much .
.I was very disappointed with this feed backs and views stopped following their tv serials and south korea on the whole ..
All i want to say is while searching to know about south korea especially their women i found that many people all over the world seem to feel that many women of south korea of today are really after money and these women do prefer materialism to human emotions.
This perception might be right or wrong but that is how many seems to perceived them .
So if they really wish to change the perception it is upto them And if they dont want to change the perception then like earlier said as everyone knows they have their right to lead the life they want within the legal frame work of their country.. .
Sorry If this is too long or my english is grammatically wrong.
am not writing this to hurt south korean women or disgrace them by any means …They are absolutely gorgeous /amazing /wonderful and they have right to lead their lives the way they wish with in the legal frame work of their country … No one has the right to comment on that.
But just that was personally disappointed with them seems to be changing perhaps so drastically within short time.. apologise sincerely if it hurts anyone.
Sincere and Best wishes to south korean women …No offence by any means meant to anyone .
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