AleXa Felt Major Culture Shock When First Moving To Korea From The US, Here’s Why

AleXa achieved what some have only dreamed of: going from an American K-Pop fan to an actual K-Pop idol. On the move from the United States to South Korea, the idol opened up on the major cultural difference between the two countries.

AleXa chatted with YouTuber Megan Moon and shared more than her favorite K-Pop girl groups. She shared what shocked her the most when originally moving to Korea.

One part of the Korean language was tough for her to adapt to. AleXa said, “There’s something in Korea called formal speech, as opposed to informal speech.”

It was so shocking to AleXa because “we don’t have formal and informal speech in English.” Megan Moon agreed as AleXa noted how confusing it could be. It was tricky to add honorifics to Korean words for formal speech and change entire words to their formal version.

In fact, informal and formal speech goes deeper than just the language. To make sure it’s used properly, it’s common to ask a person’s age and automatically show respect to those who are older.

No wonder Megan Moon could relate as a fellow American who’s also moved to Korea. The major change that’s a combination of language and culture would take anyone some time to adapt to. See AleXa discuss her “biggest culture shock” in Korea here.