Blush Alert - Koreans and Women's Issues

While I have been in South Korean, I have had the fun experience of learning how they view that topic - menstrual cycles.  It is an aspect of their culture that is rather surprising and would make many white women jealous.  Now that you know what this subject is, this is your last chance to move on.

Still reading?  Alright, you made that choice.

We hold conversation classes in both the boys dorm and girls dorm.  I much prefer the girls dorm since the danger of walking in on exposed bodies is much less reduced.  One topic recommended to me by a professor at Daegu University was what it was like for females during their monthly cycles.  I was shocked that he would suggest it but it made sense.  He explained that many Korean females experience no pain in their entire lives during their periods.

Thankfully, I didn't have to bring it up.  My freshmen did for me.  The first thing we had to clear up for one of the girls was that yes, people in other countries have periods.  She was surprised that females around the world did.  The rest of us were surprised that she had assumed they didn't.

Then came the big question.  Does it hurt?  Turns out that for almost all the girls at this school, it is simply uncomfortable.  There are one or two that might experience cramps, but usually they only deal with backaches and other uncomfortable symptoms.  I then shared the common idea that in America, everyone usually has that one female friend who is sick one or two days a month and unable to come to school... as well as some other details that are unneeded here.

The reason for periods, uncomfortableness, pain, and such differs by country too.  We are taught one thing in America, but my girls were taught that something in the environment affects them.  Something they could only translate as a male hormone... but with the environment and not with the male humans.  Whatever this influence is, it can make the periods worse if there is a lot of it.  It was hard to follow.

Anyrate, if you haven't gotten a nosebleed from embarrassment yet, you can sigh in relief.  Topic over.  If you have passed out, I hope that you didn't hit your head on the way down.