Youngmin and I discussed different sayings in Korean and English and it was really interesting to see the similarities and differences in sayings that shared common meaning. It was very interesting to learn about the culture of lending and borrowing money in Korea. I was really surprised by one saying she told me, which roughly translates to "if you have good enough words you don't need to pay your debts." I couldn't figure out what that meant at first because there is no english version of that saying, but in Korea it is apparently common for people to lend money to their family and friends, and then if they say the right things, like for example "I will always be there for your family," then apparently there is cultural pressure for the lender to forgive their debts. This apparently happens to the point that many people go bankrupt from lending money and then having to forgive the debt.
I talked to my girlfriend about it and she said that from her perspective its not that people are pressured into forgiving debt, its that when people lend their friends and family money they do that prepared to not get the money back. She said this was because Koreans are just good people, but I think she might be a little biased.
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