Dong Ship...or something like that

Korea has the strangest ways of expressing their sentiments. They are such a rigid culture they don't believe in living together before marriage, women living on their own, and don't ever admit you are gay, should you be. Yet amongst all their 1950's beliefs they behave in the strangest manners. The boys in class are always rubbing each other's shoulders, holding hands and other peculiar behaviour for teenage boys. You will see drunken man stumbling down the street at night with their hands in each other's pockets, leaning on each other, hugging, whatever...one of the weirder expressions that I have noticed lately and we talked about it a lot this weekend as well, is the act of "dong ship," which is when you really like someone you express this by poking them in the butt. Yes, the butt. I have one class where I have to practically stand against the wall in fear of being prodded by my students. You will be walking through the grocery store and see kids just poking their parents constantly. And they do it all while smiling and laughing because it is a sign of affection. So bizarre...