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Obstacles can challenge us and make us
stronger, as long as we’re willing to do what it takes to overcome
them.
The office, where we spend almost half of our day, has
become one of the easiest places to find love these days. But an office romance
is not without its challenges. Even though many companies in Korea do not
prohibit romance in the office, dating a colleague is still somewhat
taboo.
“There is a certain atmosphere that if colleagues
became lovers, one of them should quit their job or move to another department,”
said Park Ji-yoon, a former announcer at a TV show who tied the knot in 2009
with Choi Dong-suk, another announcer at the same broadcast
firm.
Yet, the stigma against office romance doesn’t seem to
stop employees from getting involved with each
other.
According to a 2013 survey by a matchmaking company
Dnoble, 37 percent of 200 workers polled said they are in a secret romance, 62
percent of whom are involved with someone in the
office.
Long-time office couples have provided tips for how
to keep an office romance
secret.
Act like a stranger to
each other in the office
Kim, a 32-year-old worker
in a small fashion company in Seoul, has been keeping a secret relationship with
his fellow worker Lee, 30, for two years.
According to Kim,
keeping a relationship a secret depends on controlling one’s emotions in the
office.
“People in the office think we’re not on good terms
because we only say a few words to each other,” Kim
said.
“But what they don’t know is we have been having
trysts in secluded areas in the office such as the employee lounge. We first
check there’s no one in the office.”
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The movie poster shows Lee Dong-hee, left, and Chang Young, the main characters of “Very Ordinary Couple.” The characters, played by actor Lee Min-ki and actress Kim Min-hee, were working at the same office for three years while keeping their relationship a secret. |
Make the most of your
business relationship
Kim says keeping one’s
relationship secret has another advantage. Since he and Lee appeared to have a
strictly professional relationship, their boss has allowed them to go on
overseas business trips together. Kim’s company imports clothing from Italy, and
its employees go on a business trip at least twice a
year.
“Because we do our jobs successfully during business
trips, no problem has arisen from our relationship. In addition, it is rather a
great opportunity for us to travel together without additional costs,” Kim
said.
The couple will get married this year. Needless to
say, everybody was surprised when they announced their relationship to their
co-workers.
Kim concluded the interview by saying, “In my
opinion, everything was possible because both of us have devoted ourselves to
our job as well as to our
relationship.”
Keep your
distance from the company
Choi Ji-woo, 28, an
office worker at the communication division of a local company, kept her
romantic relationship with her co-worker secret for 10 months from her other
colleagues.
“Discretion is our top priority in our
relationship,” she said.
When they are on a date, Choi and
her boyfriend don’t wear office attire that might remind of them being at
work.
She said she sometimes feels frustrated, like a
celebrity couple hiding from the paparazzi, but feels that keeping their
distance from the office is important for them to continue and enjoy their
relationship.
Maintaining discretion does have a silver
lining. “When we date, we agreed to choose a location at least 15 stations away
from the company. So we are likely to go suburbs, or even abroad,” she
added.
The couple has already traveled to five provinces in
Korea and flown to four other countries to go on a
date.
“Because of this secret relationship, I was able to do
more things than when I was in my previous relationship. I cannot wait to
discover other dating destinations and save money for our next
trip.”
Be cool once the
relationship is made public
Park Ki-hyeon, a
30-year-old worker at a local insurance company, began a relationship with Yoo,
a then 24-year-old new employee at the company. According to him, Yoo was
interested right from the beginning.
The couple took several
steps to keep their relationship secret. They didn’t use the company’s
intra-office messenger to avoid revealing their romance to the rest of the
office.
In addition, as a supervisor, Park had to be harsher
on Yoo than on other newcomers to avoid suspicion about the nature of their
relationship.
“That has been very tough. Every time we’re
out of the office, she cried complaining about my intentional strictness toward
her. I felt very sorry for her,” Park said.
However, their
office affair was revealed when an executive at the company found that Yoo’s
smartphone wallpaper was Park’s photo.
“I was reprimanded by
the executive, who said ‘you are neglecting your work by dating your
subordinate,’” he said.
Meanwhile, Yoo was also constantly
teased by senior female colleagues, who said, “It’s always the quiet
ones.”
The couple ignored such hostilities and pretended
that nothing happened. Over time, they overcame the difficulties of their
workplace romance.
“As time went by, people forgot about us
being in the relationship. Our romance was just more gossip for bored office
workers who spend more than 12 hours chained to their desks,” Yoo
said.
Matchmakers say that avoiding a supervisor-supervisee
relationship is the key to having a successful workplace romance, adding that
failed office romances often result in one person, willfully or not, leaving the
job. But Park and Yoo’s relationship show that a couple can stay cool when their
secret relationship is made public.
Questions
1. Have you ever had or seen any office romance?
2. What do you think the pros and cons are about office romance?
3. Which one do you prefer between office romance and outside-of-company romance?
4. If you fall in love with your coworker, would you rather go public with your relationship in company or not?
By Lee Kyung-min On a blind date, what women don’t want to hear a man say the most is “You should pay for coffee since I’m buying you dinner,” according to a survey Sunday. And what men didn’t like the most is women making comparisons saying, “Unlike you, my ex-boyfriend was like…” A match-making service company “Gayeon,” asked 311 single men and women “What are the things you don’t want to hear on a first date?” Some 33 percent of the female respondents said they don’t want to be forced what to do when they are already willing to pay. Some 30 percent of them said they don’t want men showing up without the day planned. One of the respondents said, ”It’s the first date. Women usually expect men to lead, don’t they?” Asking about the past and being too assertive was among the list of behaviors women disliked. As for men, some 29 percent of the surveyed said they don’t want to be compared with ex-boyfriends of the women they just met. Women saying “Everybody else did, or my ex did certain things for me…” was the last thing men wanted to hear, according to the survey. For men, being asked about the past was not a welcomed inquiry, either. Quetions about how many women had they been with, or “Who did you come here with before me?” in a carefully chosen restaurant brought down the will to keep spending time with the women, some of the men said. The attitude of taking it for granted about the fact that everything will be paid by the men annoyed them as well as the interrogation-like questions about the family background and job prospects. “Getting mad at every little detail a date does or says only worsens the mood. Being open and understanding is the key to having a lasting and happy relationship,” a company official from Gayeon said. Questions 1. Do you think some people know that they will fall in love with someone the first time they meet? 2. If you are a man, and a woman asks you for a date, do you feel you should pay, or that the woman should pay?3. What do you think most people talk about when dating? 4. Where would you like to go on a date? 5. Do you think it is right to continue seeing a person if he has not introduced you to his family yet? |
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첫댓글 Rachel 처음참석합니다:)
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