In Korea, men in their 20s, especially those with girlfriends and waiting to complete their less-than-two years of conscription, have one thing in common. They are afraid to hear that their girlfriend has, as the saying goes, "worn rubber shoes the other way around," an idiomatic expression to describe a woman dumping her boyfriend while he completes his military conscription. The nearly two years of military service has long been regarded in Korea as a huge barrier among young couples. At the same time, it can also be an important opportunity to check the depth of love they have for each other.

There is a young British woman who sympathizes with her Korean counterparts who are also waiting for their boyfriends currently in the military. This is Ali Abbot, an 18-year-old from London. One of her greatest New Year's wishes is that her boyfriend gets discharged in 2015 without any trouble.


Abbot has gotten fairly popular online since she uploaded a few videos where she expressed her love for her boyfriend, Kim Jae-jeong. Currently, as many as 15,000 fans are following her on YouTube where she tries to speak Korean as clearly as possible. Kim himself is now the envy of a lot of men.

According to the January 2 edition of the JoongAng Ilbo, a Seoul-based daily, Abbot met Kim about two years ago in an online pen pal community, where she started to develop an interest in things Korean. She came to know Korea after listening to a song by Beast, a pop group, and began watching Korean films and TV shows. She had a lot of pen pals, but it turned out that she was particularly attracted to Kim's messages. After many exchanges of letters and messages, they fell in love.


About six months later, in August 2013, Kim flew 9,000 kilometers to London to meet Abbot. The couple spent two weeks together in London. After Kim returned to Korea, they continued to talk via video chats every day. A few months later, in October 2013, Kim began his conscription and Abbot is still waiting for the day she can meet him again.


Abbot has produced many videos about their love story. Now, she is broadening the range of her videos. She has begun reenacting a variety of scenes from modern Korean life, recording herself eating spicy instant noodles, speaking the local dialect of a certain region and cheering on university students on their entrance exam day. For her, it has become an opportunity to make more friends and to learn more about her boyfriend's country.

Waiting for the day Kim will be discharged, she said she will continue to make more videos and continue to learn even more about Korea.

By Lee Seung-ah
Korea.net Staff Writer
slee27@korea.kr