House Warming Korean Style

My coteachers and I have a really awesome relationship.  Every Wednesday and Friday when we are all at the school we sit in the English classroom and talk about hilarious topics while drinking coffee and eating yummy treats.  One of such topics was the ritual of gift-giving when a couple moves into a new house.  In the Western world we call these gifts 'house warming gifts.'  This topic came up because I informed my coteachers about a dinner that I had been invited to by my neighbor lady.  I wondered what would be an appropriate gift to bring to thank her for inviting me for dinner.  I told her I was thinking about bringing a bottle of wine because this would be an appropriate gift in the U.S.  She said this would be fine and then we somehow moved from this to gifts you give when someone invites you to their house warming party.

Apparently in Korea the most common house warming gifts that are given are two things: toilet paper and laundry detergent.  The first time I heard this I laughed out loud for a long time.  My coteachers must have thought that something was wrong with me because I was just imagining what people in the U.S. would think if they received toilet paper or laundry detergent as a gift.  If this happened to me I would probably be thinking, "Oh, no.  Did Mrs. Johnson notice the skid marks in my underwear that were on the floor the last time she was here and figured I was out of tp?"  Or, "Harriet must have seen the huge pile of dirty clothes in the laundry room and thought I was out of detergent."  If someone gave a big package of toilet paper as a gift they would definitely be begging for their house to get toilet papered.  Here in Korea there is actually a brand of toilet paper that, when translated, literally means 'house warming.'

When asked the significance behind the gifts my coteachers informed me of the common interpretation.  When one gives TP as a gift they do not necessarily need to worry about the number of rolls in the pack (apparently 6-8 is a good amount).  What is more important is the length of paper on each roll.  This is because the act of pulling the paper off the roll is a metaphor for acquiring wealth.  The more paper you pull off the roll, the more money you are receiving.  This is the same with laundry detergent except the bubbles the soap makes are a symbol of wealth.  The more bubbles, the more money.  Don't ask me how you know which detergent makes the most bubbles.

So here goes my not-so-insightful interpretation.  The two obvious factors in giving toilet paper and laundry detergent as gifts are hygiene and money.  Hygiene because it is literally what these two products are used for and money because of, I already explained why, dammit.  My guess is that this custom stems from the Korean War when money was scarce and people could hardly afford even the basic necessities of life.  When the Koreans began to rebuild their country and economy and people started to earn money, toilet paper and laundry detergent were luxuries that some people could begin to afford.  They were really practical gifts that the receiver could use and it was a way for the giver to share his/her wealth with the receiver.  In many cases the receivers were probably young couples who had just moved into their first house together and did not have much money to purchase non-essential items.  I'm going to keep analyzing this and interrogating my coteachers and see what else I can come up with.

 It's not a stretch to say that Koreans are obsessed with money.  In one of my teacher-classes I had asked my coworkers to discuss dating rituals in Korea.  Two out of three of the women in the class said that they had rejected men because they were 'poor farm boys.'  They described their homeless type garb and that they just couldn't date someone like that.  One woman even admitted that after 'communication,' 'money' is the most important aspect of a relationship.  Koreans are obsessed with having the latest gadgets and many dress to a T at all times.  Designer clothing and accessories are a must if you are to give a good impression, and a good impression is everything.  Does this obsession with money stem from the rebuilding of Korea after the Korean War?

After much analysis I came to this conclusion:  Koreans need lots of toilet paper and laundry detergent for one reason and one reason only.  Because Korean women buy underwear and bras to match their man's underwear, they need to be able to wipe their asses really well and wash their undergarments often so they don't stain them.  If one party ends up staining his/her underwear both parties will have to buy a whole new set of undergarments so they can still match (this is very important).  If they continuously had to buy whole new sets of matching underwear (which are not cheap may I add) then they would not have as much money to buy things that other people will be able to see, like designer clothes and electronics, that will positively influence their status in society. 

Wow, my brilliance amazes me a little more each day.