Watching 'Friends' in 2025 Korea: A Look at Love and Friendship Through a Different Lens

 

Watching 'Friends' in 2025 Korea: A Look at Love and Friendship Through a Different Lens

There's a unique kind of time travel involved in watching 'Friends' in 2025. The fashion, the laugh track, the sheer absence of smartphones—it's a potent dose of 90s nostalgia. But for a Korean viewer like myself, the most fascinating—and sometimes jarring—aspect isn't the technology, but the very fabric of their relationships. Their style of friendship and romance, once seen as a universal ideal, now feels like a fascinating cultural artifact when viewed against the backdrop of modern Korean values.

The "Found Family": An Ideal vs. The Reality of Jeong

The core premise of 'Friends' is the "found family"—a group of people who are each other's primary emotional support system. They live in each other's pockets, walk into apartments unannounced, and are involved in every minute detail of one another's lives. This intense bond is the show's greatest strength.

In Korea, we have a similar, yet distinct, concept called jeong (정). It’s a deep, almost untranslatable notion of connection, loyalty, and affection that builds over time. We cherish our friends deeply. However, the 'Friends' model of near-zero personal boundaries feels like a step too far. In the fast-paced, individualistic society of 2025 Seoul, barging into a friend's home without calling first is almost unthinkable. Our friendships are meticulously coordinated via KakaoTalk, and personal space—both physical and emotional—is highly valued. The 'Friends' gang's co-dependent dynamic, while heartwarming, strikes a modern Korean as both charmingly idealistic and slightly suffocating.

Dating Drama: From "We Were on a Break!" to the Age of Some

The legendary, tumultuous relationship between Ross and Rachel is the romantic anchor of the show. Their on-again, off-again saga, fueled by miscommunication and grand gestures, defined relationship goals for a generation. But in 2025 Korea, their dynamic feels... exhausting.

Modern Korean romance is often defined by the subtle, ambiguous stage known as some (썸). It’s the delicate "something" that exists between friendship and a committed relationship, a phase of texting, meeting for coffee, and gauging mutual interest without clear labels. It's a stark contrast to Ross and Rachel's high-drama declarations and public breakups.

Furthermore, the show's ultimate goal seems to be pairing everyone off. In today's Korea, where choosing to remain single (bihon / 비혼) is an increasingly respected life choice, the pressure to find "The One" feels somewhat dated. The casual dating style of characters like Joey, where every new partner is immediately introduced to the core group, also clashes with our norms. You typically don't introduce a partner to your closest friends unless the relationship is serious (jinjihan mannam / 진지한 만남).

A Verdict from 2025

So, does 'Friends' hold up? As a comedy, absolutely. The witty banter and situational humor are timeless. But as a reflection of relatable relationships, it's a time capsule. It portrays a specific, Western-centric ideal of love and friendship from a pre-digital era.

Watching 'Friends' today is a reminder of how much our social values have evolved. We still crave deep connections, but the way we build and maintain them has changed. The show offers a beautiful, nostalgic escape, but it also makes me appreciate the nuanced, bounded, and uniquely Korean way we navigate our own friendships and romances in 2025. It’s a classic for a reason, but it's best viewed as a portrait of a time gone by, not a blueprint for today.