By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
Harry and Sally may have ended up ``recognizing their love for each other,'' but youngsters in Korea think they can be just friends forever.
According to a survey conducted by Web site CampusMon, 67 percent of 1,823 male and female university students with dating experience said it was possible for man and a woman to be just friends. More women (71 percent) were inclined to believe in this friendly relationship than men (58 percent).
``Of course we can be friends. I can name more than five right now,'' Shim Ja-young, a 25-year-old college senior, said. ``In fact, they have different attractions from girl friends. I don't really have to care about too much courtesy or what I am speaking about when I am with the boys,'' she said adding that she sometimes feel more comfortable hanging out with boys than girls.
``I think there's a 50-50 chance that a man and a woman can maintain a pure friendship,'' male student Chung Sang-gyo, also a university senior, said.
``However, there is of course the chance of romantic feelings growing in opposite sex relationships, and more chances that the relationship may break up once those feelings surface,'' he added.
Though respondents in the survey showed that a new style in male-females relationships is emerging here, they still spared room for traditional and conventional ideas.
About 56 percent said they would never date or have a crush on an ex-lover of one of their friends of the opposite sex. Some 20 percent, however, said the past was the past and that if they had feelings for such a person they would not be held back.
Some respondents agreed that getting along with a boyfriend or girlfriend of their opposite sex friends could be tough. Only 59 percent, lower than those who accepted opposite sex friends, said they could get along with their friends' dates.
``It is true you feel reluctant to call him late in the evening or ask him to go to the movies or have some drinks once he gets a girlfriend,'' Shim said. ``It give you new stress ― to be friends with your platonic boy friend's girlfriend is a challenge,'' she added.