Cultural Differences: USA and Korea, Part 1

This is for Luigia. I promised to describe some of the cultural differences between the USA and Korea. (The pictures have nothing to do with the topic.) So far this is what I've experienced...

I have a great view from my studio and sometimes it rewards me (like the above traditional dancers). Mostly it's just annoying to hear a loud game announcer for an 8am soccer game on Saturdays.

I reward my students with stickers.

I really like the eye stickers because they're interactive.

1. Shoes. (I love shoes, I couldn't help noticing this first.) I immediately noticed all the ladies wearing sandals or heels of some sort in the airport. The few chicas I've seen wearing sneaks were young girls or women about to go hiking. All the ladies have small feet. My size 7.5-8.5 is the largest shoe size.
2. "Excuse me." When do I say it? After a burp, fart, to get around someone in the way? My aunt told me that you say nothing. Just move on (or past). I think there are a couple of phrases you can use to get past someone or get someone's attention, but I've haven't heard them used in public venues.  
3. Even though Koreans stand in line for many things, the subway, hiking trails, etc; they are also infamous for cutting the line with no guilt whatsoever. LOL they're true ballers.  
4. You have to buy specific trash bags for regular trash and food trash (not all food goes in the food trash bag, only what is edible to an animal). Each neighborhood has different prices for the trash bags, which are based on the amount of trash that area produces. Basically, you pay according to how much trash you create. Then you have to sort your trash. I like this. Maybe the US should adopt this method. I read on the Internet that this innovative policy cut 40% of waste in comparison to the pre-policy waste collection (don't quote that statistic though).
5. To get hot water, you have to turn on/off the heat on the hot water heater. This is a great energy saver and probably increases the longevity of the heater.
6. Most Koreans do not have a clothes dryer. Clothes lines and drying racks are the norm. Some people don’t even have a washer. I have a washer/dryer combo, but I rarely use the dryer.
7. All guns are illegal in Korea, unless you’re police or military. So there is less violent crime.
8. No tipping...really! The service overall is wonderful. You get a grumpy or lazy person now and again, but it’s rare. In fact, I’ve heard some business owners take it offensively if you try to tip their workers; they think you believe they don’t pay their workers enough. 
9. No taxes need to be calculated because it's included in the advertised price. You don’t have to add anything or worry about it. However, you can get discounted prices with many merchants when you use cash (this is true in the US too, but only with gas stations). I payed 310,000 Won instead of 340,000 Won for my yoga classes because I payed in cash.
10. Clean subway! I’ve seen ladies not only mopping the subway as we ride, but they actually clean the walls of the subway stations too. And there are clean public restrooms at some of the bigger stations.
11. No need to buy gym membership here (except maybe during the winter) because almost every park has basic mechanical gym equipment. Hiking is a national pastime in Korea. Everyone does it: kids, families, couples, grandpa and grandma, etc.
12. Metric system.
13. It's perfectly acceptable and normal to see a 6 or 7 year old with dyed or permed hair. No, they are not child stars or beauty pageant princesses. Many Koreans' are super obsessed with physical appearance, especially skincare. I thought I was overly concerned with my skin, but I regularly see older ladies walking around with umbrellas and with no rain in the forecast. They want to protect their skin from the sun. Some ladies wear really unattractive, long visors. People of all ages and sexes get plastic surgery because Korea has very cheap plastic surgery.



They copied me one day and put them on their faces and eyeglasses. I love the silliness ;)

14. Traffic rules are considered only suggestions by cars most of the time. Almost every taxi cab I've been a passenger in has run a red light. Mopeds and similar vehicles never follow traffic rules, they ride on the road, sidewalk, run red lights, anything they want. I don't think it's as bad as other countries (for example, Peru was nuts!), but it's still different from the US. I read somewhere on the Internet that Korea has the highest number of car accidents in the world...not sure if this is true though.
15. Koreans LOVE to work. They become very dedicated to their companies. It's not unusual to be expected to work on a weekend with no complaints. No one takes a sick day unless they're completely incapacitated and in the hospital. You better return to work with a doctor's note. Coming to work sick is considered to be showing your commitment to your company and to your fellow coworkers who will have to pick up your work (therefore you're probably more likely to get a promotion).