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). 

The camera is out of order

My camera is out of order. I can't see what I'm taking because the backlight of the viewfinder doesn't light up anymore. Thank goodness Koreans love to fix their electronics (instead of disposing of hardware as Americans often do) because I am not trying to buy a new camera. I got this camera 3 years ago and it still works lovely. I plan to go to Yongsan, the electronics market in Seoul, to see if I can get a cheap repair.

I took a couple of photos today despite not being able to see what I was doing...

I attended a workshop for my school in Incheon today (on a Saturday 0_o). Incheon is supposed to be the up and coming business district of Korea. There is a lot of fancy new construction going on, including this towering building.

After several delays and getting confused making a transfer on the subway, I was able to meet up with Jihye for dinner. We were supposed to catch a drum festival but that didn't work out, darn my job's workshop. I got a very fulfilling dinner though in good company. 

One of my stepfather's favorite dishes and one I have to agree is delicious is the one on the right, soondubu jjigae (순두부 찌개). I tried making it a long time ago with little success. On the left is the burnt rice dish that I LOVE called nooroongji (누룽지). I might try to make both dishes later this week. 

After dinner, Jihye showed me to Insadong, which is just a short walk from the soondubu restaurant in the Jongak area. Insadong is a known touristy spot of Seoul because it has traditional Korean items for sale. I browsed a bit, saw some really interesting things, and purchased some postcards. (Keep an eye out for something in your mailbox in the next couple of weeks.) 

I finally got to see my First soju tent (basically a plastic tent/tarp structure that covers a small number of people getting drunk and sitting on plastic furniture...a temporary bar of a sort). I've been hankering to see one after all the Korean dramas I've watched...that orange thing in the back is it. LOL. Jihye thought it was funny I was so interested in taking a picture of such a commonplace thing. I wonder if Korea requires liquor licenses...

I also bought a handmade, mini-wood Othello game in Insadong! I am soooooooo happy about this purchase. Best thing I've bought in Korea so far. My pieces are dark blue and orange, which is an interesting difference from the traditional white and black. I taught Jihye all the tricks and strategies I know, and we giggled away as we had fun playing. I can't wait to play this with EVERYONE haha.

Today was a good day, tomorrow...Yongsan for camera fix, some Korean-English language exchange, and fried chicken. :)

Happy Chuseok!

Korea has a holiday similar to America's Thanksgiving called Chuseok...and it's this weekend. I believe Chuseok celebrates a good harvest (summer is almost over in Korea), but mainly it's a family holiday. Because it's a 3-day holiday, I get a 4-day weekend! Most of the kindergarten students at my school wore their Hanbok (Korean traditional outfits) on Friday. They looked so lovely I had to take photos. I want a Hanbok so bad, but where would I wear it?

Silly kids :)

They look like little people. All grown up.

We made fake 'songpyeon,' which is a traditional sweet Korean rice cake with a sugar filling made every Chuseok. The kids had a ball making it even though we couldn't eat them.

First, you mix the rice dough.

The students watched the Korean homeroom teacher, Sunny teacher (I love her English name :P), demonstrate the first step. She added a little bit of sugar into the rice dough mix.

Then you roll the dough into small balls, make an indentation in the middle, and pour a little brown sugar in the indentation.

Finally, you pinch the dough closed into half circles and you have 'songpyeon.' The students said they looked like 'mandu' (Korean dumplings) and I have to agree they do.

Our head English teacher, Chris, made a 'songpyeon' that looked like Hello Kitty. Hello Kitty should be an international ambassador for cultural exchange because kids everywhere seem to love her! The class was fighting over it, so what to do...? Rock scissors paper, of course!

First days...

Dinner with coworkers at Korean BBQ.

Garlic, kimchi, spicy pork, and eggs with kimchi on the grill.

My new boss at Kaaaaraaoke.

It's even more fun than it looks, I promise. Some Koreans take karaoke seriously and practice karaoke by themselves.

View from my huge apartment window. High school soccer field/community track.

Note to self: do not reveal shoulders, cleavage, or my back in Korea.

Lots of public art in Korea. The benches are always interesting. I like this one.

 

 

Just because there were "McDelivery" mopeds.

Found an entire section of Couples' cell phone charms at one of many accessory stores. Cute!