Ten quirky things about life in Korea

In no particular order:

1.) A sidewalk in the western world is reserved for pedestrians. Here they are a free for all and rather dangerous if you are not alert. Scooters and motorcycles will fly by you. Bicycles will crash at any time. The skill of a typical bike rider here is suprisingly poor given the obstacles they must face. In Iksan cars are a danger too. If no parking place is available a sidewalk is perfectly appropriate.

2.) Pink is a gender nuetral color.

3.) Holding hands amongst men is common. This is still extremely uncomfortable for me. I am far from a homophobe but I still feel queasy when a Korean man grasps my hand.

4.) Personal space is not respected. The best example I can give of this happened a short while back. I was walking down a low traffic sidewalk. A woman burst out of a building and bumped into me with force. Then she proceeded to open her umbrella which struck me in the chin as it expanded. She looked at me like I was in her way and hastily trodded off.

5.) Windows and doors will remain open in the dead of winter or the heat of summer regardless of heating or airconditioning units running.

6.) Right of way rules do not apply in traffic or on foot. If you are there first that is all that seems to matter.

7.) It really doesn't even matter if you are there first. A line is an arbitrary concept. If you are brazen enough to cut to the front no one will question you. That is if you are Korean. I have never attempted the feat. I suppose I am just weak.

8.) High heels and short skirts must be worn weather permitting or when the weather is only slightly permitting.

9.) Being so drunk that you cannot walk: A-OK.

10.) A church, a brothel, a bar, and a school will exist in the same three story building. The brothel will be in the basement.

Wired Korea

Korea is certainly tech and gadget crazy. Cell phones here have more bells and whistles and cost considerably less than in the U.S. For example, If I make two hours of interational calls back to the U.S. my charge will be around $30. When I was in the U.S. calling to Korea to finalize my current contract a little over thirty minutes somehow magically translated to over $600 in charges. Thanks AT&T, that seemed more than fair.

Aside from cell phones the internet is cheap and everywhere as well. I never bought a computer here. I prefer to go to internet cafes. The internet cafe, or pc room, costs a dollar an hour and comes with a cup of coffee. They are also open 24 hours a day. If you are ever in Korea you will notice the English letters PC quite often. Look specifically for PC방. Just walk inside, grab a card, and you are online. I frequent these establishments and what I really get a kick out of is the crowd.

In the afternoon the rooms are usually extremely noisy. Children yell and scream while playing various games as the sounds of KPOP blare throughout the room. I guarantee you will always be hip to the music of the youth. Late evening brings in the gamers. Wearing headphones they smoke cigarettes and get lost in the fantasy games of the day. I once sat next to a man passed out in a chair while his Warcraft character sat idly on the screen for over an hour. Late night brings in drunk older men playing online poker. It never stops. There are even PC rooms which offer a female companion. Another gateway to prostitution?Gaming is an absolute obsession here. In my town two television channels are dedicated to 24hour coverage of gaming and gaming competitions. A truly sad story about the game craze in Korea comes out of Suwon. A couple with a newborn spent their nights fueling an addiction to an online game. They forgot to feed their baby. At three months old their daughter died of malnutrition. The game they were playing, Prius, allows users to raise a young girl during the adventure.

I Bought This Chapstick

Marketing here is intense and plays upon women in ways which are truly quite awful. The society in general puts unfair pressure on women but that is for another post. Here I just want to share some of the most outrageous marketing I have ever come across. The video below is of the KPOP group Brown Eyed Girls selling chapstick!! I actually kind of dig the tune. Instead of "Nivea Lip" I sing to myself "Swayin My Hips" ...



Pretty sexy eh? Sex is quite the paradox here. It promotes products shamelessly. Soft porn appears on television anywhere from one to ten in the morning. Little post cards for prostitutes litter the streets. "Coffee Girls" will bring much more than a cup of coffee to your home. Sex is everywhere and taboo simultaneously. I can only hope to be here when the sexual revolution takes place. I leave you now with more examples of the overtly sexual advertising here:


Yum! Beer!


I wanna go to that club....


Lucky noodles!


Korean beer goggles.

Eat Like Snake

As a huge fan of Burger King I am pleased to share that The Whopper exists here as well!