Thirteen Ways of Looking at Korea

Hello there. This is a list of few random, hopefully interesting things about Korea.

1) People will stop at any point in time in traffic to have heated words with eachother, especially to let you know that you are a crappy driver.

2) Koreans believe that whatever is worth doing is worth doing right. Seriously! If they are going hiking, they go to the North Face Store and come out looking like Jeff Daniels and Jim Carrey when they go on their Aspen shopping spree in Dumb & Dumber. This is true of all parts of Korean life not just leisure.

3) Koreans, whether they will admit it or not, have modeled their pop culture exactly after American pop culture.

4) Boy bands are apparently God's gift to Koreans. Ask a Korean who Big Bang or SS501 is and they will probably freak out. These boy bands are even worse than the ones we used to have. They mix their songs with Korean verse's and English chorus's, such as "Yeah Girl" or "Time to Fly" or "U R Man".

5) Korean men will not get out of your way when you are walking down the sidewalk. Do not challenge them; you will lose.

6) If you are going to roll in a cool posse, and you are between the ages of 12 and 16, then you better brush up on your paper, rocks, scissors skills. It could mean life or death, and it settles most major disputes. Oh, did I say papter, rocks, scissors? I meant Kai, Bai, Bo!

7) If you are eating Korean food, do not rush anything into your mouth. Foods are served one of two ways: Unbelievably spicy and/or unbelievably hot. On many occasions I have scalded the roof of my mouth.

8) Poo at the homestead, always!

9) If you buy a bottle of liquor at a bar in Korea, you can put your name on it if you don't drink it all, which you undoubtedly will not, and they will hold it for two weeks until the next time you come in.

10) Wear shoes that are easy to take on and off. If you are out shopping, running errands or eating, you will go to many places that require you to lose the shoes. Apparently, feet are cleaner than shoes.

11) It is a really practical culture. More on this in number 13.

12) DO NOT FREAK OUT if a person of the same sex invites you to take a bath/shower with them. This means they want to sit in the steam room with you and get to know you better. It's any ice breaker with the archaic, yet logical, idea that if you are naked you have nothing to hide, and you can have honest conversation with nothing between you. Drinking socially is sometimes utilized the same way. Also do not worry if a person of the same sex tells you that you are handsome. This is a big compliment. Koreans appreciate beauty in all forms and will not hesitate to let you know that they recognize it in you. They aren't hitting on you; they are just being nice.

13) Koreans aren't shallow. Things they do and things they wear would not fly in America. While I do notice that in certain atmospheres Koreans are self-conscious, they are not nearly as shallow and materialistic as Americans. Why do these things fly here? Because they don't ask themselves, "do I look good in this? Is this the best brand?" Instead they only worry about utility and effectiveness. "Will this keep me warm? Will this get the job done?" This point I am afraid is one that you could only appreciate and fully understand if you have lived here for a while. I am not being elitist, but it is very subtle but very nice.

If you can tell me which poem my title alludes to email me at reedy.william@yahoo.com Just curious to see who is out there.

KICKS ASS: I got Itunes, which means I just downloaded Rock'nRolla by Guy Ritchie and Season 4 of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

SUCKS ASS: I found out why I have been feeling like there is always a joke at my expense at Kimbap Nala, the place where I eat lunch everyday. Apparently the word for clock is Shigay, and the word for soup is Chigay. My favorite dish is Kimchee Chigay. For the last month I have been ordering Kimchee Shigay or Cabbage Clock. No wonder they always laugh at me. Anyways, problem solved.