Korea

So what's it like living in Korea?

Different. In amazing ways. I think perhaps the watershed moment in my adult life was living in another culture. Not just visiting, but living and working there, paying utility bills, renting, getting dental work. Going to work in the morning with everyone else. Getting haircuts. Buying kitchenware. Hailing cabs, riding the subway. The whole thing.

I spent any time I could trying new coffee shops, restaurants, theatres, bookstores, going to the beaches, visiting mountains, riding trains... I taught myself web design in Korea's internet cafes. And I worked... a lot... which is what Koreans do, on the whole.  I loved this area of Taejon (above) and spent a lot of time there, but only when I couldn't be in Seoul.

Leaving the safety of the familiar

Basically, there are two approaches to living in Korea as an expatriate. One is to stick to the tourist districts (like the infamous Itaewon in Seoul) and eat at McDonalds. These designated areas have the benefits of: high prices, occasional crime, and a lot of drunken Westerners roaming about looking for a brawl or being basically obnoxious. But you will find a Burger King.

The other approach is to actually immerse yourself in the culture. Eat what Koreans eat - including fish raw ("Hwae" in Korean) and seaweed and squid with chopsticks, and drink what they drink -  hot water not cold in winter, rust-colored barley tea in place of plain water, and liquid yogurts, and sometimes SoJu or Hite beer. Ride the stand-up buses to save money once in a while, like a lot of people do. Do some Noribong (karaoke) - it's the most popular national activity, learn the etiquette, and learn to speak as much of the language properly as you can. It's kind of ridiculous to spend any real time there and not be able to pronounce "hello" properly, but there are lots of people willing to help. You just have to dive in and involve yourself.

Staying up all night

At least once you've got to visit NamDaeMun and DongDaeMun, and you can do it the same night. Those are the names of two of the ancient city gates of Seoul, but  visiting them means visiting the gigantic open-air markets on the one hand, and the vast malls on the other. Things open up for business around dark, and close down around 7am. Stay in a yeog-wan (a small inn), visit a ta-bang (tea shop) for a quick shot of caffeine, and keep going all night. And when we're talking about malls in Korea, remember, it's completely different - it's a nation of small businesses. So a mall is a large multi-story complex with areas that would resemble a mega-Dillards, except that each little area of racks is a separate clothier, or vendor. And the food court is to die for - Korean Chinese food is often there -  available only in Korea. But the malls in DongDaeMun are unique beyond just the hours. The speciality there is clothing, and it's where clothiers get theirs. Prices are the lowest, selection the broadest, and did I mention it's at night?

Exploring the maze of side streets and alleyways

is another favorite activity. There's always something tucked away that's unexpected and worth the adventure..

The fun thing, too, is to seek out various districts in urban areas. Take a day and visit the antiques district. Take another day and visit one of the major university student districts, with its bookstores, communist coffee shops, and internationally-influenced food.

Be sure and eat at street vendors carts. It's the best. Hot fish cakes on sticks with turnip & anchovy broth in the Winter. Steaming dumplings served out of the back of a truck. Beautiful clementine-style oranges (the best ones have a rare hint of green on one side, and come in from Cheju-do (Cheju Island) once a year. Prices are good, too. I can eat outside for about $3 and be quite satisfied. If you know what you're doing, you can sit down in a lot of restaurants for $2 to $7 and eat extremely well. If you don't know, you' can spend as much as you like. :)

Apartment complexes are huge!

The complexes can span dozens of buildings of dozens of stories. All concrete. Not everyone lives in apartments, but a lot of people do. Land is expensive - they're not making any more of it. Well... actually, they are - they just built a modern airport on land they built out into the sea. But houses aren't an efficient use of space, and are either very expensive or the hovels of the very poor. There are smaller, single building apartments with maybe 5 or 6 stories, too. The style and amenities range from very basic to extravagent, depending on complex and neighborhood.

Korea is an ancient culture

In the film Devil's Own, Harrison Ford's character is telling Brad Pitt's that there are houses in his Northeastern seaboard neighborhood that are more than 200 years old. Pitt responds that, in Ireland, their new ones are older than that.

Korea is all about new construction, another product of Cold War politics, It was flattened during the Korean war. Prior to that it was called the Hermit Country, for preserving its culture against Western encroachment. The Cold War changed that too. More recently the economic events of 1997-98 were  the watershed in transforming it into a US client state. But despite the influx of global trappings, the attitudes and understanding go back almost to the dawn of man. It is an every day experience to find the very ancient, in all things, embedded deeply in modernity. Above: Haribongs - grandfather statues. I have a small one of these carved from black volcanic rock.

Etiquette is everything

There are important but easy things to learn about conducting yourself in Korea, if you plan to spend any time there. When it comes to older people, refer to them as ajimah (married woman) or ajishee (married man) or, for senior citizens, halmoni (grandmother) or halaboji (grandfather). Be polite, and give up your seat on the bus for the elderly. Never give something to or receive something from an adult with only one hand. Bow frequently - it's hard to go wrong there. If you say anything to an adult (other than a close friend) and don't wish to be rude, use the suffix yo. Anyang haseyo means "Hello" - Anyang is only when addressing children or close friends of the same age. When young people laugh and cover their mouths, they're not laughing at you - they're embarrassed or shy.  These are just some examples.

I've found that the important things are: to open yourself up to another culture, don't prejudge anything (recognizing that some things are inappropriate anywhere - they just may not be the things that seem to be), and be a humble student rather than a stubborn bull in a china shop who has arrived and expects... what? You're surrounded by  almost complete differences, so you must adapt, and the only way to do it is continually open up layers of your awareness. Other than that, there's always the tourist district.

Safety first

Korea has the world's highest fatality rate from automobile accidents. So even though the taxi driver may think you're casting doubt on his driving ability, apologize and buckle in. This is never more true than when you're riding in the infamous bullet-taxi - a long-distance taxi that goes as fast as the engine will allow.

Personally, I really dig the subway (for getting all over the place quickly and cheaply), the ordinary taxis (for shorter speedier jaunts - the subway is still better to cross a city - no traffic), and the trains. There are two types of train tickets, just like there are two types of buses, sitdown or standup. I've done both. For long train rides, sit down - it's worth it, but sometimes I'd get a stand up ticket; I wanted to be with those who couldn't afford to sit down. Besides, they were more fun to listen to and chat with.

People think of the natural wonders

And they wouldn't be wrong. The mountains and beaches are so accessible. If you've spent a lot of life cooped up in flat, landlocked states, this part of things can quickly come to feel like a long-awaited home.

The cities are just as wonderful

Every building is several stories. Throw a stone and bounce off two coffee shops, skip over an internet cafe, and land outside an upscale clothing store in the hand of a street vendor. Every urban area in Korea was unique, due to the prevalence of small businesses. In all the world, Walmart went bankrupt here.  But the density, the lights at night, and the people are common elements. Drop me anywhere, and I'll be just fine. 

The open-air markets really pull me

You can find almost anything from this nation of entrepeneurs. You can get your watch battery replaced by a man in a cart passing by, enjoy noodles standing up, and walk away with a suitcase and a new leather coat, drinking coffee made on the spot.

The culture is diverse

There are a lot of misconceptions: for instance, sure, there is a strong confucianist tradition regarding age differences and ancestors. Buddhism is prevalent. But actually Protestant and Roman Catholic Christianity are the dominant religious trends. And there's a thriving presence of Orthodox all over the country. And some people eat dogs and live food, but young people eat a lot of pizza, though it isn't good for you, like almost all Korean food is.

The technology is next generation

Korea is probably the single most wired country in the world. Its per capita broadband connections dwarf anything on the North American continent. Electronics are small, cutting edge, and ubiquitous. In downtown Seoul there's a giant plasma screen on the side of a skyscraper. Speaking of Seoul, it's smoggy but you'll never run out of things to do. Think of NYC without the crime. In Korea, there's also an amazing plethora of live rock music, hip hop, pop, and exhuberant moviemaking.