Here are some of the little things that make Korea unique for me:
-At the beginning of a class this past week, I began to write the names of my students on the board for an activity. Normally, I use a blue or black dry-erase marker, but this time I had my red one. Just as I finished the first name, the entire class gasped and looked at the girl, English name-Heather, whose name was on the board. Apparently I had done something quite wrong.
So, Do NOT ever write a Korean's name in red. Not is a red marker, pen, pencil, or crayon. If you do, the person is supposed to get bad luck and/or DIE. They take this one quite seriously.
-While on the subject of superstition, the number 4 is bad luck in Korea. Which is weird, because it's actually my lucky number. Similarly to America and the number 13, many buildings here do not have a '4th' floor.
-It is illegal to spit in public. My students told me the fine is around $30.
-I didn't believe it before we got here, but it's true....Koreans can drink a ton....seriously.
-99% of ALL Koreans go to English Hagwons (private after-school academies) - English is a vital part of the public school education system's testing, but apparently, the public school's don't provide adequate education for the students to get the 'necessary' A+.
-Many of the cars here run off of natural gas tanks, not gasoline. It makes for much less pollution and cheaper gas...but much more disastrous accidents.
-Clothes dryers do not really exist here.
-Public trash cans do not exist....seriously. This is one of my chief frustrations with public life in Korea. I think it is very much worth the raising of taxes by .1% to ensure that there are trash and recycle receptacles available to the public.
-Koreans eat rice with spoons - not chopsticks.
-Remodeling in Korea is faster than light. A restaurant can close, stripped, remodeled, and open again as a cell phone store in less than a week. No joke.
-There are no 'gay' Koreans. It is a common belief (among Koreans) that homosexuality does not exist in Korean blood. Obviously, there are homosexual Koreans, but it is just not acknowledged.
-BUT it's totally fine for men to have a purse. Not a handbag, but a purse.
-As far as I've experienced, Koreans religious lives are their own personal business and it does not come up in conversation often.
-Korea is one of the only countries where Christianity has spread without missionaries. There are millions of Christians here, but that is from the distribution of the Bible and not people.
-You never pour your own glass of beer/wine/soju - in Korea, you always pour drinks for others. Just another great way to make drinking more social and generous.
-Vegetarianism is a very confusing term to translate.
-There is no Korean breakfast food. In the west, we have eggs, bacon, waffles, and breakfast tacos....they have morning rice.
-Living in a new apartment is often preferable to living in a house.
-No guns. Not even for the police. - No one gets shot in Korea.
-No free toilet paper. Make sure you're packin'
These are just some of the things I've noticed in the first four months.
Much more to come...
No comments:
Post a Comment