Forget Letterman...It's time for the Korean Top Ten

Greetings

Being a major fan of the Top Ten list I thought that it was time for us at Shayne and Jo to bust out a new one. At first I contemplated doing a top ten list of why Deep Space Nine was underrated, or the top ten costumes to wear at a Star Trek convention, but in the end I settled upon this:

11 Things You Probably Don't Know About Korea

Sure it's not really a top ten list in the scientific sense but who's keeping track. So here ya go, 11 mostly mundane things that you probably don't know about the land of the morning calm.

#11 - Leave your checkmarks at the airport

Although it may seem shocking, the checkmark is about as popular over here as Kim Jong Il. The Koreans have instead embraced the circle as a means of indicating a job well done. I remember the puzzled look of a child last summer when I placed a check beside his work. At first he thought it was some sort of mysterious Canadian symbol and stared at it in utter amazement. For my part, I just assumed that it was the first time in his 7 year academic history that he had actually gotten something right (he ate a lot of paste, so it wouldn't have been that crazy).

#10 - Thumbtacks? What Thumbtacks?

As you can see from the picture above, the term "concrete jungle" applies nicely to Korea. In my time here I think I've seen drywall or wood less than ten times. Concrete is everywhere and as such most household walls are simply decorated with wallpaper. When we wanted to spruce up our place we had to resort to taping things to the walls, as we had no access to the tools needed to use nails and thumbtacks are useless. But it's ok because our Superman poster looks badass with the taped corners.

#09 - Japan won't be coming for dinner anytime soon.

Before we moved here I knew that Japan and Korea had a few issues to work out but I was pretty ignorant about how deep the actual problems ran. I'll save you the full history lesson but Japan annexed Korea as a colony in 1910 and then ruled over them for 35 years. During that time they didn't allow the Koreans to speak their own language in schools or businesses, or to learn about Korean history. In short, they worked pretty hard to obliterate Korean culture.

The Japanese also placed thousands of Koreans into forced labour and military conscription. But what probably stands out the most for modern Koreans is the fact that the Japanese also used hundred of thousands of Korean women as "comfort women". To make matters worse (if that's possible) the Japanese have tried to cover a lot of these things up and still haven't properly apologized to these women or given them any sort of financial remuneration.

As you can imagine the Koreans harbour a few feelings of resentment about all of this. I've seen it firsthand several times in my classes. More than once I've asked students what they want to be when they grow up and heard in response that they want to be soldiers so they can kill the Japanese. Students candidly talk about how they hate the Japanese, and last year when a film came out about Japan sinking into the ocean a lot of our students were really excited about that prospect.

This issue could fill a dozen blog entries, but I'll conclude this short section on it by saying that I think it will be a long time until the wounds are healed and these Asian neighbours become good friends again.

Anyway,on we go...

#08 - There's Crime Here?...Where?



When I first told family and friends that I was moving to South Korea you would have thought that I had said Somolia or Iraq instead, from the way they reacted. Some people were worried that I would be killed or that I would have to fight off robbers everyday on my way to work. Their worries always made me laugh but once I moved here I realized just how funny those fears truly were.

I don't think I've ever felt safer in a place than I usually do here. The threat of crime seems so minimal that sometimes you think you're living in a Norman Rockwell painting (albeit one with lots of kimchi and Koreans).

A lot of kids here don't even have to lock their bikes up (to be fair theft does happen, just nowhere near as much as back home). Here's a stat I found online that shows the low rate of robbery in Korea:

Robbery/Violent Theft per 100,000:
Spain 169.85
United States 169.02
France 144.10
Taiwan 14.35
South Korea 11.74
Japan 2.71

That's just theft, but from what I've found most serious crimes are lower here than in the western world. So for anyone who's ever worried about us in Korea....save the worrying for when we return home....No really...Rutland can be a tough hood to live in.

#07 - Swastikas are Hella Popular.


Coming from a place where the only people who wear swastikas are the chair throwers on Jerry Springer, I was a little taken aback when I moved here and saw one on every corner. They usually indicate a religious place but a lot of people have them on their cars or windows as well.

The version embraced here has nothing to do with Nazis but instead is a Buddhist symbol that basically means "well being" (if you look closely they are actually pretty different anyway).

Still though, being a westerner it takes a little while to get used to seeing them everywhere. There's probably over 50 in our neighborhood alone. Hopefully the one Jo had tattooed on her forehead doesn't cause any problems back home.

#06 - When in Doubt, Add an E.

My friend Jason and I used to joke that you could speak Spanish simply by adding an "O" to the end of word. In Korea it's the letter "E" that holds that honour.

In Konglish (the mixture of English and Korean spoken widely in Korea) words aren't proper unless an E sound is added.

For instance:

Beach becomes Beachie

Church becomes churchie

Finish becomes finish-ie

And so on and so on. So the next time you need to speak Korean in a pinch just drop a few E's and you'll be fine.

#05 - They're a trusting bunch.


We've actually mentioned this one a few times so hopefully some of you were paying attention. In Korea when you get delivery the restaurant brings the food in real plates and bowls. When you finish the food you simply leave the plates on your steps or front door and voila, it's picked up the next day. When I first moved here I just assumed that Koreans hated their plates and would just toss them out as soon as they were finished with them. It was like the scene in "The Jerk" as I sat puzzled on the curb exclaiming "it's the plates...they hate the plates".

Being Canadian this whole practice seems marvelously bizarre to me. I wonder what would happen if someone refused to give back the bowls or even better, what would happen if someone were to rise ubber-early and go through the entire neighborhood stealing plate after plate. It might set the entire Korean economy into a state of shock.

This is definitely something that wouldn't work back home.

#04 - Their Sinks Kickass....But They Sure Smell.

Every sink in Korea must contain a sink trap, it's the law under section 32, article 5, line 3.

Well, I don't know if it's the law or not but it does seem that every house has one. They're actually pretty useful and make cleaning the sink a lot easier than back home. Except, of course, that for lazy people like us it often means that food sits rotting in them for weeks on end.

The sinks also don't have those wonderful U-shaped devices that we have back home. Those lovely little fellows help keep out gasses and funky smells from traveling into your house via the drain. For some reason they never caught on over here. So if any young entrepreneurs are reading this...there's the way to make your billions, plumbing supplies in Korea.

#03 - Western Food Sucks


For some reason the dish above is the epitome of western cuisine. It's called Dang-gus and is a combination of fried pork and a creamy BBQ type sauce. I'm not sure where Koreans got the idea that we enjoy this dish, or if it's just some sort of archetype for western food, but most Koreans seem shocked when they find out that not only do I not like it, but that I've never seen it back home or anywhere in North America for that matter.

I suppose that's what it's like for the Chinese who try "Chinese" food in Canada and discover Chop Suey, etc, for the first time.

#02 - Public Drinking is A-OK

You may be wondering why I chose this photo to convey that drinking in public is acceptable but look closely and you'll see why. That brown stoop/table thingy in the middle of the sidewalk is a familiar sight in Korea. It's a drinking platform and most corner stores and Ma 'n Pa pubs have one out front.

Imagine back home if you could walk into 711, buy a case of Molson Canadian, and then sit outside drinking it on a provided platform. Well, that's the reality over here. What's more, is that that even being completely gooned in public is ok. We see people (usually men) walking drunk through the streets practically every other day. It's just not a big deal over here. That's largely due to lax laws and the fact that Korean culture holds drinking very dearly.

My advice for anyone reading this is to never get into a drinking contest with a Korean. They can usually more than hold their own in such matters.

And finally...

#01 - Squatters have rights



You see little community-type gardens like this all over the place. Even in downtown areas or industrial hubs it's not uncommon to see small gardens between buildings.

I found out that it's because squatters have rights in Korea. If someone owns a plot of land but isn't using it for anything (ie building on it) then it's ok for someone to farm on it. In fact, not only is it ok but it appears that the landowner has no legal recourse to remove the person unless they begin building on the land. It's an interesting concept that has certainly added a lot of needed green space in Korea.

Anyway, there ya have it, eleven facts about Korea. Sure some were a little useless (the sink traps etc..) but don't you feel that much smarter knowing so much more about this great country?

It was kind of a long post but I figured I owed you guys something decent after the small number of posts lately.

Anyway,

Cheers

Shayne