Overall
Korea (thus far) has been an...[insert extremely positive vocabulary word] experience. In all honesty, there’s really no words that can sum up living in a different country. What I can say is that I am very lucky and grateful. Overall, I’m in a good job situation, I’m surrounded by some great people (both Korean and foreign) and it’s really cool to be immersed in a different culture.
Culture
Korean culture is similar (in some ways), but mostly different when compared to the USA. Not better or worse than the USA, but simply different. I can easily rattle off pros and cons to each culture. I try not to compare Korean culture to American culture, but for the sake of putting things in perspective for the readers, I will do so. Being a collectivist culture, Korean society revolves around fitting in, doing things together, relying on each other, and the collective whole (as opposed to the individual, in the USA). A few interesting examples of this:
- At the gym I work out at, almost everyone wears the same gym shirt. Many Korean people also hike and ride bikes- they pretty much all wear very similar outfits when doing this.
- In the Korean language, there is no “subject”. In English, if you were hungry, you would say: “I am hungry”. In Korea, they would say “stomach hungers.” (in Korean, of course). I found this to be interesting because in the US (an individualist culture), there is much more of an emphasis on “I”, “me” or the “subject” in a sentence. Here, it’s all about the collective.
- It is rare for a person to get served at a restaurant if they go alone. If you’re not with someone, you may be turned down (and if not, you may get weird looks from people). In general, people here do almost everything together. There’s also a superstitious belief that if a person drinks alone, they won’t find a partner for two years (or maybe five years, I don’t know).
- From what I’ve heard, Koreans tend to depend on their parents much more and for longer than Americans do. In this US, there is a drive to “be independent” and to not have to rely on/live with your parents for that long after university- this is not the case in Korea. Families are much more tightly knit when it comes to relying on each other.
- For those who don’t know, Korea has one of the highest rates of plastic surgery in the world relative to the size of its population. The main reason for this is the mainstream Korean media/ advertising/ entertainment/ beauty standards. If you think the US has a powerful “mainstream culture”, Korea takes this to a new level. There is a very strong emphasis on appearance here- this was one of the first things I noticed when coming to Korea. I’ve received many more compliments on my looks here in the past month than I have previously in my entire life (from both men and women).
- The most common plastic surgeries in Korea are “double eyelid surgery” (I think this is most popular- it essentially makes the eyes look more “western”), nose surgeries (creates a higher nose bridge, making the nose look more western), jaw surgeries (to make the jaw smaller and more of a v-shape), and liposuction. Search on Google if you’re interested in what these look like.
- Kissing in public is considered a major taboo. When it comes to public displays of affection and intimacy, Koreans (and most Asian cultures) are much more conservative than Americans. Everyone I’ve asked about this (and some have spent years here) says they have never seen anyone kiss in public in Korea.
- The people here are so kind.
- One thing I find interesting is the cultural changes that Korea is currently undergoing- particularly changes from the older generations to younger generations. From what I’ve observed and from what other Koreans have told me, it seems that the younger generations are becoming more and more “westernized”, as in they are starting to drift away from the more traditional, conservative Korean values. Examples of this can be seen in:
- Musical taste- Older, traditional Korean music is very different from modern mainstream Korean music (aka, “k-pop”.) Hardly any of the younger generations prefer the traditional music over k-pop.
- Public displays of affection and intimacy- Younger generations are becoming less conservative than older generations (this is tied in to the increase of k-pop).
- Open mindedness- Younger generations are becoming more open-minded to new and different things.
Food
The food here is sooo good. The fried chicken…the street food…the seafood...the barbeque (not typical American barbecue flavored food though- barbecue here means getting a variety of raw meats and getting to cook them in front of yourself). It is very easy to pack on pounds while living here. At the same time, it’s also easy to lose weight, because the Korean diet also includes healthier items such as kimchi (spicy cabbage), high water content foods, healthy side dishes, and other odd fruits and vegetables that I don’t know the name of but are borderline tasty, so therefore I assume they’re healthy.
In my first week in Mokpo, breakfast and dinner (lunch is served at school) consisted of a steady diet of peanuts and apples. I have slowly integrated other foods into my diet such as raw broccoli, bananas, sweet potatoes, grapes, and canned tuna. For pretty much the first month, I tried to buy foods that didn’t need to be refrigerated because I was too cheap to plug in my refrigerator and use electricity.
Any healthy eating I do during the week is usually offset by my out-to-dinner food binges on the weekends. I poop far less often here than back at home- because of this (and because toilet paper can only be bought in massive packs that would probably last me two years) I have yet to buy any toilet paper for my apartment. I usually do my business at the gym, the supermarket, or a restaurant. Sometimes I feel a little bad for the owners of the restaurants. I refuse to go at my school because their toilets are the ones that are built into the ground, so I must squat- and also because there is hardly any toilet paper (another odd thing I’ve noticed in Korea- it seems the people here don’t use that much toilet paper). There’s also no paper towels to dry your hands off in any of the bathrooms here.
Teaching
I teach at two schools, teaching grades 3-6. Mostly sixth grade though. I can’t say too much about my work situation because of a non-disclosure agreement, but I can say a few general things. I love my students. They’re awesome, fun, and I think they view me as that cool foreign teacher. I play soccer or baseball with them sometimes during lunch break. My co-teachers are also great and very helpful.
Free time
I only teach 22 hours per week, but I work from 9-5 every day. During the times I’m not teaching, I have free time in my office to lesson plan (usually doesn’t take that long) or do whatever I want to do. I spend my time writing, reading, meditating, browsing the web, and pursuing other side projects/interests. I also work out pretty much every day after school. On weekends I usually try to leave Mokpo to explore more of Korea. There's so much to do here it's almost paralyzing when trying to make a decision.
Drinking
For those who don’t know, Korea is one of the top drinking countries in the world when it comes to spirits. The drink of choice is “soju” which is stronger than wine but usually not as strong as vodka. One bottle of it often costs $1.50, and drinking a bottle by yourself will definitely get you drunk. Personally, I think it tastes like watered down vodka, but it does serve as a good mixer. Thankfully, I haven’t drank enough of it in a night where I’ve experienced a “soju hangover”, which is apparently the worst thing ever (I can attest to this after witnessing the condition of some friends after going on a soju bender the night before- it’s not pretty).
In Korea, people also stay out much later than in the states (when eating dinner and drinking). Often times, people in Seoul will stay out clubbing until 5 am, because that is when the subway system opens back up. When I visited Seoul some weekends ago with a few friends (which was a ton of fun!), we all wound up staying out until around 5 am both nights. Even at 5 am, the streets are still packed with young people- although at this point everyone is completely hammered. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention that the drinking laws here are extremely lax compared to the states. Drinking in public is legal, being drunk in public is legal, and it is not uncommon to see people completely passed out on the streets (in which case, I’ve heard some Korean people will put a blanket over them or give them a pillow).
Nature
Korea has some stunning natural beauty (particularly the national parks). There are no words to describe it.
Driving
Traffic laws are often disregarded here, and law enforcement is much less prevalent than in the states. It is common to see mopeds/scooters/even motorcycles riding on the sidewalks swerving around pedestrians. Illegal U-turns are very common- some are so clearly illegal it’s pretty funny. People will also often ride up to a red light, quickly look both ways, and go straight through the red light. Yet oddly enough, Korean people hardly ever jaywalk at a crosswalk- even if there’s not a car in sight. Personally, I’ve become an expert jaywalker at this point.
People honk their horns far more often here than in the USA- often for completely unnecessary reasons. It is not uncommon to see a guy on a motorcycle speeding down the road holding the horn for no reason whatsoever.
That's pretty much all I've got for now. No idea when my next post will be. I'm sure I've forgotten some things here but whatever I forgot I'll include in the next one.
Love always,
Andrew
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TL;DR: Korea is freakin' awesome! I'm in good health, and I'm in a good living/job situation surrounded by some great people. I'm very grateful and happy to be here.