Korea is different
from the United States. That's not a clever statement, is it? I know
it doesn't take much insight to see differences between the two
countries, but let me make some comments about things I have
noticed. I've lived and worked in Korea for five years, but some
things still catch me by surprise. Some of these observations are
puzzling, others are cute. They are just some things that I notice
from time to time. When talking about the United States, I want to
remind you that it's dangerous to make generalizations about
Americans, there are so many different kinds of people and there are
just too many different cultures represented there. Let me just
refer to my own experiences of growing up in a small midwestern
city.
First of all, I am amused by the fleeting look of panic on
a shopkeeper's face when I enter a small store. I'm a big man with a
beard, obviously a foreigner who probably doesn't know the Korean
language, and they don't quite know what to do with me. A similar
thing happens at the bank where all of the tellers see me walk in,
then they drop their heads, look busy and try to not make eye
contact. They seem to be afraid I'll come to them for help and
they'll have to use English. Back in my home town, I'm just an
average guy and most strangers don't raise an eyebrow. I understand
the Korean's shyness, and actually, I kind of like the special
attention I receive. I have a Korean friend who has
invited me to go with his hiking group. They are usually all dressed
in what I call the Korean 'hiking uniform': hiking boots, pants
tucked into Argyle socks, vest with lotsof pockets, hat, maybe
gloves. When I show up in jeans, T-shirt and sneakers, my friend
gets worried. I'm not sure if he's worried about my comfort or if
he's worried about me fitting in with his group. In either case, I
appreciate his concern, but back in my hometown most folks wouldn't
mention it.
I'm continually impressed with the courteous greetings I
receive when I go to a big department store. I receive a bow when I
arrive and another when I leave. In the States, nobody bows to
anybody. Here, the smiling traffic directors guide me to a parking
space and inside there are multitudes of clerks who follow my every
move. Actually, they follow me around so closely that it's
uncomfortable. I know they are trying to be attentive, but I feel
like they must suspect me of shoplifting. In my home town, there is
no one in the parking garage directing traffic and it's not easy to
find someone in the store to help me. I like the attention I receive
here, it reminds me of the service I used to receive when I was a
kid.
Overall, people are polite and helpful to me. If I'm in a
bus station or a train station and need help, I can stand there,
look at my map and sooner or later someone will come up to me and
ask if they can help. I'm grateful, and we often have a chance to
make conversation. In my hometown, foreigners don't get so much
attention because they're just another face in the crowd. There are
so many different kinds of people around that you don't know who is
a visitor and who is a resident. As a matter of fact, I'm
surprised at how few foreigners live in Korea. Once in awhile the
newspapers publish statistics about the number of foreigners who
live here. The numbers never quite agree, but they're under a
quarter-of-a-million. Where I live, I'm the only foreigner and the
children call me the 'hello ajashi' or the 'abc ajashi'. It's cute.
In the States, they estimate that ten percent of the population is
foreign born and there are serious debates about which language to
use in school, English or the first language of the student. In Los
Angeles there are over 120 languages spoken by children in school.
I'm curious about lots of things, too. Like, why is it not
proper to write someone's name in red, but stamps (do-jang) are
always in red? What's the difference? Why not black ink for stamps?
My students at the university can't tell me.
Another question is, long ago, how did people count days?
More specifically, was there a 'rest day', like a week end? Was
there a 'day of rest' like the Jewish, Christian or Islamic sabbath?
Was there a monthly day of rest tied to the lunar cycle like a new
moon day of rest or a full moon day of rest? Or were there only
occasional holidays (like Chusok or Sollal) that gave people a day
off from their labor? If you know the answer to these questions,
please send a message to me at my email address: [email protected]. So far, no one
has been able to give me an answer.
Something that surprises me is the difference in
children's food culture between here and the States. Here, kids
request spicy kimchi and they enjoy eating raw fish. There, the
spiciest things kids eat is Italian pizza or Mexican chili, and no
one eats anything raw except salad. If you served a fish with the
head on it, most kids would run from the table. American kids can be
very picky about what they eat.
Some other simple things I'm curious about include how
people make decisions on where to eat or to shop. There are so many
of the same kinds of shops clustered together that I don't know
which one to choose. In my home town there may be a McDonalds,
Burger King, and KFC next to each other, but I'll try all three of
them to find which one has the best value and which one I like best.
Near my home here in Korea, there are twenty galbi shops. How can I
visit and rate them all? Or if I go to the beach, there are a
number of restaurants that offer the same fresh seafood, how do I
know which one to choose?
Another thing that puzzles me is the disregard for common
safety. Near my home here, there are no sidewalks and people must
walk along the side of the street. Most of the time, adults walking
with children put themselves near the building and the children out
in the street. It scares me. Why do adults put children in danger?
In my hometown, adults put children near the building and themselves
nearest the street to protect them. In a similar case, men walk on
the outside and put women near the building as an act of courtesy.
There's also a difference in driving habits. Here, there
is a difference between face-to-face courtesy and ruthless driving
practices: people are polite in person, but courtesy is cast aside
when someone gets behind the wheel. In the States, most people share
the road, even if there are occasional acts of 'road rage'. They
follow the unspoken rule that cooperation is better than fighting to
get ahead. If everyone works together the result may be slow, but
everyone moves foward in an orderly fashion. The biggest danger is
if everything stops because then no one moves forward, everyone
suffers. Here, many drivers don't care about the total flow of
traffic, they only fight for their own place in the queue. So-called
professional drivers (taxi drivers, bus drivers and truck drivers)
are the worst. In the States, professional drivers are respected as
being some of the best drivers on the road.
As I said at the beginning of this article, some things
still catch me by surprise. All of these observations are things
that I continue to notice. If you have any comments, please contact
me.
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