Saturday, January 23, 2010

Kyle's first impressions of Korea


My impressions of Korea so far.

Disclaimer: My data pool is limited to the 11 days that we have been here, 3 of which were spent in a jet lagged stupor. Therefor, none of the following opinions should be considered as accurate reflections of reality.

Opinion 1; Koreans are obsessed with Neon. The brighter the better. Apparently there is no other way to advertise in Korea. If it doesn’t give you a seizure then it won’t sell the product.

Opinion 2; Korean cafeteria food is delicious. Spicy, tangy, and every now and then fried. How can anyone get tired of this? (subject to change in the not to distant future.)

Opinion 3; Old people in Korea can and will do whatever they damn well please. If you are sitting on the subway and a Korean wants your seat, be prepared to have them pull you out of it. It’s not that they don’t like you, it’s just what they do.
(Footnote; If you speak enough english, they will get up and move to a new seat. Again, it’s not that they don’t like you, they just can’t physically tolerate the sound of it for very long.)

Opinion 4; Koreans will often go out of there way to be polite and helpful. They are generally very friendly and have a great sense of humor. They seem to take a lot of pleasure in the small things.

Opinion 5; What they lack in a variety of fruits and veggies, they make up for in varieties of fungus and seafood. I’ve never seen so many different types of mushrooms and muscles. Go with what you got I suppose.

Opinion 6; To Koreans, saying you will do something is twice as important as actually doing it. This might just be a Yeongpyeong English Village thing but I have heard from others that this may also apply to Koreans in general. We shall see.

General Summary; Korea is pretty stinkin sweet. It’s a land of efficiency and yummy food. The people are fun loving and very independent. They are expressive and inviting and I’m greatly looking forward to the next 350 days!

Plus: Where else can it be cool to where a hat like this?? Only Korea!

5 comments:

Emily said...

I love the hat...I want one! I will be arriving about the 20th...watch out Korea!

BPOTW said...

Great hat! I'm glad you are sharing so much with all of us and I know your wife is delighted!

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TG said...

I've been to Korea, or better say Seoul recently and I had a blast. I totally agree with your observations :) But the old people have the right to do whatever they want, they admire the greatest respect in society. That's their culture :)