Sometimes, I have a hard time understanding the logic of the Koreans, or lack thereof. After living in Daegu for about 10 weeks now, I've encountered some frustrating experiences. It's hard to remember specific instances, but I'm trying to document these cultural differences before I forget because they continue to amaze me day after day. Let me just start by saying that I really do love Korea and love being here, and I am not saying that these behaviors are an accurate portrayal of everyone, but it's a large majority of the people that I have encountered.
One phenomenon that has consistently occurred since my first week here is just when walking around. The Koreans will not move over in the slightest if they are in the path of a head-on collision with you. It could be a wide open space with no obstructions in sight, and I could be walking inches from a wall with nowhere to move over, and still they will crash right into me, body-check. There really is no consideration for others, no sense of appropriateness. It happens on a daily basis, multiple times a day, no matter where I am, where I'm walking, what I'm doing - Koreans will collide. And it doesn't stop there.
I do a 40-minute bike ride down to my Hapkido (martial arts) class, and I've never seen anything like this. Again, the sidewalks are fairly wide on this journey, many with a specially marked bike lane - yes, on the sidewalk, not on the street. If you attempt biking on the street, you will probably get run over. It's a complete miracle how a 4'10 and 90 pound, old, Korean lady can swerve all over, taking up the full 8 foot sidewalk and will not move no matter how loud and how long my bike bell is ringing. I basically have to wobble around avoiding crashing into the "Ajema" (polite word for old lady) that will never move over. It's not just the ajema's that do this either - it's everyone, all ages, male and female, from toddlers to senile people - no one will move over when I'm biking. One morning, an Ajema was sitting down on the sidewalk and had a dog on a leash that took up the rest of it. I'm sure you can guess what happened. This is a major frustration.
Another thing that blew my mind is that the Koreans never cover their mouths when sneezing or coughing. It's completely unbelievable. I cannot make any sense of this. In my classes, my students do it all the time as well. It has been 10 weeks now of me constantly scolding them and instructing them never to cough or sneeze without covering their mouths - so they are getting better. I'm glad they are just about trained as the "cold" season is just around the corner. But it's amazing how anywhere you are, close quarters or not, beware of being coughed and sneezed on.
There are dozens of little things that happen where I just cant understand if this is real or if someone is seriously playing a joke on me. The most basic, common sense and common knowledge is just not there - it has to be a joke. I must be on Punk'd some of these times. Last week, I walked into Pizza Hut with a friend and looked through the English menu at the entrance/host stand. The Pizza Hut's here are like restaurants, like back in the old days, at least in Kansas, where Pizza Hut had a salad bar and seating, etc. They had a lunch menu on the stand that's from 12 noon until 5pm - it was 2pm. The hostess finally came up and grabbed two regular menus and I inquired about the lunch menu, and she said yes it's lunch menu time but didn't take those menus. I started pointing at them asking if we can have those menus. She nodded but still seated us and didn't bring them. Then again, I asked for the lunch menus, and she returned to the host stand and brought them. Why she didn't bring them with us when I asked for them by the stand, I may never know.
Last weekend, we were in Seoul at a strange Dutch-themed restaurant with a menu of mostly Italian food. The waitress stood hovering over us for 5 minutes as we struggled to make out the pictures since the entire menu was in Korean. Usually you find a few English words next to each menu description but not here. As I was pulling out my cellphone dictionary, the waitress asked in perfect English if we had dined there before. Clearly a logical question and puzzling that she spoke English this whole time. I asked if a picture of a normal, plain-looking spaghetti had any meat in it - she said no. The dish came out and it was beyond full of bacon - I mean FULL of bacon. Then we ask if they have Coke Zero, she says yes, of course but never came back with any drinks. She comes over and tells us to grab a cup and the beverages are self-serve. I do as I was told, grab two cups, head over to the machine which was around the corner in their working area, and she tells me to go back around to the other side of the counter. I hand her the two cups and since there were 7 fountains of Cider and 1 fountain of Pepsi (no Coke Zero in this place), I ask for Pepsis. She takes the two cups, fills up one, puts it on the counter for me and just stares at me like I should be on my way. I put two cups on the counter, she took both cups, but she only filled one. Someone please explain. I asked her for the other one and finally got it, but it was such a challenge for her.
In downtown Daegu, there are blocks and blocks of stores and pedestrians absolutely everywhere. It's a little similar to Third Street Promenade in LA where it's a brick-layed road but it's not for driving, just for pedestrians. Downtown Daegu has stores set up in a similar fashion but it's more of a grid rather than one straight street. Anyway, point is, there's hundreds of pedestrians, it's basically an outdoor mall, and one would think that these "roads" are not for cars. Only here, these cars drive all through downtown - down streets of stores and restaurants that are only the width of a small alley. Clearly, cars should not be driving down here. It takes them 10 minutes to drive down one block. It's literally mobs of people with cars inching through huge crowds and honking here and there for the pedestrians to move. There is no way I can ever come up with a logical reason why a car would ever need to drive on these "sidewalks."
Also, apparently it's been concluded that Korea as a country is one of the least efficient countries in the world. They take twice as long to complete tasks, they are overworked because they don't use their time well so it takes them 12 hours to do a job that should take 6. The lack of efficiency and logic in this country is beyond me.
I will never understand you, Korea.
One phenomenon that has consistently occurred since my first week here is just when walking around. The Koreans will not move over in the slightest if they are in the path of a head-on collision with you. It could be a wide open space with no obstructions in sight, and I could be walking inches from a wall with nowhere to move over, and still they will crash right into me, body-check. There really is no consideration for others, no sense of appropriateness. It happens on a daily basis, multiple times a day, no matter where I am, where I'm walking, what I'm doing - Koreans will collide. And it doesn't stop there.
I do a 40-minute bike ride down to my Hapkido (martial arts) class, and I've never seen anything like this. Again, the sidewalks are fairly wide on this journey, many with a specially marked bike lane - yes, on the sidewalk, not on the street. If you attempt biking on the street, you will probably get run over. It's a complete miracle how a 4'10 and 90 pound, old, Korean lady can swerve all over, taking up the full 8 foot sidewalk and will not move no matter how loud and how long my bike bell is ringing. I basically have to wobble around avoiding crashing into the "Ajema" (polite word for old lady) that will never move over. It's not just the ajema's that do this either - it's everyone, all ages, male and female, from toddlers to senile people - no one will move over when I'm biking. One morning, an Ajema was sitting down on the sidewalk and had a dog on a leash that took up the rest of it. I'm sure you can guess what happened. This is a major frustration.
Another thing that blew my mind is that the Koreans never cover their mouths when sneezing or coughing. It's completely unbelievable. I cannot make any sense of this. In my classes, my students do it all the time as well. It has been 10 weeks now of me constantly scolding them and instructing them never to cough or sneeze without covering their mouths - so they are getting better. I'm glad they are just about trained as the "cold" season is just around the corner. But it's amazing how anywhere you are, close quarters or not, beware of being coughed and sneezed on.
There are dozens of little things that happen where I just cant understand if this is real or if someone is seriously playing a joke on me. The most basic, common sense and common knowledge is just not there - it has to be a joke. I must be on Punk'd some of these times. Last week, I walked into Pizza Hut with a friend and looked through the English menu at the entrance/host stand. The Pizza Hut's here are like restaurants, like back in the old days, at least in Kansas, where Pizza Hut had a salad bar and seating, etc. They had a lunch menu on the stand that's from 12 noon until 5pm - it was 2pm. The hostess finally came up and grabbed two regular menus and I inquired about the lunch menu, and she said yes it's lunch menu time but didn't take those menus. I started pointing at them asking if we can have those menus. She nodded but still seated us and didn't bring them. Then again, I asked for the lunch menus, and she returned to the host stand and brought them. Why she didn't bring them with us when I asked for them by the stand, I may never know.
Last weekend, we were in Seoul at a strange Dutch-themed restaurant with a menu of mostly Italian food. The waitress stood hovering over us for 5 minutes as we struggled to make out the pictures since the entire menu was in Korean. Usually you find a few English words next to each menu description but not here. As I was pulling out my cellphone dictionary, the waitress asked in perfect English if we had dined there before. Clearly a logical question and puzzling that she spoke English this whole time. I asked if a picture of a normal, plain-looking spaghetti had any meat in it - she said no. The dish came out and it was beyond full of bacon - I mean FULL of bacon. Then we ask if they have Coke Zero, she says yes, of course but never came back with any drinks. She comes over and tells us to grab a cup and the beverages are self-serve. I do as I was told, grab two cups, head over to the machine which was around the corner in their working area, and she tells me to go back around to the other side of the counter. I hand her the two cups and since there were 7 fountains of Cider and 1 fountain of Pepsi (no Coke Zero in this place), I ask for Pepsis. She takes the two cups, fills up one, puts it on the counter for me and just stares at me like I should be on my way. I put two cups on the counter, she took both cups, but she only filled one. Someone please explain. I asked her for the other one and finally got it, but it was such a challenge for her.
In downtown Daegu, there are blocks and blocks of stores and pedestrians absolutely everywhere. It's a little similar to Third Street Promenade in LA where it's a brick-layed road but it's not for driving, just for pedestrians. Downtown Daegu has stores set up in a similar fashion but it's more of a grid rather than one straight street. Anyway, point is, there's hundreds of pedestrians, it's basically an outdoor mall, and one would think that these "roads" are not for cars. Only here, these cars drive all through downtown - down streets of stores and restaurants that are only the width of a small alley. Clearly, cars should not be driving down here. It takes them 10 minutes to drive down one block. It's literally mobs of people with cars inching through huge crowds and honking here and there for the pedestrians to move. There is no way I can ever come up with a logical reason why a car would ever need to drive on these "sidewalks."
Also, apparently it's been concluded that Korea as a country is one of the least efficient countries in the world. They take twice as long to complete tasks, they are overworked because they don't use their time well so it takes them 12 hours to do a job that should take 6. The lack of efficiency and logic in this country is beyond me.
I will never understand you, Korea.
Cults - Oh My God
