The Post

Sending mail in South Korea is pretty cheap. I havent sent any in-country mail but sending a letter home, at least right now (2009) is only 650W ($.50). In comparison, for my family to send me a letter it cost $.95. The post office is friendly but they dont have much grasp of the English language. Its understandable. One important thing to remember is to tell them "Me-gook" (미국) which means America or American person. Simply writing USA on the letter doesnt mean they know where to send it. Sometimes I forget that the language I take for granted is not the common tongue in Korea. Once, I had a little difficulty because international rates are more expensive then in-country rates. The Post Office also sells envelops and boxes of all sizes for very cheap. A normal letter size envelop cost 20W ($.02). I have been very satisfied with the service I have received at the Korean Post Office.

The Sneak Peak

Most of the consumer electronics used in the west are produced in the east. The new Chocolate touch cellphone was released here a few weeks ago but isnt set to be released in the US for 2 more weeks. Although I am too poor to buy it, it looks pretty sweet in the store window.

The Hyperbole

I went to Gyeongju to check out some of the historical sites there. I was told this area has the most historical sites in Korea. Although it may have the most historical sites many of them seemed... fake? For instance, this "historical site" is a recent mock up of an ancient temple. The whole experience seemed phony bologny. This is another example of Korean and Japanese cultural conflict. China has clearly been a power in the region for several thousand years but Korea and Japan fight about everything including who was around first. As a result, both countries try to trace their cultures back thousands of years. These "Temples" are the result of that tracing. If Korea can claim they found older ruins then Japan then they will win the upper hand.

The Local Crop

If you have lived in a box your whole life you might not know that rice is the main crop in South Korea. When you ride on the train you can see rice field stretching as far as the eye can see. Similar to the corn fields in Iowa. For everyone else, rice accounts for more then 90% of total grain production in South Korea, but it is not the main consumer of rice. Korea has become a little westernized so rice is not their main source of carbohydrates. They only consuming 5,000 metric tons a year. China and India lead the world wide rice consumption with 135,000 and 85,000 metric tons per year. Just saying...

The Train Station

Korean train stations are unassuming buildings, a far cry from the cathedral-esque train stations of Rome or Florence but none the less just as functional. In Korea, Station is "yook" (역). They are easy to navigate and have ticket counters usually with kinda English speaking people. Also, the announcements are in Korea and English both at the station and on the platform. Most of the signs are in Korea, English and Chinese so the train station is very foreigner friendly.

The Open Market

Its kinda hard to see in this photograph but in Korea there are food stalls everywhere. The best place to go for them is the open market which you can usually spot with the brightly colored umbrellas. These markets are usually a circus and full of both raw foods like fish, pork and prized beef as well as fruits and vegetables. Usually a labyrinth full of twists and turns, the market also has a very interesting smell to it. Most Korea dishes are flavored with some sort of stinky fish paste or another. There are many restaurants at the open markets. This market in particular is outside of the train station in Gyeongju. You can have your pick of many different types of food at the market. This time I found a dumpling store, they are kinda like pot stickers. Dumplings (만두 or mandoo) are a favorite in Korea and are usually super cheap. The food stall I visited gave me 15 dumplings with dipping sauce, a bowl of soup and a small pot of rice for only 2000W($1.50). Its a deal!

The New Year

Danielle is coming to Korea for Christmas and New Years. She booked us a hotel in Fukouka Japan for 2 nights over New Years. We are taking a ferry from Busan on December 30th at 10pm and arrive in Fukouka at 7:30am. We stay New Years Eve (December 31st) and New Years day night (January 1st) in Fukouka and then back to the ferry on January 2nd we are on a ferry at 10pm back to Busan. In Fukouka I have planned a visit to a spa and also hopefully a visit to the Fukouka Modern Art Museum which has some famous Salvador Dali and MC Escher works.

The Brew

Good beer is hard to come by in South Korea. Imported beer is expensive for obvious reasons. What I dont understand is why they import bad beer like Bud Ice. Bud Ice is a joke in the United States. In Korea, as you can see, it cost 2680W($2.00). Its no wonders that the rest of the world thinks US beer is a joke, they import the wrong ones. Native Korean beers are drinkable but not the best. The two main beers are Hite and Cass. They are both high gravity beers, meaning they have more then 5% alcohol by volume. They dont sell cases of beer because you have to pay a deposit on all the cans so instead Hite and Cass are marketed in 1600ml bottles which they call pitchers. The pitchers are roughtly half a gallon of beer and cost around 4500W($4.00).

The Cheese Selection

Cheese is hard to come by in Korea and good cheese is even harder. I went to a wine tasting a few days ago and they had some Brie. Other then the Brie the only thing I have had is Canadian singles (American Cheese). Canadian singles are not cheap either. The bottom left square is pointing out a "sale" on Canadian singles, 10 peices of cheese for 5,300W($4.50). The top right square is pointing out butter that is on sale, 2 sticks of butter for 6,700W($6.00). Deal or no deal?

The Medicine People

If you wanna go to a Pharmacy in Korea youll need to visit a "yak-guk"(약국). "Yak" means medicine and "guk" people, so its kinda like visiting a medicine man or shaman in africa. They have all sorts of normal pharmacy drugs at the Korea pharmacy but they also have what Michael calls "Chinese Medicine". James said that, like legend or tales has it, China uses all sorts of magical cure-alls and mystery pills made from who know what. Reminds me of Moxie or how Coca-cola used to be made with cocaine. Ill admit I have been taking a supplement that I first bought at the Family Mart down the street called Bacchus-D (박카스D). Someone told me that Bacchus-D was the substitute for Redbull (Redbull is illegal in Korea because it "leads to hysteria"). I have seen it at the bars, Bacchus-D, being served with Jager. Recently I found out that Bacchus-D is a vitamin drink from China. It still tastes good.

The Auto-ticketer

In Korail, like Eurail, has ticket vending machines. The personal ticket windows are open from when the first train leaves (3:15am) to when the last train leaves (11:59pm) in Ulsan but they dont always know English. I usually have to write in Korean where I want to go. The bonus to the ticket machines is that they have an English button so it speaks to you but the down side to the machines is that you have to pay via credit card.

The Honor Code

Korea always goes by the honor code. Everywhere there are honor code plaques suggesting to the general public things that most Americans wouldnt do. For instance, this sign which I found in Seoul on the subway. There are certain seats reserved for handicapped, pregnant, injured and new mothers. I know many places are handicapped accessible in the United States but alot of times there is alot of disrespect for these sort of things. People park in the handicapped spots at the mall because "Hey, handicapped people dont come to the mall that often." The general rule in Korea is dont sit in a seat unless you have too. I often see people standing on the bus to work while several seats are open.

The Charade

Living in Korea can sometimes be challenging, especially when it comes to communication. I do use a phrase book and translator on my iPod but alot of times it just gets lost. An easy example is the photo above of the definitions of "coat". Certainly if your at a store youre probably searching for clothing but say your trying to ask someone where a coat store is... If you pull out your translator and up pops 35 definitions of "coat" it might be hard to ask someone where a coat store is. Pantomiming is my most preferred way of communication, but that usually only works for objects. The best advice is to be patient. Koreans will follow you around for 20 min if they have to, they are usually very friendly and helpful.

The Co-Pilot

In Korea the roads are confusing, most roads dont have street signs. Its nice because I just show my address to the taxi driver and he takes me right there. James told me that the police dont set up speed traps like in the United States. Instead, they have speed cameras that clock you and take a picture of your license plates. As a result, in Korea everyone speeds wildly because the navigator has the location of the camera in them and alerts the driver to the location. Its not uncommon for me to be in a cab going 150kmh (95mph). When the navigator alerts the driver to a camera they slam on their brakes, go through the camera, and then speed right back up.

The Cheese Adventure

I went out looking for cheese the other day because I have been starving for it. Koreans do not do cheese except for a cheesy dog treat I have seen and Sagwa loves. I have seen Canadian Singles (American Cheese) on toast so I figured I could find it somewhere. I was kinda hopping that the cheese package said "Korean Cheese" but instead is just says vertical cheese (상하 체다). Koreans do not do cheese. At an American grocery store you can find atleast 20 different kinds of cheese. Here your lucky to find one and its not even real cheese made by an animal.

The Can Opener

Last week I was a little homesick so I decided I was going to make chili. Chili should be easy enough right? I went to a different grocery store this time where James told me they have a large western section. That grocery store is called Home Plus and apparently is an English outfit. After a good parade around the store with two service people trying to pantomime "beans" to them, the guy helping me out found them. The word "bean" when you put it into a translator comes out in Korean like rice or soy beans, like a grain, I think. It added to the confusion. I got the only beans they had, kidney beans, and loaded up my cart with the rest of the ingredients. I got; beans, onions, red, green and yellow peppers, jalapeno peppers, and a kilo of beef. They dont do ground beef in Korea and think its almost a mortal sin because their beef is very expensive and I have to admit, a lot better then American beef. I also looked for parmesan cheese but that was a hopeless endeavor. The only cheese in Korea is Canadian singles (American Cheese slices). Anyway, I decided to cook up the beef on Saturday night a few days later but when I went to open the cans I realized I didnt have a can opener. It was around 7pm when I started to cook so I ran around the corner to the Family Mart. They didnt have a can opener but said that maybe another Family Mart would. I tried 3 other Family Marts but none had one. I went to Hyundai department store and they only had a 71,000W can opener from Germany. I wanted chili but not for 70 bucks. I finally remembered a kitchen supply store that was in the neighborhood and ran straight there. My luck, they closed at 8pm, right when I got there. 8,000W for a can opener. SOLD. That chili was good too.

The Symbol

I have seen this symbol all over South Korea. Nazi affiliation? National Socialism? Not even close. The Yung Drung has a been a symbol of Buddhism before 500BC, thats even before the Romans took power in Italy. The Nazis just stole it. This isnt the exact swastika the Germans used but instead it is a mirror image. Meaning, it rotates the opposite way. In Buddhism, this symbol is synonymous with the Christian cross

The Vet

On Saturday, I took Sagwa to the veterinarian. The vet, Dr. Lee, was recommended to me by the pet shop that gave me the breeders name. I was a little nervous at first because Im in Korea but the vet spoke very good English. Sagwa got his second round of rabies shots so he should be good for importation to the United States in that respect. Some other tests have a 30 day expiration date so I have to get them right before I leave. Sagwa weighed in at 1.6kg (3lbs 1oz.) The vet did his thing and gave me a report, he said Sagwa is fat. Silly me, I was feeding him extra food because I thought he was too thin. Then he looked at me sternly and said, "Do you love your dog?" I answered, "Yes." Dr. Lee then scolded me for Sagwas dirty condition. His ears were dirty and I hadnt given Sagwa his weekly bath. Thank God I got his toe nails cut before we went to the vet or I would have gotten scolded for that too. The whole trip set me back 60,000W ($50) but it included a six month supply heart worm pills and the rabies shot.

The Show of Affection

In Korea its against the social norm to kiss or hold hands in public so instead to show that couples are together they dress alike. I think its cute but kinda funny. It just makes the girl look more masculine and less attractive. I would want my girl to look super hot so the other guys were jealous. None-the-less, this is the way Koreans say "She's off the market".

The Misnomer

Many times in Korea, companies or businesses try to include English on their products. I appreciate it but sometimes its more confusing then it is helpful. Here is one example of that; pepper flavored cucumbers. Really? cucumbers to me have no flavor what so ever. I wonder if they mean, mild peppers.

The Underground

Every big city in Korea is either in the process of building a subway (Ulsan) or has an extensive subway system already (Seoul). I know many large cities have subways like New York or Chicago but I think there should be a push in the US to get more public transportation. It seems silly to have so many cars on the road if we are all going to same places. The main draw back is that people might have to walk to the subway station... and you wonder why so many Americans are fat? Or, why so many Koreans are skinny?

The Promise (Part II)

Danielle booked her flight through Expedia a month or so ago. Everything was fine until a few days ago when they informed her that she would have to change one of her flights extending and already long layover in New York by 7 hours. She then called Delta to complain about the layover extension. The first time she called they said they couldnt do anything to help. She called back a second time and got her flight changed from Incheon airport near Seoul to Gumpo airport near Busan. This is easier for her since Busan is only a 40min train ride away from my home. The worst part is she has to come to Korea a few days early.

The Fish Market

In Ulsan they have a great fish market. Since we live on the ocean fish is no expensive commodity. In Seoul, fish is expensive. First, because the city is some ways from the sea and second, there are 12 million people in the city. Thats alot of mouths to feed. The fish market I visited is called Noryangjin, its a short walk from the Noryangjin subway stop. I did not eat fish from this market, Michael told me the fish here are old. I have to agree, many of the fish were dead or dying in the tanks. It was a sight to see non-the-less. The market stretched for what I would like to say was almost a mile.

The Islands

Dokdo is a set of islands off the east coast of Korea. Why is this tiny island so important, important enough to post a billboard, written in English and not Korean? Well, Japan and Korea are fighting over this island. Whatever country ends up owning the island will have economic power a certain radius from the shore of that island, effectively widening the territory controlled by that country. Who cares about the sea between Japan and Korea? People who know about a large natural gas pocket beneath the sea. The island is 87km off Koreas coast but 157km off Japans coast. Koreans also view this move by the Japanese government as another step in the long list of imperialist things Japan has done over the past 1000 years. Japan has short mans syndrome in Asia. They are continually trying to expand their territory. Wikipedia registers 6 territorial disputes from Japan. Japan has even gone as far as to rename the "Eastern Sea" the Japanese Sea. Maybe we should rename the Pacific Ocean, the Californian Sea.

The Stack

At the Buddhist temple I noticed several stones stacked all over the place. I took a few inquisitive pictures to find out later. After a little research I discovered that this is a recent practice started to bring good fortune to the stacker. Each stone represents a wish.

The Temple

On Saturday morning before I caught the KTX back to Ulsan, I went to a Buddhist temple called Bongeunsa. It was pretty interesting but a little strange at first. After a few minutes I realized that this place was no stranger then going to a Catholic Mass. A monk was singing in the back ground and ringing bells. In front of the main the temple, there is a large obelisk where many worshipers light incense and candles in honor of their ancestors. Inside the temple there are three main statues of Buddha with an alter in front where worshipers place offerings, from what I saw, rice and fruit. The ceiling is adorned with hundred or possibly thousands of prayers written on papers and attached to the ceiling. In the main courtyard there is an 80ft (maybe?) tall statue. It was a very cultural experience and I would recommend visiting one of these sort of places to anyone.

The Bad Rep.

Iteawon is the foreigner bar district in Seoul. I shouldnt have been surprised but I have not seen that many Americans since I have left. One would think that I would be happy to be among my own country men, but I was more embarrassed. Americans have kinda a bad reputation in South Korea. We are too loud, too drunk, and we start alot of fights. I think most Americans are not as culturally sensitive as many other peoples. We have been brought up to believe that America is the best country and as a result believe we should Americanize everywhere we go. This came to a head on Saturday night when we were coming home from a night out. We rode home with these girls so we could split a taxi ride. The taxi driver drove us to the wrong part of town (because we cant speak Korean) so our taxi ride was an expensive 30,000W. The girls refused to pay saying, "this taxi driver took us there on purpose to jack up the price." Right... The ironic thing about the taxi ride was that a few days earlier this group had been refused service by a taxi because they were foreigners. The whole car was complaining about how its discrimination to refuse service based on race. Maybe if Americans were honorable and paid their fares there would be no discrimination.

The Cathedral

On Friday, Alan took me to the first and only Catholic Cathedral built in South Korea. It was built in 1898 to the tune of all brick gothic style. I thought it was unimpressing but interesting none-the-less. Like many European Cathedrals I have seen, martyrs bones are buried under the alter in the Myeongdong Cathedral. A few interesting notes; first, there is a picture of Pope John Paul II is posted in the sanctuary for his visit in the 80's, second, an eerily asianesque looking Jesus statue welcomes you into the front court yard.

The Way She Goes

The KTX is South Koreas amazing high speed train system. How fast? To earn the distinction a train must travel faster then 124mph on a normal route. On the train, there are TV screens on the roof of the cabin. On these screens the local news is played during the train ride. Also, on the screen the speed is registered. It might be a little unnerving to some but the train routinely travels faster then 300kph (190mph). The route I take travels between Seoul in the north and Busan in the south. It takes around 4 hours to travel between them. I wonder why the US doesnt follow suite and have a state run and sponsored high speed rail system? Maybe Obama should look into electric trains to alleviate some of the pollution in our country.