The Trash Cans

All over Korea a big push has been made to recycle. They are serious about it. Michael said if I put plastic in the trash they wont even pick up your blue trash bag if there is anything recycling in it. In America we have alot of trash cans all over our cities, but Korea has dotted their cities with recycling cans. We should follow suit.

The Haircut

I got a haircut at salon recently. I was nervous at first about it because I dont speak much Korean and on second thought, I should have learned some Korean haircut words like short or trim. The haircut turned out alright. I took a picture of what I wanted. They gave me a bit more euro trash hairstyle then the photo indicated but it was fine with me. The best part is they give you the full treatment. Cut, wash and style for only 10,000W ($9.00).

The High Rise

Most people in Korea either live in an apartment or on a farm. Renting or Leasing an apartment doesnt work like it does in the United States. Sure they have the typical lease agreement for foreigners but for the average Korean its a little different. To rent an apartment they require an enormous deposit, somewhere in the range of $200,000 USD. After this, the tenant just pays a small monthly rental fee while the owner of the apartment collects interest on the down payment or uses the money to invest in another building. Most of the apartments around me are atleast 30 stories tall and are grouped in little villages. Most of them are complete with their own post office and quicky marts. Koreans also measure apartment size in a different unit then we are used to. I first thought they measured them in square meters but they measure them in pyong. My apartment is 18 pyong so in western measurements its 640 sqft. I have a larger on in comparison to some of my less fortunate friends. One guy I know in Seoul has a 5 pyong apartment. Its cramped to say the lease.

The Fuzz

The police in Korea are rarely seen. Guns are illegal in the country so violent crimes are very low. All Korean men between who turn 18 must join the army or the police. I would think there would be more police just for that. The police I have seen look like boys, I cant imagine them stopping anything. Koreans dont have as many patrol cars like in the United States. Instead, most of them ride around in these tiny cars with speed cameras attached to the roof and on motorcycle. Yes, they are Harleys. Instead of having speed traps in Korea they have cameras that send you an automatic ticket. It sounds like a great idea, leave the boring jobs to machines right? Well, Korea has terrible driving habits because of it. Most cars have a GPS in them which updates the driver to which intersections have cameras and where the speed cameras are. If there is no camera at the intersection, many times cars just go right through. On the freeway, drivers speed recklessly until they come to a speed camera, slow down, and then speed back up afterwards.

The Race

I couldnt get a picture of one in action, but everyone in Korea hates the motorbikes. I would call them motorcycles but they dont have enough pedal in the metal to qualify. They motorbikes dont follow any of the posted traffic rules, they wave in and out of traffic, run red lights and pretty much do whatever they want. They follow pedestrian rules when it suites them and traffic rules when it suites them. Or when it suites them they follow none. The problem is, most people relay on them for their quick service of delievering food. Watching them in action is quite scary thought.

The Hairdo

Seeing older Korean women on the street is like entering a time warp. Koreans defiantly show their age through the hairdo. Women who are 40 or older (according to James) have the curly permed hair style. Women who are younger have their normal straight hair, often with blonde high lights. I prefer the straight hair to the permed. A lot of the older women are going bald because chemicals used to perm the hair are so harsh and they have to use alot of them. Asian hair is naturally very persistently straight. Its sad because the straight hair is very beautiful.

The Foliage

Gingko Biloba trees are everywhere in Ulsan. Gingkos are though to be descended from trees in the Pliocene are which was about 5 million years ago. As wikipedia comments, Gingko is one of the best examples of a living fossil. Why would you plant this relic? Gingkos are survivors, they can live with little water and are resistant to pollution. Some of the down falls of the Gingko are that they are a special type of plant called dioecious. This means that unlike normal plants which have both male and female reproductive parts in flowers, Gingkos are only one sex. Many cities who plant Ginkgos plant only the male trees because they dont produce the fruits like the female trees. The fruits are horribly stinky and often cover the sidewalks in Ulsan.

The Couples Date

Today is November 11th (11/11). Today is a special day for couples. Traditionally boyfriends and girlfriends give each other this candy as a show of affection. The candy in Korea is called Pepero but I heard its called pocky in the United States. The candy was on sale at the grocery store so I bought a box for myself. Its pretty tasty.

The Fools Gold

Korea, like the United States has their penny. This time the penny instead of being part of a dollar is actually ten korean dollars (won). From the looks of it, since there are new Korean pennies, the 10 won coin is here to stay. Its comical because the ten won coin is the only gold colored coin in Korea currency. In the United States we have "cents", that is parts of a full dollar. In Korea this is a strange concept seeing as the smallest paper bill in Korean is 1,000 (chun won). They also have 5,000 (oh chun won), 10,000 (mon won), recently introduced 50,000 (oh mon won) and the 100,000 (ship mon won) notes. Counting is complicated and does not follow the western style of thousands but I will have to save this discussion for a later day.

The Big Top

Soju tents are a circus in Korea. I know this one looks empty but its only because its 3 blocks long. On Saturday afternoons Korean businessmen in suits flock to these venues for some Korean Barbeque and Soju. I can barely get that dirty liquor in me but from the looks of their table a small group can clear a case. I learned pretty quickly that you to watch out not for teens or college students or even expatriates being the troubled drinkers, its old Korean men. Any day, any time, you can see this portion of society drunk. Im not talking about homeless men sitting on the side walk, in fact, I havent seen any like that. Its all men in suits.

The Uncreative

The other day in class we stumbled upon a picture of a clay pot. I asked the kids how would you make such a pot and they exclaimed, "A machine, Teacher!". I laughed and then asked them if they had ever made a clay pot in art class. They all looked at me with puzzeled looks. I think started to describe the four ways I learned how to make clay pots, wheel, pinch, coil and slab. Still more puzzeled looks... I moved on to the next topic but I asked Michael about it. Many times over the past few months being here I have been amazed at the kids knowledge but discouraged by their lack of creativity. As Michael describes it, Korean schools do not cherish creativity like American schools do. Many eastern artist go to art school in the west to learn to be creative and think outside the box. Where we clearly lack in discipline or pure knowledge we may make up for it in someway with creativity. If you asked a Korean student anything about the history of Asia they would certainly have an answer. If you asked them about why a painting is beautiful, you would get a blank look. I think we can both learn a lot from each other.

The Pool Hall

I dont know where billiards originated but I really dont picture Asia first in my mind. Still, pool is a huge sport here. I guarantee that no less then 100 pool halls are within 2 blocks of my house. Admittedly I live in a pretty populated area but I have seen 3 story buildings with all three stories occupied by pool halls. The best part is they are cheap, around 6,000W ($5.00)/hr. I have visited a few but I am perplexed by how these places make money, they always seem empty or have a few straggling soju hounds left in them.

The Popular Use

Korea is not in island, nearly though since its surrounded by three sides by water and one side by North Korea. Korean culture still leaks into the mainstream just a little. I was watching South Park last night and saw this on the screen. Its during the episode Chickenlover where one of the characters is discovered to not be able to read. The stop sign says "meongcheongi" (멍청이) which means "idiot". I just cant help but wonder why the creators of the show didnt use Chinese or Japanese. Those countries seem to be more well known outside of Asia.

The Magic Button

Most Korea restaurants have these magic buttons. If you press the button it somehow signals the waiter. I have no idea how it actually works but non-the-less its important to know what the button does. The first time I encountered the button I sat right down and pressed it. The waiter came right over, then Michael politely told him that I was a foreigner and had no idea what I was doing. If you want to summon the waiter the old fashion way just call out yeo-gi (여기) which means "over here". Its not rude in Korea to shout for the waiter like in the United States. Remember, Korea is a service country that doesnt tip and trust me, they run their asses off for you.

The Central Heat

Unlike in America, Korea houses do not have central air. Instead, they have in floor heating. I remember when I was in grade school my parents had a heated floor in their bathroom and thought it was really fancy. In Korea, every floor is heated. It just makes sense, What good is heating the air and blowing it around? In Korea they heat the floor and the heat rises. Its so much more energy efficient. The controls are pretty uniform but kinda strange to westerners. The controls control both the hot water in the house and the heating of the floor. I have no idea what some of these buttons do but I know the ones that control the floor and the hot water for the shower. I have to say, a heated floor is super nice.

The Forbidden Fruit

I was told that Redbull was illegal here but some dope of a foreign teacher. Shows what they know. On Halloween night I went to a bar where the special was Jager Bombs. I assumed they would be using, Baccus-D, the Korea substitute for Redbull. Instead, I was treated to the real thing and it only cost 4,000W($3.50) a can.

The Fashion Sense

South Korea is very fashion forward. They have all the typical brands here as well as some high fashion brands. They have North Face, Mountain Hardware, Burberry, Versace, Gap just to name a few. The sheets on my bed are even Versace. Many people take advantage of the variety of clothing choices but like most places, only a few can actually pull it off. Older Korean men definitely have a problem matching.

The Mailbox

The mailboxes in Korea are red. You dont have to put international mail in a special mailbox like in the United States. Put all the mail in the same box and it will get where its going. These red boxes are all over the place so you dont have to walk far to find one.