Raving about Korea... Tuesday, May 17

My top 7 favorite things about Korea
in no particular order)

1. Korean food is simply delish

Koreans eat anything and everything, or so it seems, and this came as a direct result from its’ rough history when they really didn’t have much money or much choice. Consequently, sitting down at for a Korean meal means you’re sure to be bombarded with side dishes galore, most of which are veggies you’ve never seen before or ever heard of. Food and eating well is stressed here in Korea and while most Canadians greet their friends with a simple “Hi, what’s up?”, Koreans greet each other with “Hi, have you eaten?”

Moreover, they love their food spicy! Prior to coming to Korea, the closest I ever came to eating anything spicy was the one daring time I decided to test out medium salsa as opposed to mild salsa for my nachos. The first meal I ate in Korea was kimchi jjigga and no sooner did it go down the hatch but then it was coming back up. I puked it all up outside of the restaurant. Now it’s one of my favorite meals and the spicier the better!

Canada and it’s bland mashed potatoes and steak has NOTHING on Korea’s spicy, make-you-sweat kimchi jjigga and table full of side dishes galore!!!

2. Korea’s innocence and kind-heartedness

Koreans don’t particularly make for friendly strangers like my fellow Canadians who willingly say hi to passing strangers but Koreans definitely make better friends. Becoming a friend with a Korea is like being adopted into their family. Koreans bring friendship to a whole new deeper and closer level, a level which many foreigners would be uncomfortable with. One of my Korean co-teachers at the daycare often holds my hand when she talks to me. While many Westerners might view this as a lesbian act I think it’s quite sweet, she on the other hand thinks nothing of it beyond the idea that it’s just two friends holding hands. My coach often tells me he loves me and the guys at boxing all shower with each other, meaning they also scrub each others’ backs. Young kids walk down the street without the guidance of their parents and take the bus and parents stand proudly when strangers give attention to their children as opposed to questioning why you’re simply touching their baby’s feet.

3. The Prettiness of the Korean People… particularly the men

When it comes to fashion and appearances Koreans definitely have more fun with it and they know how to work it. Yes, my man has a white belt and a pencil tie just like most Korean men. He’s relatively low maintance but that’s due to the fact that he’s also a “sports man”. Mind ya, when we go out on our dates he does clean up quite nicely and pays attention to the details of his appearance. Korean men aren’t afraid of being referred to as gay when it comes to throwing on a pink shirt, doing up a white belt, or wearing a pair of glasses that have no purpose beyond making them look good (I should note here that often these fake glasses also have no lenses).

I never understood the appeal of the whole hip hop style that so many of my male friends in Canada sport. I always thought it was guys wearing oversized clothes that they either hoped to grow into or were using as a means of hiding their bad body lines. Sure baggy jeans may be comfortable but I don’t see how wearing them half down your rear is. Korean guys on the other hand, though many of them don’t really sport the t-shirt and jeans look like most Western men, when they do sport this look you best believe a good percent of them are picky with what jean shape they wear and likewise with the t-shirt. Korean men love the collared polo shirt look – making sure to flip up the collar – and when it comes to jeans, though I don’t care for Korean guys wearing skinny jeans, I must say they definitely know how to pick their jeans, making sure that their bums (and sometimes lack there of them) are nicely defined.

Likewise, Korean women love to play up their femininity, via hair bands or bows in their hair, lace trimmed skirts, or earrings 24/7. While Western women go for either the tough girl or sexy look, Korean women love to go for either pretty or cute and it’s quite refreshing too. Sporting reveling cleavage pushed up and out of your top, like what would be considered sexy by Western terms, is regarded as rather cheap and unladylike by Korea and I like that. The other day I happened to come across a Lady Gaga concert on TV. Lady Gaga was playing the piano in nothing more than a bra and panties and this shocked both of the guys I was with. Snickers turned to me and joked, “I’d kill ya if you ever wore such a thing in public”. Snickers knows first hand that all Western women aren’t mini Lady Gaga’s but it’s no wonder so many Korean men think Western women are easy, look at what we’ve labeled as “great” in the media. You’d never catch a Korean singer relying on such a sex-catch image to sell her music, at least not these days.

4. The Korean language

The Korean language is realitively a simple language to pick up because that was exactly what the King had in mind when he invented it. He wanted a simple language that even the non-scholars could learn. Though I am by no means fluent in the language, I am very comfortable with it and I must say that taking the time to learn it and continue studying it has been the best decision yet. Having a good handle on it has consequently opened up a whole new world to me; it’s awesome.

Unlike in Canada where if you don’t speak English fluently you’re greeted with frustrated people and comments like “This is Canada, speak English”, speaking even just a word of Korean will cause people to cheer you on and clap. For the most part, Koreans don’t expect foreigners to learn their language but speak their language and wow, total props and talk about a new earned respect!

5. The Safety of Korea

Being a huge lover of running but also being a very busy woman means that I often go for late night runs – late as being midnight or 1am late. More often than not, my lake night runs around Dankook Lake has meant me running while Dankook turns off the lights, meaning I end up running in the dark around a fairly quiet place. Add the fact that I also run with my iPod blasting in my ears and ya, you wouldn’t catch me dead doing this in Canada. In Korea however, I don’t even give it a second thought. I feel perfectly safe running by myself.

Back when Snickers was in Japan, I had a midnight “fan” – if you’d call him that. And while having a stalker in Canada would cause me to be concerned, here in Korea it was more of an annoyance than anything. I even threw fruit at him, that’s just how not scared I was of the whole situation.

6. “Service” comes with everything

Whether it’s a free handful of tomatoes at the traditional market or a scoop of ice cream at a restaurant, Korean’s always give you something as a bonus for buying something. Oddly enough, when Snickers and I bought dental insurance they gave us a coupon for free bread at a bakery, strange bonus but I do love my bread!

7. Things are so much cheaper here

Not only is buying clothes cheaper here but eating out and paying rent is so much cheaper here too. Snickers and I have started a weekly weekend tradition of eating at this particular restaurant and with a couple of dozen side dishes plus the main meal, the bill for our meal out only totals a surprisingly low $12… and that’s not an uncommon price here either. For under $20 Snickers and I – both of which I should note have very healthy appetites and insist on freshly cooked meals, as opposed to cheap fast food – can easily dine out and leave feeling full to the max.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
What's on your list of things you love?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
You haven't lost your smile at all, it's right under your nose. You just forgot it was there.
-- Author Unknown