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The mosquitoes
The mosquitoes in Korea are as big as a fly. When one of them bites you, you feel like you just donated blood. The scar they leave is as gigantic as the mosquito itself. If a mosquito bites you in Korea, the area it bites looks like you have a boil. I guess this is how they mark their territory.
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The smells
I don’t know what it is but sometimes when I am walking down the street I get harassed by the foulest smell. Other foreigners I spend some time with have talked about this mysterious smell. It is a distinct smell but not as harsh as the mysterious smell I hear from people who have visited India. It is a unique aroma that attacks your nose unsuspectingly and you can almost taste it. Maybe it is from the urine of the drunk guy I saw pissing on the side of the street the other night when I was walking home from work. Maybe it is from the kimchi I saw a lady leave on the side of the road for the garbage man. Whatever it is, know one thing, it is the foulest smell to venture into my nostrils.
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Cutting in the line
This one has happened to me almost every time I have gone to the bank. In fact it happened to me today when I went to use the ATM. I was waiting in line for my turn to use the ATM, but when the gentleman in front of me finished, another older guy came out of nowhere and jumped in front of me and started to use the ATM ignoring my presence. Steam came out of my nose but I remembered what I read about Korea before coming. Seniority in age is everything and Confucianism governs the society. Confucius says,
“man who jumps in front of line might be jumping in front of fist”
That’s my Confucius quote of the day.
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Personal space
Koreans seem to have little regard when it comes to personal space. People touch you, especially the kids, but it is really unnerving when done by anyone other than a child who might be curious as to why your skin is different from his or hers. This happens less often with prolonged stay however.
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Staring
Oh the hypocrisy. I read and was told that it is rude to stare at people in Korea. I think this is true in any culture but I find here in Korea that they are the ones doing the staring while telling me that it is rude. I get stared down, up, side to side, from above from Korean ninjas (joking). But all jokes aside, what are you looking at? When you stare at people, what is that you are looking for? If it is a beautiful woman I can understand that but why are you looking me? I am not fascinating in any sense of the word. You should be getting eye sores looking at me and I am not fishing for a compliment here. I have briefly talked about this before when I first got here and I was so flabbergasted at the hypocrisy that I decided to only express my thoughts in poetry. See Poems from South Korea.
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Pedestrians first
There is no such thing as pedestrians first in Korea. It seems like cars have the right of way rather than people. Earlier today, I was going to a coffee shop I frequent when I had to stop and wait for a car that was parking on the side walk before I could squeeze my way around it to get by.
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Urgency
There is no sense of urgency on things that matter most to Westerners and even Koreans themselves. For instance, we get paid in increments sometimes. I still do not understand this one. Do I do my job in increments? Don’t be surprised if you have not received your entire pay on pay day ESL Teachers and perhaps others working abroad.
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Criticism
This one should be number one. Koreans don’t like it when and if you don’t like something about Korea. They get defensive as if it was a personal attack or that you are not suppose to have an opinion about their country. This baffles me, I don’t expect Koreans like everything about the U.S. In fact, some yell and say things in Korean to foreigners about U.S military bases and overall U.S occupation here.
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Forgetting that I am not Korean
It is frustrating when Koreans expect you to abide and respect their culture and tradition then turn around and disrespect your own by assuming that since you are in Korea, you are Korean and should be treated as such. This is a huge problem for English Teachers that come to Korea and perhaps other countries. Some put up with it; some leave and some adjust.
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Constant reminder to learn Korean
Learning Korean is not what I am here for; I am here to teach English. Although I want to learn the language I don’t need you reminding me to do so constantly. So if I want to learn Korean, I will learn Korean not because you remind me everyday, but because I want to, so stop telling me please.
Fin
The best thing about traveling is the people and the experiences you share with those people. However, being that we come from and are raised in different cultures and hold strong prejudice about how to live and what is acceptable and unacceptable, there are going to be things we like and don’t like about different cultures. With that said, the best things to take with you to another culture are understanding, tolerance and an open mind.
There are also 10 things I love about Korea
Personal note
I don’t hate any culture or people, I simple dislike the habit or habits of that person or culture. Remember, just because something is different does not mean it is wrong. I write these because they are so and they can be annoying sometimes because it is not again, in accord with the rules of my culture. What do you think?
{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
Good list to get me in mind of what to expect there! Does insect repellant help at all? I'm thinking of wearing shades all the time so I can ignore the stares. Would that be considered rude in Korean culture, I wonder – wearing shades/sunglasses?
Keep your head up, you are gaining wonderful life experience!
Maisha,
Insect repellent will be your best friend and wearing shades is not considered rude as far as I know. The stares
can be hard to ignore sometimes. I usually smile and go about my business. One time, a lady was staring at me from across the
street but she kept walking not seeing what was in front of her. I kept looking at her too from the corner of my eye and
she ran into the wall. I kind of felt bad for her, but it was interesting to see.
To Maisha: When I was in Korea I didn't see many Koreans wearing shades.. it's just not a common thing, don't know exactly why, perhaps it's part of etiquette? But I'm sure it wouldn't be too out of the norm.
And Tate, I wonder if your pay issues stem from the nature of your school? I hope you will get all of your pay and I hope you discuss this with someone for support…
As far as getting stares, I'm sure you know that in Korea, being such a homogeneous society, people will stare at any walking thing that doesn't look Asian… while I was there it happened to me a lot, though it's probably not as much in Seoul because of the higher foreign influence there. If anything I believe they are just curious. I've seen provincial Americans here stare at Asians sometimes, hah. And also, I went to college in a small city where sometimes men in cars will whistle or yell at good-looking women (particularly foreign-looking women) on the street, just to get attention. That might be one of their pet peeves about the US.
Criticism: my idea is that since Koreans have a very strict sense of nationalism, especially the older generations, they will tend to get defensive about their country/culture.
My solution to the frustrations of being a foreigner in Korea: When in Korea, do as the Koreans do. As much as possible. Hehe. It's actually so fun to be able to assimilate after a while and try acting Korean just to see what kind of difference it makes. I've done that with my group of Korean friends and though they are more open minded compared to the average Korean, when you do actually find yourself included in a Korean circle of some sort, it's like a homey and kinship feeling that they are taking care of you as one of their own and they will laugh and joke and play with you, and of course feed you all the time.
If you hang more around Koreans than foreigners, you will understand what I mean.
This is just my experience and by no means am I trying to dismiss anything you do or say here. In the end I do agree that there will be some kind of frustration in the environment. Actually, even though I am American by birth and have lived most of my life here, I don't feel like I totally relate to either American culture or the other one I grew up with. I think I read somewhere that the day we start to feel like we belong is when we choose to belong somewhere. And it can be in more than one place.
10 Things I Love About Korea:
1. Galbi
2. Shabyu Shabyu
3. Submissive Women
4. Galbi
5. Galbi
6. Samgyeopsal
7. Um … Cheap Public Transportation?
8. Drinking On The Street (OOOOOOOOOOHHHH … this one should be higher …)
9. Galbi
10. Soju is Cheap – a blessing and a curse
I like this list Mischa minus the Soju one. I might have to put a list of things I love too together. The submissive women I haven't experienced though, would you care to elaborate lol?
You make a lot of good points Roxana. The staring does stem from curiosity and it is done more by the older folks than the younger. It is also less in Seoul metropolitan area. I like that line "the day we start to feel like we belong is when we choose to belong," but is that always our choice? Could you choose to belong somewhere and that somewhere does not want you there? For instance, Latinos and blacks in America, Muslims and others in Europe although it is less talked about there like it doesn't happen? Germans, Jews………and many others, are we all foreigners in this world then simply because we move next door? I think our world needs a new perspective. What do you think?
I spend a lot of time with Koreans and they are great people; they are fun and very friendly to be around is just that and I am sure you would agree to some degree that cultural differences get in the way of a more fuller experience sometimes.
10 things i love about westen culture
1. Open – minded
Mostly the foreigners who i can call friends are so open-minded. They don't hasitate to say something they want to do ,or no to do. Sometimes they asked me about too personal questions which was used to bother me if I have to answer these questions. However, in positve way, Being open-minded to everybody is the first step to understand others and also to make many friends, too.
2. Bilingual and Multicutural environment
Language is like a door to be able to open other cultures. That is the best reason why i am eager to learn new languaes, If I were an America, English, or Canadian(also a person who came from any other couturies which use English as a national laguage. ) i would not have spent so much time and energy. But I was born as a Korean with God's certain purpose, That means I have to try hard to learn more English and also other languages. I hang out with my foriegn friends who can speak in many other languages such as Spenish, Germen, and France. It gives me to motivate to learn more and more.
3. Men who love literacy
Many foreign friends of mine love poems. When I went to wine bar with them, i was so surprised because al most of them had their personal diary. I have seen only few Korean men who has thier personnal diary book. I saw that they wrote not only diaries but also some poems which they had written by themselves. Most of all , their poem was so great. Wow, it is still so amazing. People should be able to express their difficulties or happiness directly or indirectly through any other methods. Therefore, I think people who can express their experiences are mutual enough.
………… to be continued ( i am so tired) and also tate your writing is so wonderful. I hope to talk mor about it later. good night!!!
HAH! Into a wall, huh!
hey tate, this is laura (we talked on the phone about the apartment your school provides) i thought i would take a look through your blog to get a feel for your experience at pyeongteak ecc…and saw this. i am concerned about one of your points…about the pay being in incremements…what do you mean by that? do they not pay on time? what day is payday? my ecc (same ybm) pays on the 7th of every month and has never been late… i have massive student loans at home that come out of my bank automatically so getting paid on time is a neccissity…could you explain a bit more for me?? thanks. ha ha ha *^^* sorry if this causes an inconvience…
People in Korea aren’t starring at you because they are hypocrites. They stare at you because you are noticeably different than they are and you stick out like a sore thumb without even trying. Most native Koreans have very limited involvement (if any) with people of other races especially blacks. Please get over yourself! If you can’t deal with someone looking at you due to their innocent curiosity then maybe Korea and other countries that lack diversity just aren’t for you. Take the focus off yourself and put yourself in their shoes.
Kay, first it’s obvious I don’t look Korean; that’s not where the hypocrisy lies. It’s in the fact that I am told that it’s rude to stare but the very people telling me that are staring. You should pay more attention when you read, it helps when trying to make a point. And secondly, I am aware of the fact that Koreans are not that exposed to a lot of blacks (in person) but there is television and a number of other avenues thus that much staring and touching to see if your color rubs off is a bit overboard. Thirdly, it’s a personal list of things I don’t like whether you agree with them or not I can careless. I enjoyed my time there regardless. I put on their shoes everyday and understood where they were coming from now my big toe hurts – but that doesn’t mean I have to like the staring. I don’t know if you are some Korean advocate but I think you missed the point of the list.
Hi I’m Korean to and I hate alot of things about Koreans but you can’t really blame them for staring. I think what the people meant was that staring at elders is considered rude or if there is a conflict going on and you stare. Mostly it’s the elder part. When you meet an elder and are talking to them you are expected to bow down, keep your head down, and minimize eye contact for prolonged amounts of time. Other than some of the problems you face I hope you enjoy your stay there and taking out some of your students to a bar or grill house is considered great fun in Korea.
Oh god, i went to South Korea for a weekend for my dad’s business trip and seeming as I’m half black I got a whole lot of stares and weird questions. One boy actually came up to me, poked my cheek and giggled. It’s actually funny because they’re really curious. Luckily nobody was rude to me and Seoul is a pretty cool city. Oh and I know what you mean by the smell, when you walk out of a building and into the street it can knock you out flat haha.
Amy, it is truly one of a kind experience to visit Korea. The level of curiosity there is innocent to a fault at times. Oh don’t remind me of the smells lol.
Hi Laura,
I understand your concerns. However there is nothing to worry about, it happened once to me and another teacher but we had a meeting about it and it has never happened again, I have been paid on time since. Increments, meaning got paid half and other half a day after 7th. It;s the same payday at this ECC too. I think you will like it here, there is a lot of room for flexibility in terms of how you teach and schedule. feel free to ask more questions if you have any.
thank you so much!!! ok it's good that it didnt happen again to you~ *^^*
yeah, i hope so! i am used to the ecc system so i think it will be a good and easy transition~
thanks again for your help~ i really appreciate it. so if all goes well, i guess i will see you in march~
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