About Korea

Please note these are observation by a man from Queensland Australia as he experiences a very different culture.

It is not meant to be critisims or judgement but a statemant of differences observed.

1.	competitive in so many ways
2.	appearance paramount
3.	packaging is small and excessive
4.	women look good but they should considering the amount they spend on cosmetics, make up and clothes
5.	pollution seems a very great deal
6.	everybody is busy and works long hours aiming for the good life but they never get any closer
7.	drinking seems the only regular and possible pastime
8.	school is mon - fri 8:30 - 5 plus up to 5 hrs extra private school, then sat 8:30 - 12 plus up to 5hr extra private school
9.	much English is taught - not much is spoken
10.	English may be a ticket out of the country and the Korean Trap.
11.	English is an entrance requirement not a tool many will use.
12.	eating is complicated and wasteful, fresh and good but the red chilli get a bit boring
13.	street food is good and everywhere and unregulated
14.	grey water smell is every where
15.	credit cards are used and preferred and the is a loyalty system
16.	credit cards are equivalent to a debit card in Aust
17.	shops open late (10 am) and shut late (12pm)
18.	their eastern wisdom is all but gone victim of the desire to be Western - another state of the USA it seems
19.	a fascination with 4-wheel drive vehicles - but only 2 wheel drive - cheaper
20.	short because most people don’t sleep long enough
21.	lovely people friendly and helpful
22.	the streets are a safe place
23.	there is no graffiti
24.	stripped down scooters are the HOT machines
25.	cars are mainly 3 colours white, sliver, and black
26.	1 and 2 tonne trucks are navy blue
27.	small bikes and scooter are used as delivery vehicles - often with big loads on novel brackets and extra school on the back too support the load
28.	streets are mainly paved with zig-zag tiles
29.	traffic rules are mainly regraded as mild suggestions
30.	red lights seam to mean slow down and check before driving thru.
31.	rubbish recycling is a way of for those who can find no other work.
32.	stainless steel and concrete is used every where
33.	the look of wood is desired but it is all plastic and veneer
34.	public rubbish bins are essential non-existent
35.	the fruit of the gingko tree smells like baby vomit
36.	hot water under floor is a comfortable heating system
37.	the internet is fast and pervasive
38.	service is always fast - way faster than anything in Aust
39.	milk and cheese is expensive almost 10 times the cost in Aust
40.	Banana's are extremely cheap
41.	stone fruit is very big and crunchy and perfect looking? I think green and tasteless
42.	nashi pears are as big as rockmelons
43.	many small businesses are operated from the back of a navy blue 2 tonne trucks that park anywhere !!
44.	markets setup in the car parks of the many apartment or in selected streets
45.	businesses of the same type cluster in the same place - an example of the copy-cat crowd-sheep culture
46.	old people seem strong - well there isn’t any support for the sick or elderly
47.	charity - hummm aunt seen any
48.	walking seems to be a shuffle unless aimed at a mountain
49.	teenage girls wear undersized tops and blouses - for the obvious effect
50.	not many fat people
51.	medicine is more easily from the chemist
52.	the zig-zag foot paths are very ineffective on unlevel ground
53.	some pavers are made of recycled tyres
54.	rope is not used but large fan belts are used as hold down straps
55.	most things seem 92% finished - especially the concrete between and around buildings
56.	spare land is cultivated independent of owner - vacant building sites - foot paths - rice paddy levees
57.	lettuce is picked by the leaf
58.	knowledge is valued over skill and ability
59.	soccer is obsession
60.	life is a made rush to where ?
61.	for hundreds of years Koreans have had masters and that is the same - but now the masters are not nobles but companies and the desire to keep up with the rat race
62.	so much change and so much lost
63.	most of Korea is no more that 50 years old and not designed to last as new is always better
64.	that most Koreans will ever have the good life they strive for as they are mainly lost in the crowd of un-independent thought
65.	highest suicide rate in the world
66.	kids are only the chance to be kids when not being students
67.	street food is quick
68.	food is always covered in chilli or sauce - simple food with a little salt - no way
69.	pay someone else to do it - explains the nearly finished state of most things
70.	everywhere needs a good wash
71.	parking absolutely anywhere
72.	theft seems low stock is left outside covered by a tarp
73.	simple food seems excessively sweet - bread all tastes like bun
74.	the country of morning calm - early morning is very quite - shops don’t start till at least 10am
75.	most westerners  seem fat or misfits
76.	despite the English taught there is little on the street - the great well of tourism money will remained untapped until the mono-culture makes use of the efforts spent on English education.
77.	the Koreans are experts with bridges and tunnels concrete and stainless steel
78.	a nation of sheep - it was warm enough to be by the creek side but it was fall and nobody goes camping in fall as no body else goes camping in fall - ah doing thing out of season is a sure way to get away from the crowd.
79.	how much electricity could the country save, if it gave up being on the Japanese time zone and used the solar clock.
80.	Christianity has a very business feel
81.	any vehicle can have red and blue lights
82.	you can turn right at a red light but you can turn left at a green light (they drive on the right of the road)
83.	Everland is a copy of Disneyland but a softer cleaner feel
84.	drivers are always blowing the horn
85.	service is fast
86.	safety is a low priority - chair lift with out a latch for the safety boom
87.	spitting is very common
88.	eating with your mouth open and making noises is normal
89.	hagwon is destroying family structure and life
90.	frantic drivers but shuffle walkers
91.	swept never washed
92.	public grass and gardens not cared for - edges never done - it will die when winter comes.
93.	perfect fruit - apples are sure to red all over as the lay silver paper on the ground when the fruit is ripening - the perfect package again
94.	disposable - nothing made for keeps - new is better -replace don’t maintain
95.	no aged support
96.	low tax
97.	good and wide roads
98.	many old ladies who can’t ever stand straight
99.	speech often sounds angry
100.	So so much money spent on English and it isn't in pursuit of a skill but of a mark to get into the next level of school.
101.	Non-individual sheep herd mentality
102	Nearly finished – but why finish we will change and rebuild soon enough
103	Nice people that become angry monster behind the driving wheel or in crowds
104	Fake wood look is everywhere
105	Lookism – a serious affliction, substance is often not important only looks
106	Honorifics in the language imply a retention of the feudal system of the past – ie people are not all equal but assessed according to class/status
107	Morning calm – well they are asleep because the worked to late or the are hung-over
108	Meat and food is too often marinated or sweet, red chilli replaces salt.
109	Disconnected from the environment and working with – controlling is chosen
110	Many things are not understood just used – drivers will drive anywhere over anything as they don’t understand the consequences
111	People become impersonal and rude when in a crowd – competition even to be first in the door for the sake of being first
112	1 korean vs 1 japanese korean will win BUT 10 korean against 10 japanese the japanese will team work beats individual effort
113	Competitive with modern things but loosing most old things and their culture
114	Rat race
115	Hazard lights and horn blowing is a replacement for safe driving
116	Copy not create or innovate
117	Learned but not often intelligent
118	The language is suitable to people without teeth – thus the young and the elderly all have similar pronounciation
119	Confucian Feudalism is till prevalent in society – Tycoon have replaced nobles and kings – Tycoon Confucian Feudalism
120	People don’t believe they are the government and so cheating the government is accepted and prevalent
121	Lost their heritage in the race to compete with the west japan china and …
122	There are so many many apartments – but you stil have to stand in line to win a raffle to get a chance to buy one
123	Apartments are a status symbol not a symbol of poverty
124	Can only borrow less than half the value of a property
125	Readiness to cheat (in some aspects) people or government in the pursuit of the golden cash cow
126	Providing information to “lowers” ie employees is not considered necessary
127	Not racist but classist and lookist and patriotic and competitive with other races
128	Cosmetic surgery is common for even young teenagers, hair dyeing and perm are done even to infants
129	English is a tool for ranking students to get into Uni and not desired as a communication skill but is studied as a science
130	Lacking innovation and diversity her culture
131	Most restaurant meals involve discarding half of the food
132	Ability to waste food is a measure of affluence
133	Naïve to the broader world – they think korea is a big and powerful country – instead of small and developed.
134	Many things are considered invented in Korea because they are so popular in korea but they are mainly refined copies of things from other countries.
135	An inferiority complex spurs people on to try hard but also cause people to be creatively selective with facts to bolster national pride and self image