What better place to start than Kimchi. Kimchi is that not-so-great smelling, slimy, spicy, red pepper coated cabbage side dish. It seems like almost everyone makes it here, which is quite spectacular considering how difficult it is to make. From what I can tell, you take some cabbage leaves, coat them in a red-pepper, garlic, etc. seasoning paste and let it all marinate together for months or even years. I have heard that 3-6 months of fermentation is best (this is probably a personal preference). This creates the bad smell and the good bacteria that makes Kimchi a nutritional powerhouse. You will probably think it tastes so bad that it must be healthy. A lot of families have refrigerators at home solely for making Kimchi. Other people have giant pots in which they make Kimchi or ferment soybeans (to make a far worse smelling food) and they sometimes bury them underground during the process. Kimchi is the most important thing in Korea. There is no doubt about that. Everyone loves it, they can't eat a meal without it. If you were to come to Korea, I would bet that the first thing you noticed was that it smells like Kimchi. There is a myth that you can smell Kimchi for the first time on your trip as you are landing at Incheon International Airport. I disagree with this as you can smell Kimchi much sooner than this, when it is served with your in-flight meal. Fortunately, Kimchi is definitely something that you can get used to, as are most things in Korea. I always finish my Kimchi (unless it is too old and starts to taste alcoholic) and I don't really notice anymore how everyone and everyplace smells like Kimchi. (Maybe I smell like Kimchi too, now.) If you want to rile up a Korean person, just say something like "I heard that Kimchi came from Japan." When Koreans take pictures, they say Kimchi instead of Cheese to induce a smile. Space Kimchi was developed to accompany Korean astronauts into space. Bottom line: Nothing is more important than Kimchi.
The Korean economy is run by an oligopoly of massive corporations. Many believe that these companies pretty much run the state as well (sound familiar?). These companies make so many different products that they really start to seem omnipotent. For example, everyone knows Samsung and it is pretty well known as a Korean company. Internationally everyone knows their electronics, mostly TVs and cell phones, but in Korea that make tons of things that don't really get exported. They make cars, provide car insurance, build apartment buildings, build ships, they make every household appliance, sponsor every kind of athletic team (including Chelsea FC), have major headquarters in every Korean city. I was surprised to learn that Samsung cell phones are the most prolific brand in the U.S., followed by Motorola and then LG - another Korean company, in 3rd. Other massive Korean companies include HyundaiKia, SK and Woobang (recently bankrupted).
Also, Korean bosses work their employees to the bone. Many people consistently work on Saturdays and typically only get one week of vacation per year. Many work 10 hour days. Also many companies maintain their own system of buses to pick up and take home workers, like kids going to school.
Everyone wants to learn English. Everyone thinks it is absolutely vital in the job economy to know English, though hardly anyone seems to speak English at their workplace. Your English test (TOEIC) score is very important in getting a good job, so people are constantly studying for it and many take it every month. Imagine having to take the SAT every month, what a nightmare!
Korea is the most wired country in the world and it is easy to see the evidence of this. Many people watch TV on their cellphones. They also videochat with each other on their phones. Sometimes I can access up to 8 wireless networks at work. Every car I have ever seen has a GPS/radar detection system. Many have the big GPS screens and people watch TV on them while they drive. People watch TV on buses, trains, at the public spa, in almost every restaurant and in the taxi. Also there are way too many cell phone stores, I have no idea how they stay in business. I had heard that Koreans keep a cellphone for an average of 3 months before getting a new one, but no one I have spoken to buys this many cell phones.
You can see English writing everywhere, on products, clothing, road signs, etc. A lot of people have no idea what these signs say or mean. A lot of products have hilarious English slogans. Cass, a beer brand, has the slogan "Sound of Vitality". Pizza Bingo "Like a Flower". Mr. Pizza "Love for Women". KTF cell phone service "Have a good time!" Many things are advertised as "Well-Being", even though they clearly are not - such as Pizza, Alcohol, etc.
Korean age is different than Western age. In Korea I am 25, but only 23 in America. This is because when Koreans are born, they are considered to be 1 year old. In Korea you do not gain a year on your birthday, but rather on the day of the lunar new year. In a sense, everyone has the same birthday.
I find Korean traditional culture to be very interesting and am amazed how it seems to maintain itself in many ways despite the increasingly pop culture. It is sad to see how quickly things seem to be moving to the consumer pop culture here (not that I have a great perspective on that by any means). Cities here seem very fake, imitation, nonsubstantial. There is not much diversity in terms of stores and activities, though the Daegu city government seems to try hard to support local culture. There is a good Korean culture museum in Daegu that I have not been to yet. Overall, it is hard not to admire the fortitude and graciousness of Korea and its people.
As far as my life, I am getting ready for the spring soccer season which starts up in 2 weeks. At school, we are beginning to start working with kids on Odyssey of the Mind, which is an international English creative thinking competition that I participated in during elementary school. We have 14 teams of 7 people each in our school system, so I will be in charge of 2 or 3 teams. It should be a lot of work and will shake us out of our comfort zones, so it should be exciting. So long for now and don't forget "the sound of vitality" or "love for women".
2 comments:
Interesting. I love hearing about the Korean culture. I've heard that Korea is very tapped in to the US because our countries are such close partners. I'm interested in knowing what the people think about the US. Did they follow our recent election? What did they think of Hillary's recent visit, was it a big deal to them? Also, North Korea has been saber rattling lately, what do they think of that? OM will be fun! love, Mom
nice post. i'm glad you love kimchi so much now. I remember the first time we got it when your friend came to visit and it was the worst smelling and tasting thing ever and just sat in our fridge for months. They have Korean food at a lot of chinese restaurants in addition to chinese food and I really like this fried rice that has kimchi and a sunnyside up egg on it. I have also noticed the funny english slogans. In the grocery store yesterday I saw one that went something like, "start living the new life" and it was in front of alcohol, prepackaged items and less chinese more western items.
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