I've been here for three month now, which is just about enough to have a semi-objective view on things. But then this blog would just be boring. Koreans are an incredibly proud bunch. To the extent of blindness. The state is doing a very efficient job of brainwashing its citizens with sugar coated propaganda. http://english.seoul.go.kr/ Ie.: sign on the door at the immigration office: Beautiful Korea Wonderful Immigration.
In Korea everything is 'wonderful', 'beautiful' or a 'miracle'. Most Koreans believe they are the smartest and most talented people on the planet. Any one of them will come up with a list of famous people's names who 'made it' in the West, although the chances are that you have never heard of them.
Koreans tend to blame all their misfortunes on the Japanese. Just think if the Europeans still held a grudge against the Germans. There is no arguing that the Japanese caused quite a bit of mayhem throughout history, but come on people it's been 62 years already!Get over it!
Seoul is a huge, polluted concrete high rise jungle. Air pollution is on par with Beijing partly due to the Korean love affair with huge, gas guzzling' Korean made cars (brands I've never heard of). However everyone recycles which is probably more down to economical rather than environmental reasons. Here you must buy 'authorised' bin bags that have government warning about fines printed on them. Each district has its own plastic bin bags, so those once I bought in my old place cannot be used in my present home. What a waste of plastic. But it supports a small printing industry so it alright.
The city looks like it was built in a hurry to put the most amount of people into the smallest amount of space. Living with the constant view of grey concrete makes people reach out for the only relief they get get from their daily drudgery; Soju. It's a 20% proof alcoholic drink made by mixing pure ethanol with water and flavoring. (REALLY!) Originally it was made from rice until the grain became too expensive. It's still is, Rice costs more in here than in London! The poor agricultural land can't support the enormous population which is still growing.
There is little respite from the concrete. Hardly any trees, parks are tiny and bare and the few hills that have walking trails are so crowded that I rather stay at home and stare at my 'waterfall' screensaver.
The streets are very safe. As a matter of facts it seems that children and women are safer on them than at home. Wife beating and child abuse seems to be a big issue. All the charities I've seen so far are campaigning against domestice violence. They advertise with large posters of bruised children which gave me nausea.
I'm rather unimpressed with the food. Korean food tastes of chili, salt and nothing else. But Sushi is very cheap and fresh (Koreans do seem to prefer Pork and consume an enormous amount of bacon!!!) Chicken is scrawny, pricey and taste like as if they came out of testubes. Vegetables are expensive, except for some weird tasteless grasses and roots. Tomatoes have strange flavours, nothing like I ever tasted anywhere. Foreign foods are few due to import restrictions but I managed to track down a small jar of Pesto sauce for a whooping £5! at the Hannam foreign food store.
Shopping in general is not a pleasant experience. Shiny shopping mall on the outside, crowded cubicle market on the inside, packed with low quality over priced crap. Most of the merchandise consist of copies of famous labels and brands but with hefty price tags that are entirely unjustified. They may look good at first glance but are badly made from cheap material. I could get those clothes at Topshop for half the price and in my size. (Most Korean women have short limbs are wide in the hips with thick legs - must be all that pork fat). Designer labels are a must have! Every girl and boy sports at least one designer name or logo.(Mostly fakes) Electronics...don't get me started - I hate to haggle for overvalued crap. Home furnishing and interior design is outdated with awkward designs in gaudy colours and flowers. Pink everything! But God is kind. The only Muji shop is 5 minutes walk from my hose. It's more like a small section in a department store with a limited selection, but hey, I take anything I can get. Muji is where I hang out when my retinas need a rest.
This must be the only country on earth where you can't buy Colgate toothpaste. Srange as the Koreans seem to be obsessed with brushing their teeth. Deodorant is an unknown concept (not that there is no need in a country where the basic diet consists of pork, garlic, chili and rotting cabbage (kimchi).
This brings us to health. The air is ultra DRY! Humidifier machines are everywhere. My face must have aged about 10 years in the last three months. My skin is peeling, and my hair is like horse's tail. Everything is lit by neon tubes day and night so even my eyeballs feel like a peeled grape rolled into sand.
Every teacher I spoke to told me the same horror story about the longest lasting Flu they ever had. I joined the club one week into teaching. The doctor gave me seven different kind of pills and a shot too for good measure. Still I cough up enough Phlegm that could drown my kindergarten class.
Miscelaneous weird stuff: All chopsticks are made of metal.(there is a serious tree shortage here) - Spoons have extra long handles. - There are clean toilets in every subways station but all the squatting type. - Old ladies sell all kinds of grasses and roots, homade tofu, jelly, ricecakes etc on every possible spot. - Boiled silkworm larvae is a street snack, it smells bad but tastes nothing more than slightly off cabbage leaf. - The Fifth Element and the Matrix have been on TV at least twice every week since I've been here. - There is a TV channel dedicated to computer gaming.(Frankly I'd rather watch Sumo wrestling) - Supersition is widespread, young people queque up at Tarot readers' tents but traditional Fortune Tellers have been relegated into the housewifes' corner. - Seoul at night looks like a giant cemetery due to the hundreds of glowing red neon crosses on top of church buildings. (Christianity is a huge taxfree business here.) - Koreans love a good drama, there is none of that oriental type hiding of emotions nonsense here.
Nothing is as it seems in the land of pretence. :o) and they put potatoes on Pizza.
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