new to korea?

i have not finished compiling my pro/con list to living in korea, which i started back in September in this post. i suspect my list will never be finished and i should just post what i've got, but right now i want to post an article titled "For Newcomers to Korea" by Carl Slaughter, an English teacher in Seoul, published in The Korean Times. it's a comprehensive summary of life in korea from a foreigner's perspective. i strongly agreed with some of his observations (underline) and others did not ring true for me ([]) but the entire article is worth a read if you care to know what it's like to live in Korea.

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For Newcomers to Korea


By Carl Slaughter

Korea is a very prosperous and well developed country with [civilized behavior], [efficient procedures], [quality products], advanced technology, an impressive transportation system, a [low cost of living], [beautiful scenery], safe streets and little poverty.

Koreans travel in cars and communicate with mobile phones. They store their food in refrigerators and heat their food in microwaves. They wear Western-style clothes. Korean soap operas are on TV, Korean movies are in the cinema and Korean pop is on the radio.

But Koreans are still very, very Korean.

Korean society is one of the best examples ever of one group of people adopting the culture of another group of people without losing their cultural identity. They are 99 percent Western and 100 percent Korean.

They seem to have struck the right balance. They have national unity and universal participation without fascism. They have neither the anything goes of America nor the hyper strictness of Saudi Arabia. The government allows complete religious freedom, and the church does not respond by getting involved in government.

Although premarital relationships have changed considerably, Korea is still a very socially conservative and a very structured society. Age and authority are respected. Family and home are valued. Children are cherished and nurtured.

Women leave the workplace to raise children then return after the children graduate from high school. Education is given high priority.

Obesity is rare. Sightings of long hair and beards are about as frequent as sightings of Elvis. Bowing is still common. Koreans work hard, play vigorously, study a lot, and haven't discovered laziness and loitering.

[Korean children are among the best cared for, physically and emotionally healthiest, happiest and most carefree in the world]. They are also among the most enthusiastic in the classroom.

Teenagers are another story. Middle and high school students are under a lot of pressure to qualify for college. They are much more reserved and soft spoken in the classroom. Most of them take music lessons and learn to play at least one instrument as children. But as teenagers, it's prep, prep, prep for college.

Koreans are among the most genuinely friendly people you'll ever meet. They are also among the most hospitable and among the most helpful.

Korean companies do not import manual labor, and the Korean government does not encourage immigration. So 99.99 percent of the people you'll pass on the sidewalk will be pureblooded Koreans.

Drinking is popular; getting drunk is common.

Koreans are notorious for smacking and slurping during meals. A lot of middle age women smack their gum.

Many men smoke, but a cigarette on her lips is a sign of a bad girl.

Shopkeepers don't quote you a higher price just because you're a foreigner. Bargaining isn't an exhaustive process. Street vendors don't howl at you, jump in front of you or grab you.

Pedestrians who want to cross the street go to the nearest intersection and wait for the walk sign to flash instead of crossing wherever they happen to be and jostling with drivers. People waiting to board a subway car allow passengers to exit first.

Shoes come off in most homes and in many restaurants. Restaurant tables and floors are clean even after meals.

Loud voices are generally reserved for the karaoke bar. Children roam the neighborhood unchaperoned and unmolested.

Shopkeepers leave large amounts of expensive merchandise unlocked on the sidewalk overnight. There are few bag ladies, bums or beggars, few punkers and few hippies. There are no gangs and [few stray animals]. Korean cities have red light districts, but neither AIDS nor drug abuse are national epidemics.

Written Korean is one of the easiest languages to learn and one of the most scientific. It was invented, not developed. It is considered one of the great linguistic achievements of human history.

Medical care in Korea is much cheaper than in Western countries, and just as good. Subways and buses are new, modern, equipped, spacious, clean and run well, frequently late into the evening and on time.

Subway stations have bathrooms, escalators, phones, ATMs and hot food, as well as signs in Korean, Chinese and English.

Every car on the road looks new; clunkers and even damaged cars are almost extinct species.

Streets aren't trashed, though they might have a lot of motorcycle oil from meal deliveries. Drivers can be aggressive, but they do obey the traffic signals.

Breakers don't flip if you use more than one appliance at the same time.

Toilets are squat and bring your own toilet paper, but they don't stink. Internet cafes are everywhere and fairly cheap, just as noisy and smoky as in any other country but generally much cleaner.

Neighborhood restaurants deliver to your office and pick up the dishes an hour later.

Baseball is on the big screen in most restaurants. Taekwondo is popular among the young. Golf is all the rage among the middle-aged. After hosting the World Cup in 2002, Korea adopted soccer with great enthusiasm.

Retired Koreans get around a lot. In America, retirees travel as couples. Here, they travel in groups of men and groups of women. Where they go, I'm not sure. Perhaps to Korea's many mountains, lakes and rivers.

The downside: North Korea, xenophobia, materialism, a caste system, government corruption, discrimination, strict policies governing transcripts, deportation for private tutoring and for working on a tourist visa, 30 lessons a week and a lot of paperwork. Also, it sometimes feels as though I need extra-sensory perception or a degree in psychology to know what people are truly thinking and feeling.

Carl Slaughter teaches English for ECC in Seoul.

01-16-2007 22:00
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Source: http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/opinion/200701/kt2007011622001354060.htm