The Top Five Baffling Things in South Korea I Can't Even Partially Understand

One of the most interesting things about living in a country so different from my own is observing the differences in culture.  South Korea is vastly different in many ways than the USA.  Some of these differences are simple and easy to understand, like taking off your shoes in many establishments or bowing when you say "hello" or "goodbye."  Some of these differences are a bit more complicated but you learn to understand them over time, such as the Confucius hierarchy system or the fact that napping at work is completely acceptable.  However, after being here for some time now there are still some things in Korean society that I have never been able to grasp.  I have compiled my top five most baffling and mind bending cultural differences in Korea that my American brain just can not fully absorb.  For those that have lived in Korea these are nothing new, but to others prepare for a virtual trip to Ripley's Believe it or Not.

5.) Guy Love

I will say that this one is not on the list because it is completely confusing, but for the fact that it still makes me giggle each time I see it after being here for almost two years.  The sight of two grown men in business suits walking hand in hand is so unnatural to me.  Prolonged amounts of touching between two straight men is as natural in Korea as a chest bump is in America.  So when you see two company men seemingly skipping down the street with interlocking fingers it means they love each other, but they don't love-love each other.  Of course if you tried this America your friend would probably smash a beer can on your forehead.

"Hey ladies, wanna hang out with two dudes who are totally secure with themselves?"

The first time I was exposed to this is when I met some of my male co-workers after I arrived in Korea.  Shaking hands is pretty much the norm for me but the grips loosen after 2-3 seconds.  In Korea the grip never seems to loosen.  In fact after 2-3 seconds the shake just turns in to a hand holding love affair.  Then I'm stuck trying to form words within the small talk, but my mind can only focus on how I can unlatch myself from the man hand.  I don't want to be rude and tear my hand away, so the strategy is to make the conversation as short as possible.  So it usually ends with me saying "I have to make copies now" or "I don't understand what we're talking about" and a vacant stare.  Awkward on awkward is the best way to get out of the man hand.

So next time you see two grown Korean men walking in each other's embrace, just remember it's Guy Love.

 

 

4.) Ajummas

What does retirement look like for the average Korean woman?  A perm, a huge visor, ridiculously non-matching clothes, sharp elbows, a cranky demeanor, and days spent pulling weeds, foraging for recyclables, or selling produce on the street corner.  Korean woman inevitably end their lives as what is referred to as an ajumma.  While the word ajumma technically means any married or middle aged women, it is generally used to describe the old grannys who have all adopted the exact same lifestyle.  So if I were to call one of my married female co-workers an ajumma it might come off as a little insulting.

What baffles me is why all the old Korean woman have subscribed to this way of living out their golden years.  I understand Korea is a country of communal thinking, but this is just beyond that.  I can not imagine anywhere else you could gather more than three grandmothers together and they all have matching non-matching outfits and the same haircut.  It's like Korea is cloning old women to pick up the country's trash and landscape the government buildings.  I swear after a certain age some one must hand a Korean woman a pamphlet with certain instructions on how one should dress.  It must also include tips on how to body check bystanders, cut in line, and give foreigners the stink eye.

The pamphlet comes with pictures like this.

Most young Korean woman are beautiful and quite obsessed with how they look.  They are also very fashionable and like to show a lot of leg.  It's rather difficult for a foreigner to see the difference between a 20 year old and 40 year old Korean woman.  So what's very confusing is how the transition from an up-right beauty to a bent over faux pas happens.  Maybe one day they just wake up like that.  I just don't know!

This pretty much illustrates my point. (http://www.roketship.com/)

3.) The Never Ending Battle With Climate Control
This one probably infuriates native english teachers the most, especially in winter.  It is generally believed that South Korea is a modern society.  One of the things that defines a modern society is possessing buildings and homes with the ability to adjust the inside temperature relative to the outside temperature.  Koreans even went so far as to install an ingenious floor heating system in every up to date establishment.  However, they have difficulty in properly using these advantages that their country has afforded them.  Every native english teacher has the same story.  The teacher has their classroom to a respectable temperature in the dead of winter.  The students shuffle in to do some learning and within minutes they are complaining that the room is too hot.  The teacher politely explains to them that if they were to remove their winter jackets, sweater, hats, etc., then they would be perfectly comfortable because they're indoors after all.  The students refuse and begin to open the windows instead.  At this point the teacher is all like:

"What?  Why?  Take off your coat!"

So the teacher decides this is not happening and closes the windows and explains again for the students to remove their winter clothes meant for the outdoors thank you very much.  Then the students complain more and come up with excuses like "I have two dollars in my coat pocket" or "I have no shirt on underneath my coat."  By this point the teacher is all like:

"Don't make me say it again."

So then teacher agrees to a compromise and decides the window is allowed to be open for one minute and no longer.  After a minute the window is closed and the teacher attempts to continue the lesson but now the students are sweating and complain even more.  Now the teacher is just like:

What's even worse is that Korea considers itself one of the most environmentally responsible countries in the world.  However, in the winter the windows are opened when they're too hot inside with their coats on.  I can't think of anything more wasteful than letting all that energy flow outside.  My whole youth my parents would yell at me not to heat/cool the whole neighborhood!  This phrase does not exist in Korea.

2.) It's Good For "Stamina"

I should really title this one Anything For A Boner, because that's pretty much I'm going to talk about.  I thought it might be too crass.  Anyway in America, when a man loves a woman, he wants to share his love in certain ways.  When that man gets older he may have more difficulty expressing his love in that way.  If it comes to it, a doctor may prescribe that man such innovative products as Viagra or Cialis.  Products designed to help the man and have been proven to work.  Proof is an important element to this one.

Wow!  It really works!

Koreans tend to still have beliefs in the old ways, or as I like to say "Hocus Pocus."  When ever I'm out for a Korean dinner with my school and something is put in front of me that looks like a tongue and is still slightly moving, one of my co-teachers explains, "It's good for stamina."  It's a fairly polite way of putting it.  I applaud the Koreans for their use of the word stamina.  So if there is something unrecognizable on your table chances are it's good for stamina.
  
Question: Live octopus?  Answer: Good for stamina.

Question:  Dog meat?  (Which I have tried).  Answer: Good for stamina.

Question:  Rhino horn?  Answer: Good for stamina.

Question: Dead baby pills?  Answer: Good for sta.....wait what?!

Yep check out what was discovered a couple months ago.  This is real:

oo

Good job!  I have no idea what the logic is behind this.  It's also probably the same logic that women don't drink coffee when they're pregnant because it will turn the baby brown.  Not because of the caffeine or anything.  So that's what we're working with in Korea.  Just take some Viagra.  Really.

 

1.) Fan Death

This was the easiest and most obvious choice for number one.  Everyone that has lived in Korea has heard of Fan Death and of course it is outrageous.  It's a widely held belief that a simple house fan can straight murder a person.  No joke.  Of course America has it's share of urban myths but no one actually believes them.  This is an urban myth that Koreans truly believe.  Supposedly in a closed room the fan can suck out the oxygen and the victim can die of asphyxiation.  It looks something like this:

Can't argue with science.

In fact, the Korean media reports on fan death and its dangers.  All fans are sold with timers and consumers are encouraged to use them.  You know, so it doesn't suffocate you.  Another potential risk is hypothermia.  A fan can lower your body temperature to the same point as falling through the ice of a frozen lake.  Somehow this phenomenon only exists in Korea.  How have I survived the 600 or so nights that I've slept with a fan on in my bedroom in Korea?  Well I consider myself the luckiest man alive and not everyone gets a second chance at life.  Seriously, I've asked several Koreans if they believe in fan death and most of them do.  Wikipedia has a great article on it that everyone should read: Fan Death. 

 

In conclusion I'm not trying to say Koreans are stupid or anything, I'm just making light of some of the quirks.  So if it seems like I'm generalizing I am, but I found these things to be mostly true when it comes to Korean culture.  Of course I know there are exceptions to the rule.  Anyway, I hope it was baffling.

Cherry Blossom Season in South Korea

It's been an exceptionally long winter in South Korea.  While every one in America was wearing tank tops and playing bocce ball in freaking March, I was still wearing a winter coat while teaching inside my school.  Yes, that's indoors!  A couple weeks ago spring finally decided to show up to the party and this can be verified by all the trees sporting cherry blossoms.  The cherry blossoms begin showing up at the beginning of spring and stick around for maybe over a week.  In this brief period the city looks quite beautiful and winter depression melts away while we place our long underwear at the bottom of the drawer.

As the cherry blossoms bloom with the arrival of spring, so do the amateur photographers.  After computer games and hiking, photography is probably the biggest hobby in South Korea.  Standing next to each tree is a young Korean with a $5,000 camera with a lens the size of the Stanley Cup attached.  How could I blame them though?  The scenery is beautiful and there's little time to capture it.  I decided to join the fun (with a bite-size camera by Korean standards) and here are some of my pictures:

Get outta that tree!

Jesus and the Cherry Blossoms

The new trend in South Korea: Couple's Raincoats

The Three Phases of the Expat Experience

When I first arrived in South Korea they told me at the EPIK orientation that I would experience three phases during me time here.  These three phases are typical among young expats: Honeymoon, Negotiation, and Adjustment.  For the individual expat the degree and length at which they are experienced can differ, but most everybody goes through them at one point.

The Honeymoon Phase happens when one first arrives and the experience seems new, exciting, and romantic.  One can fall in love with the new foods, the cultural differences, the possibilities, and all there is to see.  This usually lasts for a few months.  For me I think it lasted about 9 months.  Way more than normal.  However, traveling is a great passion of mine, so I was extra excited.  When other people complained about their life in Korea I mostly brushed it off.  While I found some things ridiculous, I took it with a grain of salt.

Where Korea and I used to take baths.

The Negotiation Phase happens when the differences between the old and new culture become more apparent.  One can become annoyed with the differences.  Frustration, anxiety, and depression can set in.  I believe I started to slide in to this phase in the Summer, then I recognized it was happening after I came back to Korea from my Summer visit to the USA, and it really peaked after a number of shitty incidents in the beginning of this Fall.  I had been denied some things in Korea solely out of racism too many times in a span of a couple weeks and that's when I became what some people like to call "jaded".  I really didn't want to become jaded but it was just unavoidable.

Korea!  WTF!

Now finally, after being here for about 15 months, I'm starting to fall in to the Adjustment Phase.  The Adjustment Phase happens when one knows what to expect and the host country no longer seems new.  One becomes concerned with basic living again, and things become more "normal".  I might still be a little jaded and can understandably become frustrated, but now I mostly accept that some things are just going to be different.

Agree to disagree.  Now bump it.  Or shake.  Or awkward handshake.

To better illustrate how these phases work let me show you some examples and how my thoughts compared in each phase.

EXAMPLE #1
In Korea the students have to clean the school almost everyday after school.  There aren't really any janitors, so how clean the school is depends on the students.  The method for cleaning the bathroom consists of a hose, spraying the bathroom down with the water that comes out of the hose, and then letting the water drain on it's own.  No soap, no mops, no buckets.  Just hose.

Honeymoon Ryan: "Hey so the students clean the bathroom with a hose huh?  Just give it the ol' rinse down.  That seems sort of easy.  There's standing water on the floor and water dripping from the ceiling.  You kids are funny.  Oh well, gotta pee."

Negotiation Ryan:   "IDIOTS!!  How much piss, poo, and snot particles are in this standing water right now?  DUMB IDIOTS!!  My slippers are getting wet.  Even the #@$&ing handle is soaked.  SOAP!  If you're going to clean a room where bodily fluids are abundant you use soap!  You clean a birdhouse with a hose!  $&#*@ING SOAP!!  USE IT!!  Water has dripped on my shoulder and I hate this place."

Adjustment Ryan:  "Ok they're still doing the spray down technique.  Just going to pee and try not to touch anything.  Yes, it is very wet."

EXAMPLE #2
There is a tradition in Korea of being as silent as possible on public transportation.  I don't know why but on buses and trains you just don't really get above a whisper if you're speaking at all.  Naturally for us foreigners it is very awkward to be sitting in silence for a long period of time with your friends.  There is going to be talking.  There just is.  Sometimes this talking is too loud (this is often associated with alcohol) but usually it is at a respectable volume.  Most of the time it is politely tolerated but once in a while a Korean will straight up shush the pants off of you.  Being shushed can be an unsettling experience when you don't see it coming.

Honeymoon Ryan:  "Wow, ok... um I didn't think we were being loud at all.  But we'll turn it down I guess.  Sorry.  A little bit.  Not really, but it's your country and I respect that.  Anyways..."

Negotiation Ryan:  "Oh no you didn't grandpa!  I DO NOT appreciate that shush you just threw at me!  I did not deserve that shush and you sir are the most hated person in my world right now.  I hate you.  The more I think about it the more I think I hate you.  WHO SHUSHES?  I choose to rudely ignore your request.  In fact, if you shush again you will have declared war and I rain fire down upon you!"  Or something like this:

Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia#708 "The.Anti-Social Network from Justin Clark Dray on Vimeo.

Adjustment Ryan:  "Ah whatever, ya ya ya, fine ok.  Go back to being miserable now."

So the best thing to do is take the good with the bad.  While some things are still unacceptable, especially the racist stuff, I don't mind it as much anymore.  Korea is Korea.  And overall I still enjoy my time here.

Difficult Decisions for an Expat

So I'm back in America for a few weeks and I'm really happy to be here.  Before landing in Kansas City I got the privilege of stopping in two of America's best cities, San Francisco and Denver.  South Korea's cities are decidedly ugly.  The rest of South Korea is beautiful but the cities look like someone glued Legos to a landscape painting.  It's just row after row of white 18 story apartment blocks.  I understand South Korea has a high population density and needs to build upwards, but the rectangular communist uniformity of the building architecture is unimaginative and boring.  So it was a relief to see the wonderful architecture of San Francisco and the wide open spaces with the Rocky Mountains in the background in Denver.  Furthermore, it's great to eat Western food again, understand what people are saying, think logically, and reunite with friends and family.

Hooray Gwangju!  Because it's all the same type!

Anyway, this is not a love letter to America but about the decisions to leave it.  So after a few weeks visit home, I'm moving back to South Korea to teach for another year.  The hardest part about the life of an expat is not learning a new language or realizing that the new currency isn't monopoly money, but the hardest part is saying goodbye to your homeland.  The thing is that teaching abroad is a commitment.  Most good teaching jobs require a year long contract.  So that means you'll miss weddings, reunions, connections with friends, tailgating, and anything else that happens in a year.  So after two years abroad, why am I insane enough to put myself through saying goodbye again?

1.  Escape - A friend of mine once said that most expats are running from something, looking for something, or a combination of the both.  I've made a nice little scale to help you get the idea of what I mean.

Reasons most people become an expat.

Most people are somewhere in the middle of the scale, but there are those who are at either extreme.  (You know who you are creepies.)  When I decided to move to China in 2009 I was more on the "running away" side of the scale.  After I graduated college I had a full time job with benefits, an apartment, a truck, and a girlfriend.  I suddenly realized I was in the beginning stages of settling down.  Life was becoming too routine and I was too young.  I clearly wasn't ready for it and that's when I had what many people call a quarter life crisis.  The best cure was to travel.  After a year in China I hopped over to the "looking for something" side of the scale.  I didn't feel like I got all I wanted from China because I lived in a crappy area and China had it's problems that led to stress.  (Overpopulation, pollution, low quality of life, bad internet, low pay, babies pooping on the street.)  I stilled seriously enjoyed my time there but I needed to look for something that would be an upgrade in living conditions.  Answer: South Korea.  I love living in South Korea and found all I was looking for.  So why renew for another year?

2.) Travel - So I know living abroad seems like traveling, but it's really only traveling for a little bit at the beginning.  Then you get settled, start working regularly, and it becomes a home away from home.  However, I discovered another way to travel while living abroad: backpacking.  Backpacking involves putting everything into a large backpack, traveling all over by bus and train, and staying in cheap accommodation like hostels.  In my opinion it's the cheapest and most fun way to travel.  I've done the backpacking thing over winter breaks, but only for a few weeks each time.  So while I was in Malaysia last winter I spent a night talking to some guys who were in the middle of a year long backpacking journey.  The next day I was flying back to South Korea when it hit me like a predator drone: I want to go backpacking for an extended vacation!  I don't have the money now, but this next year in South Korea all of my focus is on traveling after my contract ends in August 2012.  I'm going to try to stretch my savings for at least 300 days.  So far I'm planning on going to Nepal, India, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand.  The good thing about backpacking is that I don't have to plan too far ahead!

Put it on your back!

3.) Anxiety - So I've explained how I jumped over to the "looking for something" side of the scale, but I'm still doing a little running away.  Truth is that I'm in no hurry to move back to America.  I'm afraid of looking for a job in America.  The economy and job market sucks.  I'm afraid of not finding something for a long time and I'm afraid of getting a job that I will hate.  So instead I'm going to delay my inevitable return for almost two more years.  I'm going to save money doing something I like and then use those savings to accomplish a dream.  It's a difficult decision, but I can't think of another time in my life I'll be able to do something like this.

Head Butts and Licking: Korean Bullfighting

There are no men in sparkling tight pants and pointy hats here.  There's no dance of the man versus the beast.  In Korea it's just hardcore bull on bull action.  Every Saturday in the medium sized city of Jinju, South Korea, bulls go at it in the Jinju Bullfighting Stadium.  Last month we decided to see what this Korean bullfighting was all about.

The first thing that I want to say is that a bull is a large animal.  In my experience I have only seen bulls on TV or from a car window while cruising past farms on the interstate.  When we arrived at the bullfighting stadium there were dozens of bulls hanging out in their respective pens on the side of the parking lot.  We decided to size up the competition and took a stroll down the line of bulls.  The first thing I noticed is that a bull is the size of a small truck.  I mean this literally because there were small trucks parked next to the pens and the bulls were the same size.  The bulls are also exploding with muscles.  The entire cast of the first Predator movie can fit all their muscles in to one bull.  A bull's head is the size of a keg of Pabst Blue Ribbon.  Then somebody (Jesus? Satan?) decided to stick sharp horns on top of all that strength and power.  I decided that a bull is a frightening animal, especially when you see one foaming at the mouth.  Then we pet one.

"Good bull.  Gooood bull."

The stadium is a pretty good size with a ring of dirt in the middle.  There was one section of about a hundred 50-60 year old men who were obviously throwing down money on their favorites.  We sat and waited until two men walked in to the ring pulling bulls by ropes wrapped around the ring in the bull's nose.  We didn't really know what to expect at this point except that bulls weren't probably going to hug.  The handlers pulled the bulls heads close to each other and the bulls immediately bumped skulls.  Then the handlers let the ropes go to let the bulls go at it.  What ensues is a lot of pushing and bashing heads between the two bulls.  The first round went on for a while and the match didn't end until one of the bulls threw in the towel, turned, and ran away. 

Place your bets.

 After watching several matches we pretty much understood how the operation worked.  First is that the whole thing is pleasantly humane.  As far as Korea goes these animals are well fed and well treated.  It's not a death match because it ends when one of the bulls decides enough is enough.  The handlers want them to fight but they don't force it.  There were several times when the handlers pulled the bulls' heads close to each other and the bulls weren't having any of it.  Once one of the bulls lovingly started licking the other bull on the face.  In these cases the match is called without a winner.  However, some of the bulls knew exactly what to do and went at it like a couple of gladiators.  So I would say that compared to their Spanish counterparts, the bulls that die a very stabby death, the Korean bulls have a pretty cushy life.  Go bulls!

The Lineup

Bring in the contestants.

Let them go!

Get it on!

Commence the head butting.

Green Tea Fields Forever

This is the land of festivals.  They're beloved events and there's a festival for something every week.  If it exists then there's a chance that there's a festival for it.  A celebration for kimchi or strawberries or butterflies or clams or sting rays or masks or a change in the tide.  South Korea could have a festival for festivals.  Why not?

So festivals are great right?  Fun in the outdoors.  A cause for celebration.  Good food and maybe some rides.  However, my experiences with festivals in South Korea have not been great.  First the grounds are filled with tents that are selling crap that has nothing to do with the theme.  This mostly consists of unidentifiable barrels of food.  Or kitchenware that will "change" the way you look at the world of cooking.  Second there are way too many Koreans there.  For example, Korea recently had a famous festival in a province next to ours that featured the cherry blossoms.  Millions of Koreans go there each year to see the cherry blossoms in full bloom.  However, the cherry blossoms are in full bloom all over the country.  In my city there were tons of beautiful cherry blossoms everywhere!  So I didn't feel the need to take a 3.5 hour bus ride to see the same thing that I could take pictures of across the street.  However, Koreans do not have the same mentality.  Which brings me to my last point of the festivals just being pointless.  We made the mistake of going to the strawberry festival sometime last April.  When we heard about it we thought that we could grab some baskets and fill them with freshly picked strawberries with our own hands.  Then we could hang around and enjoy the many delights that strawberries have to offer.  Instead we got a bunch of worthless tents, and there was a backhoe actually doing work in the middle of the festival grounds, and there was the world's scariest petting zoo.  There was one cage that housed two rabbits, a tortoise, an anxious skunk, and the world's saddest monkey.  Did I mention they were all in one cage?  Needless to say it was not strawberry fields forever.

When the Green Tea Festival rolled around I was understandably skeptical.  The three or four festivals I had been to before were major failures.  However, I had heard of the famous green tea fields of Boseong several times and thought I would at least give it a chance.  It turned out to be a great choice!  The tea fields were beautiful and the congregation of tents weren't too annoying.  We were also serenaded by a band and got to pick our own tea leaves.  As a lover of green tea it was a great experience.  My sister and a friend were here visiting all the way from Kansas City and they were also very impressed.  Perhaps my view of Korean festivals could change after all.  Pictures!!!

Green tea is cool.

Brian displays the proper to way to pick green tea.  Make sure it's green.

Then bang a giant drum when you finish your pickin'.

Getting Drunk: A Korean Pastime

Ah, spring time in South Korea.

Last Sunday was a beautiful spring Sunday in Gwangju, South Korea.  We woke up and started the routine of curing our hangovers.  For me this usually involves drinking a liter of water, eating some fruit, eating some eggs, drinking some Gatorade, and then taking a long steam bath.  I'm mostly ready to go after this.  Then we met a friend for coffee and then met others for pizza in a park.  As the sun was setting, Caroline and I headed back to my apartment to relax and plan for the next day of school.  I had all the windows open because that's what one generally does on a nice spring day.  It was around 7pm, I was watching a show and Caroline was getting her lesson planning done, when all of a sudden right outside the living room window we hear, "BLAAAAAAAAH, SPLASH, cough-cough!"

Caroline: "WTF?"
Me: "Oh god, that's like right outside..."
Right Outside: "AAAAHH GAAA, cough, SPLASH, BLAAAAAAH, SPLASH, cough-cough."
Caroline: "Ugh!  That's vomitting!"
Me: "Ah dammit, I think so..."
Right Outside: "cough-cough-cough, B-BLAAAAAAH, SPLASH, cough-cough."
Caroline: "Aaaah!  Come on!"
Me: "When does it end?!"
Right Outside: "BLAAAAAH, SPLASH!"

This recent disruption of a pleasant spring evening with the close up sounds of vomit hitting the pavement got me thinking that there is a lot of pukin' going on in this country.  Then I thought about how there is a lot of drinkin' going on in this country.  Then I thought about how I do a lot of drinkin' in this country.  Then I thought I better write a blog post about it.

I've heard South Korea called the Ireland of Asia several times and for several reasons.  Geographically they are similar in size, surrounded by water, and split north and south.  Historically they have been picked on by powerful neighbors, aka England and Japan.  They also share a fondness for the drink.  When I lived in China, good bars to just sit and drink were few and far between.  Most Chinese drink in restaurants, karaoke buildings, or loud dance clubs.  However, South Korea has a plethora of pub, lounge, and dive bars to drink at.  There are probably over a hundred of these kind of bars with in a mile radius of my apartment.  (I live in a central location so that probably helps too.)  So first there are endless sources of alcohol from bars to stores and none of them really have a closing time.

Second, it's cheap.  The best bang for you buck is soju.  For just over $1.00 you can get a little bottle of this stuff.  It sort of tastes like a weak vodka and it's about 20% alcohol.  Koreans drink it on a fairly regular basis.  When out to dinner, they pour it for each other into small glasses.  If a drink is poured for you then you must drink it and then return the favor by pouring soju back in to your drinking buddy's glass.  This can happen as much as a couple dozen times in one night.  If you refuse the offer then you can lose a lot of respect and you can expect confused/angry glares in your future.  If you are a recovering alcoholic then I wouldn't recommend teaching in Korea.  If you're a budding alcoholic then teaching in Korea is a perfect fit.  Oh I joke, but seriously.

I suddenly crave soju.

Then there's the beer.  If you want to drink with out paying for imports then the selection is terrible.  Korea's so called national beers go from horrible to less horrible.  The big three are Cass, Hite, and OB Blue.  Of course this doesn't stop anyone from buying it.  You can get a 1.6 liter bottle for less than $5.00.  OB Blue is often my choice because I have rated it least horrible.  This country has a serious high quality beer market that is completely untapped (pun intended).  There's no telling what damage a Korean wheat beer or pale ale could do here.  Millions to be made!  I need investors!

The Usual Suspects

The Power of Beer!

  























Not only is alcohol cheap and readily available, but it is an intricate part of social interactions.  The before mentioned "pour for pour" technique is practiced mostly at business or co-worker meetings that take place right after work.  These meetings usually end with everyone getting a heavy buzz and going to a karaoke bar.  I've been lucky and have only been made to sing one Beatles song.  Other native English teachers have not been so lucky.  Furthermore, I can't tell you how many times I've walked down the street and seen middle aged men in suits stumbling around and hanging all over each other.  I also see 1-5 puddles of puke on my way to school everyday.  About ever other week I encounter a public urinal with vomit sitting in the base.  There should be a market for cute little vomit bags.  Hello Kitty Puke Pouch?  Girl's Generation Gag Bag?  I swear sometimes being in Korea is like living in a college town all over again.  Here are some pictures I didn't take but they are from Korea:

 

 Now if South Korea were to be offended by people posting pictures on the internet of their citizens passed out in public then they would pass some laws.  Apparently they don't really care because public intoxication and public drinking are no problem here.  Honestly, I enjoy the fact that South Korea loves drinking and has very relaxed laws about it.  Now don't get the wrong idea, South Korea is not full of alcoholics.  They work more hours than any other developed country in the world.  They are constantly under pressure to be the best in their studies or at work.  They have to obey anyone who is older than them.  So when they get the opportunity to unwind then they should be able to go all out and I don't blame them.

As you can imagine the life of a native English teacher in South Korea must also involve lots of drinking.  It's true.  I made a graph of how much I have drank since college began.  I divided it up by one year segments.  My freshman and sophomore year were about normal for an underage student that can only get their kicks from kegger parties.  Then the amount sky rocketed my junior year.  This included a combination of turning 21 years old, living in a house for the first time with my best friends, and a new shiny beer pong table.  Shenanigans!  Then the amount steadily decreases as I turn senior and super senior.  Then it plummets when I graduate, move to the suburbs of Kansas City, work forty hours a week, and become boring for a year.  The amount increases a little when I move to China for a year and then shoots back up when I move to South Korea.  So now it's like I'm back in my super senior days.

Teaching English in South Korea creates a little subculture that you become a part of.  The job is not very demanding and it pays well.  There are also hundreds like you in the same city.  However, when you are working you are surrounded by people that are nothing like you.  So when working is finished then you scramble to find the other westerners with the low demand/high paying jobs and it's time to hang out.  This is time that usually involves speaking a lot of English and drinking a form of alcohol.  You really enjoy this time outside work and so you do things like the Hash House Harriers (running and drinking), dinner parties (eating and drinking), baseball games (baseball and drinking), concerts (music and drinking), and then just drinking.  This has become pretty standard for most of us.  Hey we're just indulging in some Korean culture, so party on! Or as the Koreans say, "Gambae!"

Korean Art Work