What I miss and don't about Korea

A few days ago, a friend of mine - who recently left Korea after 3 years - wrote a blog about what he misses and doesn't miss about living in Korea. (Check it out here, he's also a great photographer!).  When I left Korea, I had planned on writing a similar blog but never got around to it.  Admittedly, I was pretty pissed off at my exiting-situation, so writing that blog fresh off of the plane probably would have resulted in it being more negative than positive.  Enough time has passed now, that I feel like I can write it out of honesty rather than spite because in terms of living, I definitely preferred living in Korea over Thailand.  If we're talking holiday destinations however, Thailand would win over Korea for sure (but there are other places I'd rather revisit than Thailand).

So, without further adieu, I will begin with what I miss about living in Korea.

1. Table Bells

Example of a table bell...(image is from the Internet)

This may seem a completely ridiculous thing to miss, but it's such a brilliant little thing that I find myself seriously annoyed while I'm in a restaurant without a table bell.  At restaurants in Korea, each table has a bell.  After you're seated and have time to view the menu and are ready to order, you press the bell and the waitstaff is there at your table-side almost instantaneously.  Whenever you need something during your meal, press the bell and someone shows up.  This saves from waitstaff approaching you a million times and asking if everything is okay just as you take a bite or a drink.  It also saves from you dying of thirst with an empty cup waiting for the waiter, who at one point wouldn't leave you the fuck alone, and now that you need them is nowhere to be found.  I definitely miss table bells.  Ingenious.

2. The Internet
Yes, I know, we have the Internet in America...but it's slow as molasses compared to Korea.  Korea is the most connected country in the world.  If you're on the bus, on the subway, in a cafe, in a mall, in your house, you're connected.  And it's SUPER fast.  Like Superman-fast.  Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! No, it's a plane! No, it's Superfast Korean Internet!  It made watching my Broncos on NFL Game Pass a breeze.  And you know anything involving the Broncos, I'm pretty much in love with.  Get with it, America.

3. Public Transportation

Waiting for the train at one of the outdoor subway stations

The subway in Seoul is ah-maz-ing.  It's clean. It's always on time. It's everywhere. And best of all, it's cheap as dirt.  You can get from one side of Seoul to the other for a mere buck or two.

The indoor stations are spic and span! The glass doors keep people from jumping in front of on-coming trains
(In a country with a high suicide rate, subway track doors are necessary)

4. Architecture

Cool architecture of Yongsan Station

I'm usually more into the old architecture types like quaint cottage lanes in Britain or rustic old barns of the American west as opposed to modern and contemporary architecture.  But Korea has the latter down packed.  The buildings have their own unique characteristic with boldly lit lines or they make you feel like you're in the next Star Wars film.  All interspersed with traditional neighborhoods and palaces...you can be transported back in time in an instant just by walking through an archway.

The streets of Myeongdong

Looking out from Changgyeonggung Palace with Seoul Tower in the background

At Dongdeamun, you feel like you're exploring the newest star-ship in Star Wars. It's fucking cool.

5. My Students
I was never really a "kid" person until I started teaching them.  Korean students are immensely clever and intelligent.  They helped bring out the more playful, nerdy side of me that I've kept hidden away for so long.  I became very fond of my students and I miss their little monster personalities.

On November 11th, (11/11), students give each other Pocky sticks - pretzel sticks covered in chocolate because two sticks
represent 11's.  A student gave me this pack of Pocky's with a lovely note written on the back :)

6. Cafes
Quaint little coffee shops and cafes are all over Korea.  And they're not Starbucks.  You can find them in the cities, in the suburbs and in the villages.  One of my favorite things to do before work was grab my book and sit in a cafe, drink a latte (aka, get my caffeine fix) and relax before heading into work to teach my little wild monsters.  There are not many quaint cafes around my new small mountain town that I'm living in.  I'm sure there are more in Denver, but I'm far from the city and miss the cafes.

A beautiful cup of coffee from one of my favorite cafes in Hwajeong called Paul. Best. Coffee. Ever.

Now for the things I definitely do NOT miss about Korea.

1. Food
I was NOT a fan of Korean food.  It was one of three things: a) INSANELY hot, coated in red chili paste; b) pickled; or, c) sweet, like NutraSweet sweet, not sugar sweet.  And if it wasn't one of those three things, it was bland.  Don't get me wrong, I like spicy food...I can always go for a bowl of green chili (if you're not from Colorado, you don't know what real green chili is, and I feel sorry for you), or a Thai or Indian curry...but Korean food, is just HOT, like burn-your-taste-buds hot.  Call me crazy, but I like to taste my food.  I'm also a fan of a good dill pickle, but that doesn't mean I want all of my veggies pickled, which also had a NutraSweet aftertaste.  And then there's the I'm-going-to-dig-into-this-beef-and-rice-dish only for that beef to be sweet.  God, I don't miss Korean food.  At. All. (There were some things I liked, but not much...)

Namyeong...one of the dishes I could tolerate AFTER removing the pile of red chili paste.
The buckwheat noodles are cold, which is strange, so I would always add hot beef broth to it as well

2. Spitting
Koreans like to spit.  Everywhere.  Last winter when I was on crutches after surgery, I was hard pressed walking home trying not to step in spit or put my crutches down in spit, because I shit you not, spit is slippery.  I was on the subway riding home after my final checkup with my surgeon.  At one point, it was just me and an older lady sitting across from me in our subway carriage.  Out of nowhere, this sweet looking old lady hawks a loogie and spits it on the subway floor!! (So much for the cleanliness of subways I previously spoke of).  Then she proceeds to rub it out with her foot.  About five minutes later, she does it again!!  I was utterly disgusted.  Oh, Korea.

3. The Smells
Korea stinks.  If it's not the pollution, it's the squid carts.  If it's not the squid carts, it's the kimchi permeating through people's skin.  It's even worse during the hot, humid summer.  I suspect that foreigners smell to Koreans as well...95% of the time when I was on the subway and a I sat next to a Korean, they would get up and move to an open seat when one came available.  At first I was offended.  But then I realized I didn't have the smell of garlic next to me and I had more room for my big ass.

4. The Weather

Walking through the slippery, snowy park on my way to work

Spring and autumn are absolutely lovely and pleasant in Korea.  But they don't last long enough to make it on the "Things I Miss" list.  Winter and Summer are not pleasant.  Winter isn't as bad, it's similar to Coloradan winters...cold, snowy, and dry as a bone.  But Koreans don't know how to remove snow from walkways, so after fresh powder falls and people walk on it, it turns sidewalks into ice rinks.  It's very dangerous - especially when you're on crutches!  Summers are the worst summers I have ever experienced in my entire life.  I'm not exaggerating.  After my first summer there, I declared I would never stay for another.  And I did.  And it was just as awful the second time around.  The humidity is suffocating.  It's probably 80-100% humidity, hot as hell, no breeze.  Ugh.  Just thinking about it makes me angry.

Looking down from my office at the park...a beautiful wintry wonderland, but slick and cold as hell

5. Cicadas
Apparently cicadas in Korea didn't get the memo that they're only supposed to come out every 17 years.  Those little bastards were out during both of my summers in Korea.  Waking me up at 5am.  Like little assholes.

6. "Ugly"
This one mainly came from my students.  If they didn't like something, it was "ugly".  Be it a person, a freckle (yes, a freckle), some kind of food...everything was always ugly, which in and of itself is an ugly word.  I did what I could to stop them from calling things ugly, but I'm pretty sure that was lost on deaf, ugly ears.

7. Ajummas
I have nothing against the older generations.  I love talking to old folks and hearing their stories...we can learn a lot from them.  But Ajummas, old Korean ladies, are another story.  They push you out of the way to get on the train, elevator, etc. They're rude and pushy and noisy and demand respect.  I have the utmost respect for old folks, but not ones who act like that.  You can spot an Ajumma by her tightly permed hair, track suit, and giant visor.  And if you still don't see one, sure enough, she'll shove past you to grab that empty subway seat then glare at you for thinking it was going to be your seat.  Stop being "ugly", Ajumma.  Stop.

8. The Feminine Isle Lady
Lads, you won't get this one.  Ladies...I hope y'all agree with me.  There's always a "helpful" lady working the feminine isle at your local Emart.  Watching which products you buy and recommending other ones - in Korean so you can't understand a fucking thing she's saying.  I should have learned the Korean phrase, "Leave me the fuck alone while I'm purchasing my feminine products".  That would have scared them off for sure.

As much as I miss the things in the first part of my list, and the ease of traveling around while living in Asia, I am glad to be back home.  Asia wore me out.  And tried to kill me off several times.  I'm absolutely loving my new job.  It was time for me to come home for sure...but that doesn't mean my travelin' days are done.  Not by a long shot!

Happy Trails!