Cultural Differences

There are several things that I have noticed while spending time here in Korea. I have always been fascinated with other cultures and their cultural differences so I wanted to share some of those I am finding here in Korea with you.

Korea is very advance technologically. I guess I really would not have though of this since Korea is described as a country that is modernizing and evolving. Technology, I would think, would be part of this but in many ways Korea is somewhat more technologically advanced than what I am used to in the United States. Most vehicles have navigation systems in them. The cab that I rode in had a satellite that came off of the back of the car and hung a little over the back window. I will try to get a picture of this and post it. This satellite allows you to watch television and have navigation in your car. I know the US enjoys their DVD players in the car but TV! How cool!

I also noticed on a lot of apartment doors have electronic locking systems. You enter a number and this unlocks the door rather than a key. Most apartments also come with an intercom system connected to a doorbell. The doorbell is rung and the phone inside the apartment rings. The hotel room had this with a camera as well so you could see who was outside.

Meals are very different. Almost every meal is served with kimchi, rice, and a soup (either hot or cold) I had never had cold soup and honestly am not very fond of it. Meals are not generally served with a drink. I think this is why soup is such a staple item in the Korean meal they wash the meal down with soup rather than water. Water dispensers are found at the end of dining halls and restaurants with very tiny stainless steel cups you get out of an ultraviolet sanitizing machine. They quickly drink the water on their way out of the dining hall.

When a Korean person comes across their elder they will bow very low when greeting them formally. When they are greeting a peer the will say hello and a small bow, if greeting a child a very small nod and hi will suffice.

Korean women like to take umbrellas everywhere with them. They do not enjoy the sun or getting a tan! Quite the opposite of the US.

One thing that bugs me is the cost of beauty supplies such as face wash, deodorant (if you can find it), soap, shampoo, etc. The cost of a stick of deodorant is roughly $10 and hard to find. Not many people use it here. I also had difficulties finding shaving cream for women so I had to purchase men's shaving cream for roughly $5 a can (a small can too).

Soju is the alcohol staple of Korea, it tastes like watered down vodka, I am not a fan of that hard alcohol taste.

Korean children love to yell out the little English that they know when they see you walking on the street. I often pass children and hear "Hello!" or "How are you!". They get excited when you answer back to them in English.

Everything in Korea is about "face". You earn it, like respect, and the expression "save face" definitely applies. Once you lose face it is important that you work very hard to regain this respect.

All of their apartments have a closed in balcony. This is where they put their washers, hang clothes to dry and store other items. They take up quite a bit of space and have large french style doors or large windows that open up the entire wall of the room to the outdoors.

Koreans also take their shoes off whenever they go into someones home or their own. They have many cabinets or cubbies that sit next to doors in houses where you can place your shoes. They also take their shoes off and put on indoor slippers before entering school. Many restaurants, especially those where you sit on the floor require you to take off your shoes as well. If you ever come to Korea, don't wear tennis shoes! You will hate tying and untying them!

That is all I can think of now although ther eis lots more! I will post on my first days of school soon and hopefully figure out how to upload video and pictures into blogger. The biggest problem is finding a computer I can use because all of the command tabs are in Korean!