Kimchi-arama

I was intending to pop up a few picutres that I took in South Korea this morning, but it appears the dial up internet connection isn't up for it. Instead I will just talk about it. I really loved Korea. I went expecting to find that it wasn't all that different from Japan. And at first glance, it really isn't. The first major hurdle for me was remembering that I wasn't in fact in Japan and couldn't simply speak to the people around me. I didn't realise how much I rely on my Japanese skills for travelling in Japan, I would generally just ask for directions rather than sit around with a map trying to figure out where I should go. Because I was speaking to my friend in Japanese the whole time, and obviously everyone around me is still just of Asian appearance, it was a struggle to remember that I couldn't just order food, ask about bus prices etc. in Japanese too! Actually my friend even had the same struggle, especially when we were staying in our hotel (the Kolon Hotel, bit of an odd name I thought!), and it was just full of Japanese tourists anyway.

But scratch the surface a bit and you begin to see the differences between the two cultures. Koreans are not as polite. I don't mean that they are rude, I mean that they are not polite just for the sake of it, even when it's not really necessary. In a Japanese restaurant when a waiter clears your table they are apologising for inconveniencing you constantly. They say shisturei shimasu or shitsurei itashimasu which literally translated means "I'm gonna be rude", but would be interpreted in English as "Pardon me", "I'm very sorry" and any number of extrememly polite expressions like that. Yes, it is nice to have someone acknowledge that they are getting in your way, but frankly it gets a little overdone. Obviously you expect the waiter to clear your table and that they will need to get in your way a bit - I think they are making MORE of a nuisance of themselves by announcing their presence all the time. Plus, a lot of the time they use the very formal language which is not actually an expression of politeness anymore, but just parrot speak. Formal langauge in Japan is used so much in situations where it really isn't necessary that I think it has lost its sincerity. I have spoken to Japanese people about this and they agree that keigo is often misused like that. Anyway, that is a bit of a digression. To get back to the original point; Koreans don't do so much of that over-polite stuff. Being unable to speak Korean it is hard to tell definitely, but they seem to be a people who are much more comfortbale with their own situation in the world. Yes, they enjoy a bit of Western culture and food as much as the Japanese, but it didn't seem as pervasive as it is in Japan. I didn't see a single youth dressed up as a hip hop artist (and thinking that made him one), or gothic Alice in Wonderland.

And, this is a very small thing but I think it's indicative of a wider attitude, the women walk straight. Japanese women, not all, but a lot, have this habit of walking pigeon toed. According to my Japanese source, this looks cute. I think they all look like polio victims, but in some twisted way it is cute over there. Sometime you would see the most beautifully dressed Japanese girl completely ruining her look by dragging her highheels along the ground and knocking her knees together. Korean women aren't as concerned with being cute as Japanese women are and as such they appear stronger - something I obviously admire. I wish I could speak Korean so I could have asked more about this. I know that my Korean friend is a very strong woman, but she is only one of many. Next stop, Korean??