South Korean Culture

I have been amazed by the culture in South Korea so far. There are many facets of living in a foreign country that can be daunting and can seem somewhat scary. I quickly realized that I am unable to read any street signs and must rely on context clues and pictures to determine what every store is. Granted, some of the signs also feature an english translation but most do not. I also had to learn to use chopsticks (the wooden chopsticks are super easy but the metal ones are fairly difficult). The air here is often really poor due to the large city and pollution in town. Here you will see a lot of people wearing little masks to help filter the pollution in the air. On the other hand, the local people here are absolutely amazing! I am a foreigner who doesn't speak any of the local language and the people I have interacted with have been nothing but kind even when they don't speak english. I think I will be stellar at charades when I eventually come back to the states. Also, the food here is amazing! If you are in the city, you are almost always a stones throw away from a chicken and beer place or a noraebong (this is a room for singing). The chicken here is fantastic! Korean barbecue is a treat as well. You cook your own meat and once it is finished you place it on a leaf with rice, sauce, or whatever sides you like and then roll it up and stuff it in your mouth. I also really enjoy Gimbap (spelling could be completely wrong). Gimbap is like a sushi roll that you can get to go. I go hiking almost every weekend and these Korean people are absolutely amazing. I am in my 20's and in good shape but will struggle up some of these mountains. Meanwhile, a group of middle aged locals will fly up the mountain and most people get to the top and find a rock to sit on and enjoy some noodles or some kind of food. Korean people seem to value their appearance a lot. While hiking, the locals will be decked out in hiking gear. When in town, most people are dressed pretty nice and its not uncommon to see people wearing suits. The people here also drive pretty nice cars. I've seen a lot of BMW's, Audi, and other luxury style vehicles. Also, the driving here is very different than it is in the United States. Cars here will drive much closer than they would back home. It isn't uncommon to see cars parked on the sidewalk either. The motorcycles will go anywhere. Motorcycles will drive through red lights and on sidewalks or down alleyways. Honestly, if you have a motorbike you can pretty much drive it wherever you'd like. Public transportation is huge here. There are several subway lines along with a bus schedule and it can be quite a bit for a midwesterner to take in. I have a lot to learn when it comes to maneuvering a large city. Luckily, I have made several friends here that are more than happy to help and they haven't steered me wrong yet.

On March 6th the teachers at DGEV (Daegu Gyeongbuk English Village) had the opportunity to go to a cultural experience. It was basically a field trip to a traditional village two hours away. On the bus, we got a booklet to describe the experiences we were soon to have. The village is famous due to this Korean woman who had created the first cookbook in Korea. She had many other significant accomplishments in her life as well but I cannot recall all of them. The trip was a ton of fun! We started by going to make our own rice wine! It was a really simple process. You place a bunch of rice in a big bowl, add yeast and water and mix it together. After everything is mixed, you place the concoction inside a jar and wait for one month. Once we had gotten everything in the jars and cleaned off, we got to try some pre-made rice wine and it was pretty tasty and stronger than you would think. After we had our wine made and ready for fermenting, we had the pleasure of enjoying traditional Korean cuisine. You must take off your shoes before entering the dining area and the tables sit on the floor. You sit on a pillow and try to cram your legs under the table. I was not flexible enough for this task so I had to maneuver my body in a different way. The food was pretty decent. There were parts that I did not fully enjoy and parts that I loved. There were a ton of courses but they were much smaller than the American style. Basically, from every dish you would get a few bites rather than a meal. The waiters and waitresses were constantly moving around and picking up dishes and replacing them with new ones. After lunch, we toured the village and got the opportunity to see the famous woman's home and the school students would go to. Lastly, we flew kites in the field which was quite fun.