Cultural musings: part 2 둘

As promised here are more of my observations on some cultural differences you might come across in Korea. Again, these are simple observations, I am not calling out anything as good or bad inherently.

So here we go.

Hospitals:
I have not been to one yet so I can not speak about what goes on inside of them. But what I can tell you is that your Korean friends and co-workers will suggest that you go to it for every little thing. For example, a co-teacher tripped while running in a race against students and went to the hospital. I started getting a cold and immediately they all began suggesting I go to the hospital and get some medicine. I am from America, the land of expensive health care and so I am not in the habit of going to the doctor often unless it is an emergency. We also have two separate facilities in America, we have doctor's offices which are for general check-ups and minor issues and then there is the hospital which is for major operations, diseases or injuries. In Korea, because of the way their health care is set up it seems the general doctors also reside in the hospital. Either way, be prepared for this to be suggested for every ailment under the sun. Be careful though, my friends who have gone have mentioned the crazy amount of pills they send you home with, sometimes without explanation of what they are. I am not sure how it is where you are from but in America our doctors and nurses always explain what they are giving us and why.

The other thing you might notice, as I have, without even having to step into a hospital is the freedom they give their patients. Because people go their for all manner of things and seem to stay the night more often then they would in America, there are an abundance of fairly healthy people in the hospital at any given time. As they are quite healthy or because Korean's believe in the power of fresh air (I am not 100% sure) you will see people walking around in hospital garb a lot. They are not escapees as I once thought, they are simply out for a stroll. I even saw a guy walking around toting his IV one time. It is perfectly normal. Better than being stuck inside and bored to death I guess.

Escalators:
This isn't really a cultural difference as I have seen people posting about it around the world, I just think it's funny.

Anyway I do think the escalators move at a much slower pace here, but maybe that's just me. But what I wanted to mention is the reliance on escalators. They are everywhere! I get it for multiple floors or something but sometimes it seems a bit like overkill. Perhaps it is because the escalators are so slow that I find this need to wait in an overly squishy line for the escalator so amusing. People are basically lapping you on the stairs people, that is how not fast you are going. My favorite instance of Korean's love affair was escalators was when one of them had stopped working in a subway and yet people will still lining up and getting all up in each others space to get on the thing. Even though it was now just stairs... with less room. I know this happens all over and must say something about us as a whole and our reliance on technology or our sheer laziness and how ingrained habits become but I think it's funny.

I am definitely guilty of an over-reliance on escalators too, and elevators for that matter. Oops

Next time I will write about something that is actually different between our cultures but I just couldn't resist talking about the escalator mania.

Also, sorry this post is lacking in pictures but I didn't want to be that creepy person taking pictures of strangers. Sorry guys.

-Hope

Tteokbokki Tuesday: Seoul

So this past weekend I took my second trip up to Seoul. I went with some friends from Busan and we had a ball. I shall write at greater length about my trip soon. But for now pictures. The first picture requires some background. So we left right after work on Friday and thus decided to have a potluck dinner on the train. Our dinner consisted of gimbap, peanut butter crackers, nuts, fruit, fruit by the foot and what I am calling Korea's fruit cake. We also had some soju and sprite (or lemonade) to wash it all down with. We thought it was awesome that they let you bring drinks on the train.
Anyway here is a pizza of the fruitcake pizza thing.

It was essentially this doughy bread with assorted fruit, peas and a mystery substance on top.

Tteokbokki Tuesday: Gamcheon Culture Village

I realize that it is Wednesday and not Tuesday but it was my friend's birthday last night so I was out celebrating. Apologies.

Anyways, last weekend I went to Gamcheon Culture Village in Busan with some friends. Gamcheon village was first created as a refugee camp during the Korean War. Since Busan was the last place free from fighting its population shot up rapidly, particularly in areas close to the port such as Gamcheon. These hastily erected shacks were built up with the help of Chol-je Cho and his followers. (Chol-je Cho is the founder of Taegukdo) It wasn't until recently, 2009 in fact, that the village became a cultural icon. The Ministry of Toursim enlisted the help of artisans and the village residents to transform the city into the art hub it is today.

The village is also sometimes referred to as the Amalfi coast of Korea or Korea's Santorini.

Tteokboki Tuesday: Street Art Edition

Hey guys! I am still working on uploading some pictures from recent trips but I thought I would share this nerdy street art which it just so happens is on my own street! This master piece showed up magically over the course of a few nights. I have seen a lot of cool artwork here and will try to document it in the future. 

Please share your own favorite street art, I would love to see it. 

Hope

Korean cultural musings 하나

So I wanted to just state a couple of things that I have noticed differ between American culture and Korean culture. I am not making any judgement or claiming that either way is better I am simply making some observations and I would be curious to hear what difference struck Koreans visiting America or really anyone living in another country.

So without further adieu, here is what I have noticed.

From my hike in Seoul!

Tteokbokki Tuesday: Girls Day Out

This weekend was super awesome and relaxing. Probably because we didn't go out drinking haha. After sleeping in on Saturday and getting my hair cut (side note it is crazy cheap here, it only cost me 15,500 won so like 15 U.S. dollars for a hair-cute, shampoo and conditioner), we went to the Trick Eye Museum. The one here (in Busan) is much smaller than the one in Seoul but it was a nice day out. I only went with two other people which I think is a good sized group. The pictures kind of over lap so going with a large group would be a bit awkward and it would take longer to get through making it potentially boring.

Anyway here is my friend and I goofing off in one of the paintings. 

International Fireworks Festival

Hey guys, sorry I missed Tteokbokki Tuesday last week. I was feeling a bit down and homesick so I spent the evening with hot chocolate and watching tv. Let me catch you up on some of the things I have done since my last update.

Two weekends ago I went to Daegu to visit some friends from EPIK orientation. That is one of the great things about orientation, friends and their couches all over Korea. Anyway, Dageu is a smaller city about an hour north of Busan. It is known for being extremely hot and it also has a very active expat community. It has only 2 subway lines so it isn't as easy to get around as it is in Busan and there aren't as many cultural activities to partake in. That being said it was a lot of fun to see another city and go on a hike similar to Jangsan mountain here and see the city from above.

 Me and the girls reveling in the view and rejoicing 

that we finally made it to the top

Busan hosted the 10th anual International Fireworks Festival last weekend at Gwangali beach. Some friends had an apartment with a good view from the roof near buy so we opted to watch from there as opposed to the beach so that we could avoid the crowds. We went down to the beach around 2 to check out the festivities and because we were told the subways would basically shut down after that and it would be impossible to find a spot. Lies. The beach didn't really start to get packed until around 5:30 or 6. The fireworks themselves were spectacular if a bit long, though that might have been because we weren't right in the thick of it. Anyways, I would recommend going to see it at least once if you are near Busan in October. Be warned though, the crowds after are insane. It felt like the zombie apocalypse. There were soldiers in the subway guiding people a long but I think they just managed to increase the panic in the atmosphere. The line between sanity and a mob seemed very thin. Probably riding off the high of the festival many people, myself included, decided to celebrate Halloween a week early. We went to KSU and hopped around the clubs there. We saw some really incredible costumes so I would suggest hanging out there if you are in need of some Halloween festivities.

The gang outside CU. I am dressed as Belle from Beauty in the Beast in case you are wondering. 

Our group was definitely not the most impressive.

And yes, we are being photobombed.

What are some of your favorite hikes in Korea?

What do you do to celebrate Halloween in your home away from home?

Tteokbokki Tuesday: Jinju Lantern Festival

So Jinju holds a huge lantern festival every October. The festival grew out of the military custom used during the Imjinwaeran War (1592) of lighting lanterns to prevent enemy Japanese soldiers from wading across the Namgang River. It has grown to include floating lanterns highlighting cultures from around the world. You can also buy your own paper lantern for 3,000 won and adorn it with wishes and dreams before sending it on its way down the river. Lanterns are still lit to remember the veterans of the Jinjuseong Fortress battle (Imjinwaeran war) and short firework festival tops the whole event off.

I couldn't pick just one picture so you get two this week.

This is the lantern tunnel of wishes! So pretty. 

I opted to let my float down the river.

These are pretty floating Pegasus. I love them <3

Anyhow, there are lots of amazing festivals to see in Korea, like literally every weekend. It's fabulous. And they love fireworks! So much to celebrate. 

What are some of your favorite festivals around the world? What festival does your hometown do really well? I think my hometown of State College, PA does the 4th of July like none other. Our fireworks are bomb y'all. 

Packing: What you need to bring to Korea

I spent many hours scourging the internet trying to figure out what exactly I needed to pack when moving across the world and while many of those posts were very helpful a lot of them contradicted themselves or just weren't specific enough. Like no shit sherlock I have to bring underwear... Anyways I will try to break it down for you, but bear in mind I am from the United States so things may very slightly from country to country and Korea is constantly changing so if you are reading this a year from now some things may be out of date.

Let's begin by talking about clothes as they will most likely take up the most space in your suitcases. My suggestion is to bring mostly professional clothes as they will have to last you for at least a month before you can go shopping. This is probably even more essential if you aren't in a big city with easy access to shopping and western stores. Your professional wardrobe should also include shoes, but don't stress about this one as you will wear indoor shoes at school. For the ladies I have found a good pair of black flats to be essential and for the gents a nice pair of loafers? Here are a few other things to remember about professional attire in Korea.

Tteokbokki Tuesday: Beomeosa Temple edition

So a couple of weekends ago a group of us thought we would spend our weekend in search of inner peace and cute monks at a Korean Temple. One of the wonderful ways in which us foreigners, aka waegooks, can experience Korean culture is through the temple stay program. Lucky enough for us there was a temple right here in Busan that offered a temple stay program with an English translator. 

While we did not manage to find inner peace, we did find cute monks so I call it a win. Haha. But in all seriousness, it was a wonderful experience. We got a small taste of what Korean Buddhism is like as we were only their two days and one night (honestly it was a little more that 24 hours) and they weren't strict about enforcing Buddhist etiquette with us. This lovely picture is from our 3am wake up call for the first service of the day. We also got to string our own prayer beads which included doing one bow for each of the 108 beads. Needless to say we were feeling a little sore the next day. We did however; make new friends, great memories, such as singing Fresh Prince of Bel-air for the monks and we saw really beautiful architecture and got a glimpse of a beautiful way of life. 

All in all I would recommend giving a temple stay a try. Here is a link to the temples that offer programs in English, http://eng.templestay.com/ and another helpful website, http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/AC/AC_EN_4_4.jsp

Tteokbokki Tuesday

I remembered! Look at me, making progress, posting pictures. It's all in the small victories my friends. Don't judge me.

Anyways this week is a special bonus, a video! I took this during my EPIK orientation at Jeonju's cultural village. We made traditional fans and learned some traditional drumming and as you can see we are quite skilled. I hope you enjoy.

Oops... Belated Tteokbokki Tuesday

Sorry guys! I am still establishing my routine. I will get this right next week promise!!

Here is your picture from my Korean adventures.

Miniature BuddhasHaedong Yonggungsa Temple

This temple is located right along the coast making it a must see for any visitors to Busan. It has stunning views of the sea, these cute little buddhas, and a walkway of statues depicting the Korean zodiac animals. I am the year of the Sheep. 

Living in the land of Kimchi

Alisa has inspired me to start my own photo day. Since Sunday is already taken I will upload pictures from my Korean adventures on Tuesdays. We shall call them 떡볶이 Tuesdays, Tteokbokki street food made from fish or rice cakes and covered in a red chili paste . But first I shall give you the low down on how I came to live in Korea, the ins and outs of applying for EPIK and all that jazz.

First and foremost I feel I must mention that everyone's experience applying to teach in Korea is going to be different and I can only speak about my experience with EPIK (English Programs in Korea).

On Uncertainty

Since last winter I had been planning on moving to South Korea in August to teach English. I even got my TEFL certificate and had all my paperwork together. I'd even been offered the job.

Then everything fell apart.
I didn't get to go to Korea in August. I am still stuck in my hometown in the US of A.
I work two sporadic jobs and I live at home.
Hope got to go, which I think sometimes makes it worse for me.

So I decided to write a post on how I'm dealing with having my plans for an entire year crumble around me, and the huge uncertainty that followed.

Cute pic with the bf that wouldn't have happened if I'd gone to Korea.