I'm writing this based on my experiences and it's my own point of view~ There may be some points you wanna take note of if you're planning to visit Korea soon ^^
1. Language
It is possible to get around Seoul with minimal or no knowledge about the Korean language. Compared to the previous time here 2 years ago, they cater much more to a Mandarin speaking audience than to an English speaking one. It could be due to the increase of Chinese or Mandarin speaking tourist in the country so I would say maybe you would need Mandarin more than English when you are getting around Korea.
Of course, at tourist locations, you would easily find English speaking staff that are pretty fluent. But everywhere else, people are using Mandarin more than English. But personally, since I do learn Korean and speak Korean somewhat rather fluently, it does have some benefits especially if you were to ask for discounts >< The Korean ahjummas and ahjussis tend to find foreigners who speak Korean interesting.
2. Pushing in crowded places
This was something rather surprising. In fact, I thought of Koreans like how they were portrayed in Korean dramas. It was interesting to observe that though Koreans were well mannered in terms of respecting their elders or seniors, however it wasn't the case if you're riding the subway or walking in a crowded place. Usually, if I wanted to make my way out of a crowded train, I would say "excuse me" and people would try to clear a path for me. However, I noticed that people just pushed their way through and shove you aside to get through. So during my stay in Korea, I've learnt to just push my way through crowded trains to get through quickly so I don't miss my stop. Plus, I've realized that the people there walk really fast and without stopping. It's probably related to their fast paced culture and everything seems to be happening so quickly and at the same time.
So to people who are new to Korea, do not be surprised if you get pushed around in crowded places.
3. Prejudice toward foreigners
I think this is something that's probably mentioned frequently by tourists or non Koreans living in Korea. It was mentioned on some television programs as well. Initially, I didn't believe it but after experiencing it for myself, I finally had to believe it. Of course, not everyone dislikes tourists or people who aren't Korean but it's quite common to receive stares and glares from some people. People kept mistaking us for people from China especially the older generation and they would glare at us in disgust. Once my sister met with a group of ahjummas and they were really rude to her just because my sister couldn't reply their question. I mean my sister can't speak Korean so there was no way she could understand and reply them right? So they started talking about her in Korean and criticizing Chinese tourists :/ But I guess it's because they don't have good experiences with some tourists but they shouldn't group us all together.
I'm just a little more surprised that this time it was different from when I visited Korea 2 years ago. It could be due to the fact that there's an increase of tourists over the years and everywhere is swarming with tourists. On the whole, it was a good experience nonetheless. I mean like when you're visiting a new country, it's only natural for you to learn about their culture and immerse yourself in it. Like my lecturer mentioned before, people from different cultures do things differently and if you don't do things the same way, it doesn't mean they are wrong.
4. Couples
I guess if you've been to Korea, you would agree with me on this one. There are a lot of couples! Everywhere you turn there'll be a couple! What I've noticed is that public display of affection is quite normal there. Maybe because every couple shows off some sort of affection with each other that it's like a norm to be all lovey dovey in public. It's almost to the extend of watching a romantic scene from a Korean drama happen live. So maybe dramas and movies do happen in real life... But only in Korea.
Couples there don't just hold hands in public but they do hug and make out in public too. Maybe it's their method and way of showing off to everyone else? Not only do they have a lot of skinship, it's common to see couples dressed in the same tops, wear the same shoes or even the same outfit from head to toe. It might be romantic and cute to some but sometimes it kind of makes me cringe. Especially if the couple at the next table starts making out. Where do I look? Are they doing it so people stare?
Initially I wanted to find a Korean boyfriend because Korean guys seem to have this charisma and they're mostly quite gentlemanly but now, I'm not so sure haha ><
5. Fashion and makeup
I noticed that most people in Korea or Seoul at least (since I spent the most time there) made an effort to dress up and doll up when they went out. Parents made it a point to dress their children up. I've seen some really fashionable toddlers there! It would seem like a good thing but I'm not really sure. It's like they place a lot of emphasis on outward appearance. It's not a bad thing to want to look good but it's like you get judging stares if you don't dress a certain way or look a certain way.
I've read or watched it somewhere before that it's an increasing trend in Korea for people to get surgery done just to look a certain way. I'm not saying that surgery is bad but the emphasis is placed so much on outward appearance that I think inner beauty has been forgotten? But that's just my own opinion. I'm sure there are people with nice character and are confident with themselves ^^
But of course, you may wanna dress up and look your best while you're there. It's pretty fun actually wearing nice clothes, dressing up and wearing fancy clothes or shoes that you wouldn't wear on a daily basis.
6. Plastic surgery
I'm sure everyone knows that Korea is well known for plastic or cosmetic surgery. In fact, you would be able to see advertisements for plastic surgery clinics everywhere! Even on television, there's this program that does surgery on 'contestants' to help improve their lives. Like in the previous point, plastic surgery is quite the norm in Korea. Why I added this point is that it was such a common sight seeing people with bruises all over their face from surgeries walking around the streets without any mask or sunglasses.
Once again comparing to 2 years ago, there are definitely more people walking around without hiding their post surgery faces. So really, don't be shocked or surprised to see such people shopping around. But then again, I guess it would be a challenge not to stare.
7. Food
I love Korean food and indeed the food in Korea is delicious! No matter where you go, they taste quite good. However, after about a week of eating similar food, I started missing home food and my sister was craving fries. So whenever we got sick of Korean food (other than ramyeon, which we ate quite often), we headed to Macs to get a burger. Hehe Macs never goes wrong.
One thing that I noticed about the food in Korea is that it's spicy. I guess most people would already know that. They love to include red pepper powder or paste into their dishes thus making most dishes spicy. And for people who don't eat spicy food often, it might come as a problem or challenge. I would recommend those who prefer less spicy food to learn how to say less spicy or not spicy in Korean otherwise your tummy might suffer from constantly eating spicy food. The last thing anyone wants on a trip is to fall ill right?
Nonetheless, there are some really good and tasty food in Korea and their desserts are really yummy. Our Korean friend brought us out for bingsu with is something like a ice shaving dessert and it tasted so good especially since it was summer! Why don't they have such desserts here?
These 7 points are currently what I can think of regarding my reflection on the trip to Korea! I'm just sharing my thoughts and observations and hopefully it has been useful to whoever reading this ^^
xoxo, Fid♥
No comments:
Post a Comment