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You Know You Are in Korea When ...
You Know You are in Korea ….
are things that I found different from the North American Culture which remind me I am in Korea. Some may find these are negative but they are just impressions of a foreigner and can be made of any culture that you are a foreigner in, even North America.
You know you are in Korea …
When “he” can mean “she” in the same sentence.
When you get a 60's culture mixed with high technology.
When if you eat alone you are considered weird.
When you can pay up to three times the price for technology made in Korea, compared to USA.
When the focus is on recycling and saving energy, and you get five paper bags to carry out a full meal deal at a fast food restaurant.
When “you are fat” is said to you but not the bigger Korean sitting next to you.
When you pay five dollars for a cup of coffee and you can only smell it.
When it is cheaper to phone with the cell phone than the home phone.
When you have a balcony on both sides of your apartment.
When you have a traffic jam because someone wants to buy some bananas from the salesperson walking down the center line.
When you have to avoid both cars and motorcycles on the sidewalk made for pedestrians.
When you hear “soonday” and think it is Sunday and say, ”yes I like it”.
When you can not buy an ice cream for a friend without offending all your friends.
When you plan a date and end up with three chaperones and you thought you had grown out of that stage.
When the City Tourism Manager brags about his city's toilets and offers you a tour of them.
When the restaurant floor is so clean you can eat off but you have hair in your soup.
When you never worry about fresh fish because of the tank at the front door of the restaurant.
When you carry your own toilet paper to the bathroom because there is not any there for public use.
When you wake up to the produce truck blaring his prices over his cassette at 7 AM on Saturday.
When you stop at red lights only if there is something to stop for and then wait for the opposite light to turn green.
When high school students go to private schools to avoid the boredom of public schools.
When the best way to make a right turn is often from the left hand lane.
When there are more people waiting to serve you in the store than customers.
When it takes four policemen to give a parking ticket.
When there are equal levels of parking underground as levels above ground.
When the red light district is truly a red light district.
When you can order coffee and eat it too. (Tabang coffee)
When “all is one” and “one is all” is the cultural norm.
When you consider taking out disability insurance after your first bus ride.
When Churches outnumber bars.
When you hear a siren and look for the emergency vehicle, only to discover it's a delivery motorcycle.
When street work is covered in felt cloth to keep the dirt and dust down.
When you do not need a menu at a restaurant because there is only one item to choose from.
When coffee is a dessert not a beverage.
When you can buy a rice crust pizza.
When you can start a collection of call girl business cards while shopping.
When you are surrounded by kimchi breath while squished in a subway car.
When you hear a whining sound all the time and you find out it is just normal chatter.
When safety in the work place is considered a waste of money.
When the boss's home time is the staff's home time.
When you pay your speeding tickets only when you sell your car, and hope they are less than the sale of the car.
When the motorcycle lane is the one on the left of the left side of the center line.
When you use heat only when you are out of clothes to wear in layers, and lights when your reading glasses give you headaches.
When you are sticky hot in the restaurant and stick to the cold toilet seat in the same restaurant.
When you drive the ladies crazy by patting the soft middle layer on your midriff.
When you use a wet string mop to clean the carpet in the lecture hall.
When satisfying the mother is more important than the education value of the child.
When there are more mirrors on a car than seatbelts.
When they think that they are in recession when the average car age is 5 years.
When personal hair stroking is a national pastime.
When the slow lane is the fastest lane on the freeway.
When old police cars are parked in intersections with lights flashing but no driver for months.
When thinking is the hardest thing for students to do.
When you build something and think of what you want to do with it later.
When fun is more important than learning.
When the cook tries the soup to make sure it is ok and then ladles it into your bowl.
When the husband carries the purse, the wife wears the pants, and the extended family makes the decisions.
When your side salad is shredded cabbage and ketchup and mayonnaise.
When the KGB is not the Russian secret service but a courier company.
When AA is not a battery size it is the average bra size.
When people are scared of dying in the night if they leave the fan on in the winter. (Keenan: a Foreign teacher)
When you pay extra for left over food at a buffet.
When your friend is the only child of four to support the parents financially.
When the no parking zone is ok for street vendors.
When the driver's safety is more important than vehicle or child safety.
When "smoking in the boys room" is real not just a song.
When you expect an A+ for showing up in class everyday. (work balue is not important)
When babysitting is the average English teachers job. (all ages)When potatoe salad is one layer of a thin sliced ham sandwich.
When there is more mayonnaise than any other ingredient in a sandwich.
When the red light is a challenge to every driver to see how many can run through it and from how many angles.
When the yellow light means you must speed up so you don't get the red light.
When the green light means that you go though it even though you block traffic. Traffic will eventually let you get to the other side of the intersection.
When double parking is ok even if you block traffic. They can wait for an opening in the other traffic direction to go around you.
When you turn the lights on in the restaurant only when you have a customer. Don't want to waste electricity.
When you turn the heat on and open the doors and windows on a windy and cold winter day.
When you smoke in the doorway of the non-smoking building. (this is also a Canadian mall idea)
When you smoke in front of a large no smoking sign and complain that your eyes are not good anymore and you are only 20 years old. God help the next generation.
When In America phone plans give you free weekends and evenings. In Korea parking is free anywhere and any angle after 6 and on weekends.
When you turn on your headlights at night but leave your burned out back ones out on a one way traffic street.
When the biggest parade is town is the announcement of the night club entertainment.
When your parking ticket notice is hand delivered to you but the real one comes after 3 months.
When you dodge phelgm (stepping on or aimed at you) on the way to school.
When you forget about yesterday, have no plan for tomorrow, and dont know what you will do today.