1. Fan Death- Koreans believe that by keeping a fan on in a room without opening any windows will ultimately cause death. Seriously. Apparently, a fan sucks all of the oxygen out of the room causing, well, death. Another belief is that the fan will chop up the oxygen molecules. In order to sleep with a fan on you must have a window open at all times. They take this superstition to the extremes during the winter time. You can ask any foreign English teacher and they will tell you about the ridiculous window opening in the winter time. Imagine a nice, warm and cozy classroom. Just as your bones have started to thaw your co teacher whips open the windows causing a blistery breeze of winter air to spread throughout the classroom. It's more horrible than it sounds. This is very common place within schools as they believe that keeping the heater on without the windows open will result in health problems. This may be true but geez, they're definitely running up a hefty electricity bill at the same time!
2. Umbrellas - Koreans love umbrellas. I believe that each individual probably has at least four different umbrellas. There's a good chance they could match their umbrella to their daily attire. Honestly, umbrella's are very important here. You will not see a single Korean without an umbrella in its fully functional form on a grey, rainy day. Now, its a given that umbrellas do come in handy during steady rainfalls. Here, however, the smallest amount of rain warrants the use of an umbrella! During the random winter snowfalls, Koreans also whipped out their umbrellas! The reason - most Koreans believe that repeated exposure to rainfall will cause their hair to fall out. Hmm.. not too sure about that one, however, the traces of radioactivity are going up!
3. The Gear - Now this one has really created quite a few laughs between Svein and I. Koreans love, and I mean truly love, their flashy, brand name hiking and biking gear. On a normal weekend hike, we will head to the mountains in running shorts and a tee, accompanied by a standard backpack and trail runners. Koreans, however, will be completely decked out in the latest and most techy gear on the market. Marmot, Nepa, Columbia, The North Face, The Red Face, The Black Face (literally), there are countless brands geared towards hiking here in Korea. Your average Korean hiker will most likely head out hiking with the following gear: technical pants and jacket, rugged hiking boots fit for a hike in the Himalayas, a set of hiking poles, a sophisticated pack with multiple accessories attached, visor (a MUST), face mask (another MUST), cellphone with music blaring and gloves. This is on a hot summer day. Koreans also love their biking gear! While heading out for a run on the sunken subway path (paved) we will see numerous bikers that look to be heading for a mountain bike race. They are all wearing coordinated spandex outfits, face masks, cleats, backpacks, and gloves. The funniest part is that they're all riding $1000+ MTB bikes! The money they put into their gear is absurd! I do commend their dedication to physical activity though!
4. Coffee - Coffee culture is huge here in Korea. You will find countless quaint coffee shops lining the streets of Busan offering only the best cappuccinos, lattes and espressos. If that doesn't quite compare to a nice cup of strongly brewed coffee, well then, you're out of luck. It's verrry hard to find a standard cup of coffee anywhere in Busan. You can purchase coffee beans from costco or Lotte mart, but for some reason coffee shops here don't include brewed coffee in their menu. So once you've become used to drinking your \5,000 cappuccino your co teacher may offer you a Korean style coffee. What's this you may ask? Well, it's more or less instant coffee combined with powdered creamer and sugar in a handy transportable packet. Koreans drink this coffee numerous times a day. When prepared, however, they only add about 1/4 cup of water to the packet. This creates a very sugary and strong drink! It definitely can't be good for you! We have gotten kind of used to it though... maybe we're slowly turning korea?
5. Blood Type - When approached by a Korean you may be asked,"What is your blood type?" as opposed to "What is your sign?" Koreans believe that a persons blood type depicts their true nature.
Blood Type A: Secretive, conservative, stubborn, patient, punctual and uptight. Apparently they don't hold their alcohol well either.
Blood Type B: Optimistic, creative, animal-loving, self-centered and forgetful. Type B's are very independent and the men are not considered "good husbands" as they have the makings of a "bay boy".
Blood Type AB: Introverted, cool, collected, rational, critical and indecisive.
Blood Type O: Athletic, ambitious, self-confident, insensitive, vain and arrogant. Viewed as natural leader and natural athletes, type O's are confident they will succeed.
In Korea there are countless songs and movies that depict relationship between individuals with different blood types. The first time I encountered this question was during the question and answer period of one of my grade 3 classes. One shy Korean girl with huge pigtails stood up and said something in Korea. My co teacher translated the question to, "what is your blood type?" I was completely thrown off and with a laugh I said "O". The classroom broke out in cheers. You could imagine my confusion at the time, haha.
6. Cosmetic Surgery - This is a big one. Korean women are always looking in mirrors, tending to their makeup or hair. There are mirrors everywhere if you keep your eye out for them - the subway, public buildings, schools, restaurants...When riding the subway you will notice that almost every Korean is either on their cell phone or looking in a mirror. Their constant concern for their physical appearance has created a huge cosmetic surgery industry here in Korea. Some of the common procedures undertaken are - breast augmentation, liposuction, double eyelid surgery (to create a more Caucasian looking eye - it's very common to see high school girls with eye patches, post surgery), nosejobs, and the most shocking, calf reduction. As the majority of Korean females wear sky-high heels, they ultimately have very sculpted calves. Back home, this wouldn't be frowned upon at all! Here in Korea, however, a sleek and slim look is desired and any muscle definition is generally undesirable.
7. Spitting and urinating- This is all too common in the streets of Korea. On a nice peaceful day you will most likely hear a loud, "wghooop!, pptou!" as an elderly Korean man horkes up a giant spitball destined for the sidewalk. It's quite disgusting at times. I wonder if this goes hand in hand with not blowing their noses? Apparently this is rude but spitting isn't? Urinating in public is also fairly common with the elderly male population. Especially in the sunken subway pathway that runs the length of the city.
8. Meal Time - Koreans do not drink anything with their meal, unless it's soju. During lunchtime at my school I'm the only person with a bottle of water. I also never see any of the teachers drinking water; only the strong, concentrated Korean coffee and a bit of tea. Eating together and sharing food is alsopart of the daily life in Korea. Everyone's spoon into one large soup is not uncommon. Slurping the soup from the spoon with a very loud "sshhhlp!" is also not a surprise. Every meal is served with Kimchi as it is the national dish. Fermented and smelly it is actually very tasty! Korean men also eat really fast! They almost inhale the food! As my principal is finishing up his meal I'm only a quarter of the way through mine! Meals will also last hours when out with a big group. I've had school dinners where we've been at the restaurant for over three hours! It's actually really nice to sit and relax with everyone after a big meal.
Throughout the last 8 months it has been fun learning about the different cultural and daily practices in Korea. Although some may seem a little too different it has still been great experiencing a different culture and adapting to their norms. Some visitors to Korea may be put-off by some of the behaviours noted, but for us, observing and partaking in these behaviours is a great way to truly enjoy and appreciate a culture.
