A Year in SoKo: the Good, the Bad, the Confusing

It is OFFICIALLY the final day of the year 2014, which means a few things to me:

First, I survived South Korea and made it back to the United States in one piece.
Second, I am now able to reflect upon the most significant year of growth I've experienced in all of my 25 years alive.
And third, I really need to improve my blogging consistency. Thank you for waiting patiently, lovely readers!

Now that I've returned to the land of craft beer and loud conversation, I've had some time to weigh in on the good, the bad, and the totally confusing aspects encountered in Korea. Whether practical, delicious, mind-boggling or completely humorous, these are the unforgettable Korean cultural markers which I surrounded myself almost every single day of 2014. Enjoy :)

Dining Out

Good: Delicious, cheap food. No tip required. The magic table doorbell that calls your server. Banchan (Korean side dishes, often free and unlimited!) Korean food is something I'd never get sick of eating. This country is full of pickled, fermented, stinky, sour, crunchy food suitable for all. Wanna stand? Street food. Wanna sit? Table restaurant. Wanna lay on the floor? Floor restaurant. Everybody's happy.

(Left to Right) 1. Strange Korean pizza toppings 2. Cold noodle soup (mul-naengmyeon)
3. Aileen cooking octopus 4. Bibimbop, my lunch on the reg 5. Corn banchan

 Bad: Occasional slow service. Tiny cups...like Dixie cups. Hul.

Confusing: Beondegi. Occasional bombardment of personal space by intoxicated Koreans. Yelling out the Korean equivalent of "come here!" to servers also took some getting used to.

Top: Trying the silkworm larvae for the first, but not only, time.
Below: Will attracted some eager college students at our Friday
night pajeon/magkeolli dinner. Right: Selfies ensue.

 
Being Outdoors

Good: Koreans appreciate green space. Excellent bike trails, hiking, parks. It's commonplace to climb up a mountain and have a glass of magkeolli at the top. The weather is consistent and sunny, temperature changing gradually through each season (as opposed to Indiana weather, for which I am never prepared), and most people enjoy walking from here to there.

Hiking with friends throughout the southern region of Korea.

Litter often spotted on my
walk to work. Hmm.

Bad: I would often walk, run, and bike in the car exhaust of vehicles passing by. Pedestrians do not have the right of way! Unless hiking Munsusan, the mountain in our backyard, the hiking was hard to get to from a public transportation perspective. 

Confusing: No trashcans...Anywhere. This was one of the most boggling things about South Korea. People throw their trash on the ground, and by the morning it mysteriously disappears. Thanks to what I believe is government-funded, public employment, the elderly collect garbage and recyclables and properly dispose of them. 
 

Education

Posing on Halloween with Christine,
one of my favorite middle school girls.

Good: I've never seen students more dedicated or harder working. Education is valued and highly supported in Korea. Test scores and post-secondary graduation rates are among the top of the world.
Bad: Students seem overworked and overwhelmed, most experiencing more stress than adults face in the west. Mix a stressed, sleep-deprived fifth grader with a package of cookies and a three hour English lesson,  do you know what you get? Whoooooey! Cranky kids.

Confusing: Why make students go to hagwon on public holidays?? Whyyyyy? Call me lazy, call me whatever, but teachers don't wanna teach on public holidays!

 Coffee

Good: Coffee shops of all kinds were abundant throughout Korea. Garden themed, bookshop themed, swanky white couches and uplighting. You could always find a coffee shop and always order an americano, sure to see selfies taken at each point. Most menus are in English or easy-to-read hongul and provide an excellent atmosphere for people watching or working. 
Bad: The coffee sucks. Very few places offer basic drip coffee, and it's often laden with sugar and syrup.

Confusing: Oddly enough, Koreans drink a surreal amount of instant coffee...Nobody has time for drip?! Coffee is also quite expensive, ranging anywhere from 3 to 6 USD for a small coffee.

Drinking

Good: Drinking on any day, at any time, in completely normal here. Alcohol consumption is through the roof, it seems. But it's very social and inexpensive, and there are a wide assortment of drinks to choose from. Some of my favorites were magkeolli (unfiltered, fermented rice wine) and somek (a merging of the mixture soju + mekju), as well as my friends' home brew craft beer, the label of their cider featuring yours truly. 

Left to Right: Mobile booze juicebox cart, friends and
magkeolli, Nick and I singing noraebang.

Bad: Bars. Never. Close. Bars never close. Bars never close. And you may die.

Confusing: According to statistics, South Korea's alcohol consumption is higher than that in America, but I never noticed it recognized as a significant issue among Korean people. The idea of "alcoholism" does not exist, although some point fingers at the Irish!

Transportation

Good: Taxis are abundant, inexpensive, and easy to hail. Buses run semi-consistently, and you may get lucky and find a seat! Ulsan didn't have a subway system, but the subways in Korea were fairly easy to navigate and also pretty cheap.
Bad: The buses are notorious for accelerating zero to 60 in under ten seconds, and unless you're holding on you WILL go flying into the lap of a squishy ajumma, and she WON'T be happy about it.

Confusing: Strange things have happened in taxis, including the time we sang along to Kelly Clarkson's "Because of You" with our driver in Daegu, and the time Shay and I received the 4am surprise of gifted clementines to share with our driver. "For energy," he said.

Being a Couple

Good: Couples outfits.

Bad: Couples outfits.

This is a real thing!

Confusing: Couples outfits.

Being an ESL Teacher

Wonderful, morning Costco bike rides with
Beth, Will, and Shay.

 Good: Working evenings allows for daytime shenanigans (or naps), good pay, students are very entertaining.
Bad: Cultural differences in the workplace sometimes lead to miscommunication or misunderstanding, so communication is vital among employer and employees. Koreans have a very rigorous work ethic, and foreigners are also held to this standard.

Confusing: Why work on public holidays? Whyyyy?

Being a Foreigner

 Good: Being a foreigner in Korea was excellent. Koreans were extremely friendly, helpful, and patient with me throughout the year. Considering I didn't speak Korean and probably acted silly in many cases, I always felt very comfortable living in South Korea. Probably the best thing about being a foreigner was meeting all of the other wonderful wakgooken in Korea. From England to Canada, Ireland to South Africa, I met great people from great places.

Representing team England, Korea, Canada,
Pennsylvania, and Indiana. And Team Girls!

Rainy ride home with Tim.

Bad: Although this foreign land threw me some curve balls, all the little challenges were completely worth while.

Confusing: We sometimes lived the life of a celebrity, posing for photographs and getting stared at. It was all good fun.

Munsu hike on my last weekend in Ulsan with Shay, Will, and John.

 As I look back on these photographs and memories, I think about how the year evolved. Cherry blossoms, new friendships, new goals met. Each season illuminated the passing time, and I knew that my experience in Korea would eventually come to an end. Without the people I met and the places I saw, I would not be the same changed person I am at the other end of this adventure. The holidays and New Year spent with friends and family took on a special importance for me in 2014, and the upcoming year is sure to bring more excitement as I embark for New Zealand in three short weeks. I'd like to close this chapter with a big thank you for all of your support, well wishes, postcards, packages, and continued correspondence. May 2015 treat you well, be kind to one another, and say yes to a new adventure!