things I like about Korea

If you have read my blog for awhile you have probably realized that I don't especially love it here. I never thought that I wouldn't like it here, I thought I would fit in anywhere in the world, but there is just something about it here that doesn't feel like home. Even though I don't always like living here, there are some things that I really do like about Korea.

I love that they have a subway system in Seoul! You are always within a couple of blocks of a subway stop and you just have to walk down a couple... more like a lot... of flights of stairs, hop on the subway and away you go. It only costs about $1.00 to go anywhere in the city and depending on where you want to go it can take anywhere from 2 minutes to 30 minutes to get to your destination. It totally beats paying a ton of cash for a taxi and sitting in traffic for hours trying to get somewhere.

Talking about transportation, I love how much public transportation they have here. Even in small towns, like Yongmun where we live, they will have taxi's, buses, and trains. It makes getting anywhere very easy and it's pretty cheap too. You can just go to the next town or all the way to Busan (far down in the south of Korea) or to Seoul, it's great!

I love that many times, if you buy things like body wash, bathroom cleaners, laundry detergent ect. that you get a refill with your purchase. They give you the bottle already full and then a refill bag that you can pour into the bottle when it's empty. It's not like you don't pay for it, you do, but it's still cheaper and healthier for the environment. Unfortunately they do not do this with shampoo, which is sad because it already costs $10 for one bottle, I think they should throw in a refill for that much money!

I have a love/hate relationship with not having a clothes dryer. I love that Koreans are willing to take the time and effort into drying their clothes the good old fashion way and it also saves a ton of money and energy. I hate that on rainy days my clothes have to sit inside and don't really dry. I have that on humid days my clothes never dry and it can be damp for two days straight and start to smell a little and I don't know what I will think about it in the winter... it's a love/hate sort of thing. 

Even though I have made fun to Korean women being completely impractical with how they dress, I do like that Koreans take care of themselves and care about their appearance. If you walk down the streets in Korea people look good, you don't see people in pajama's or in sweat pants (most of the time).

I like that musical instruments are cheaper.

I like that you can get a tailored suit for a man for a lot cheaper then the States.

I love that Korea is very beautiful! There are mountains everywhere and they are very lush and green. I have been told that Korea used to look rather ugly and that all of the mountains where just brown dirt, but then after the wars they decided to plant trees all over all the mountains and now it looks beautiful.

I like that we had a summer this year (unlike all you people in Minnesota, wink wink).

I like how even though I think my skin is too pale, the Koreans think it's pretty and if I get a tan then I'm considered 'dirty'. Many Korean women walk around with umbrella's to shade themselves because they want to keep their skin clean and prevent being 'dirty'.

Another love/hate relationship. I like how Koreans don't always feel the need to say sorry. In the States, if you bump into somebody walking down the street you always say 'sorry'. If you walk between two people while they are talking you say 'excuse me' or 'sorry'. In Korea they don't do that. They do what they do and they don't think about you. I hate it though because sometimes you get body slammed walking down the streets and nobody cares and I hate that they can just push you aside or in front of you and think nothing of it. I like my personal bubble... Koreans don't believe in bubbles:)

I love that Koreans can just make me laugh! It's not always the best thing, but impracticality can crack me up sometimes. 

Those are some of the things I like about Korea!