I am in room 126 of Sehwa Hall dormitory on the Seoul campus of Kyung Hee University (or, South Korea). I have been here for a bit under one week and will be here for about three more weeks.
What's up?
Well, I'm studying. I actually am studying because I am taking two classes: six hours per day, four days per week. I have a quiz in Economic Globalization and East Asian Economies on Monday and I need to get cracking on a second (yes, second) paper for my Dilemmas in Asian Development course. I am exhausted to the point that I really don't want to get up to do my laundry, but I must... eventually.
So... tell us about this place.
Seoul is like a sauna, at least in July. We are averaging 85 degrees Fahrenheit each day with extremely high humidity. To make matters more entertaining (for you folks), I actually have to walk uphill both ways to get from my dorm to class (This is made possible by also walking downhill both ways.) on what seem like ski slopes.
Kyung Hee University's Seoul campus is enormous, something around ten times the physical size of Vatican City. It houses a kindergarden, an elementary school, two middle schools (one for boys, one for girls), two high schools (one for boys, one for girls), many colleges, a hospital, sports fields and all kinds of other things that boggle my mind and make the process of getting between two points very difficult and time consuming.
South Korea, or just Korea as it is called here, is famous, but forgotten. People rarely ever think of South Korea, unless they are thinking of North Korea and Kim Jong-Il's mental illness. South Korea rarely makes headlines: she is a quiet nation, but a content one. One of the largest economies in the world, the most internet users per capita, a history dating back at least 5,000 years: these are the things people forget about Korea. Many people are under the impression that Korea is the third world country; North Korea, yes, but not South Korea. What people tend to know about Korea is short and not-so-sweet: bootlegging, United States' military presence and kimchi.
I'll start by saying that I have not seen any US GI's, yet, but I have not wandered too far from the campus, whereas the campus is a city within itself.
Kimchi, I have seen and tasted. If you need to get rid of a cold, kimchi is a great choice. For those of you who are unfamiliar with kimchi, it is just cooked cabbage... soaked in a hot pepper brine. When I say "hot," I mean it. People from different cultures have various understandings of heat, and East Asian cuisine compared to standard American fair (even the occasional taco) is like the difference between Texas and Connecticut. These people are not playing around. The first time I had kimchi, I began to sweat profusely (even though I was in an air-conditioned building). I was able to finish it, but it is definitely better to start with a "lighter" variety. Think of the hottest hot wings you have ever had--that's not as hot as a lot of kimchi is. And hot wings at least have greasy chicken beyond the spice to cool them down.
Bootlegging, the mass-production of inauthentic or "knock-off" products, is a touchy subject... and very illegal. It is, indeed, stuffing Korea from border to border, though. Living close to New York City, it would be difficult not to come across knock-off designer bags and such, but "everything is bootlegged in Korea," with no exceptions--this comes from Koreans, themselves. I tried to access YouTube earlier and different record companies literally block Korean IP's from their artists' videos, for fear of bootlegged DVDs and CDs coming down off of YouTube. When it comes to things like bags, I do not know how offended I am by bootlegging: there are only so many designs, companies only really differ in name, and people only buy from a certain name due to a perception of greater quality... or because it will make them popular. If people know that they are buying a cheap knock-off, then let them satisfy their materialistic urges while knowingly sacrificing quality.
I do not know if it is because I enjoy writing, or if it is because I view writing as the most perfect method of displaying and sharing intellectual property, but the idea of bootlegged books does bother me a bit. Bootlegging is such an accepted practice in Korea that our school has a printshop in the basement of one building where professors bring textbooks they plan on using for class and have copies made for students to buy cheaply. There are benefits to this: I know that at the other schools I have been to, there have been problems every semester with students not having the money for books, not having the time to order them online or the school bookstore failing epically in one way or another, like not ordering the books for our Italian class until halfway through the semester. But I feel like there needs to be some sort of happy medium, some way to award writers the way that musicians are given royalties when their songs are sung at school concerts. Most magazines have a school subscription price and online access... perhaps publishers should grant schools the right to print certain books at a flat rate, offering discount and convenience. Two of the books I bought, you could never tell from the originals. One of them, someone got a bit sloppy with the offset and left the price tag on before copying (shown). Inauthentic product, authentic Korean souvenir.Bootlegging is one thing about Korea that I was told I will need to "get used to." There are a lot of differences, some good, some bad, some ugly.
As far as good differences go... well, I love the exchange rate! One dollar can buy approximately 1,200 Korean won. This means that for every 10,000 won I spend, I am only spending $8. This is very good and very important; a lot of people "forget" what their money is worth while traveling. When dealing with currency worth more than the USD, such as the Euro or the British Pound, this is essentially shooting oneself in the foot. I probably won't feel so bad tabulating how much I spent at the end of this trip, whereas the exchange rate psychologically promotes underspending. For example, when I purchase lunch for 2,500 won (which is delicious and filling), I think that I am spending $2.50, but I am actually only spending $2.00. Over the course of a week, this adds-up to an extra lunch, plus a little snack. Over the course of a month, this adds-up to being able to buy a little gift for someone.
Bad differences? Well, I do not like to complain, and these are all very small complaints... but I do have to agree with what my military friends who were stationed here told me: Korea smells funny. I think this is because their sewer system is shallower than the one in the United States, which makes certain smells... well, closer to your nose, honestly. This is not everywhere, but if you walk past a sewer, you'll know it. Also, because of social customs, you cannot enter the dorm rooms (or even hallways) intended for the opposite sex: you will be removed from the dorm. This is listed in the same category of offense as sexual assault. It is not that big of a deal, whereas we still share our common areas, but it is obvious that Koreans have just as many friends of the opposite sex as Americans do.
Ugly. The thing I get most anxious about when I visit another country is not the possibility of being mugged or harassed, not even whether or not I'll accidentally eat something containing an ingredient I cannot tolerate (such as Aspartame). I worry about bathrooms. Knowing a good deal about the world, I have a right to worry about bathrooms. Even "civilized," first world countries have bathrooms that most Americans would be confused or bothered by. When we were waiting for our transfer in Tokyo, I went to the bathroom at the airport and saw two choices: one choice was essentially a female urinal, which is a very common style for a toilet across the world, but is inconvenient for those of us who like to wear jeans or do not have strong thighs. The other choice was a normal-looking toilet with about ten other functions including wash, dry, de-stink and background music. This made me very nervous. Korean toilets, thankfully, are a lot like the latter toilet, minus about half of the buttons. What bothers me is the shower. I have taken all sorts of showers, my least favorite (even worse than needing to sponge-bathe) is "the narrow shower" that is so thin that any adult person, regardless of size, finds it impossible to turn around inside of. One bumps her elbows and needs to turn the shower off, step out, turn around and reenter to wash her back. I am grateful that this shower is not here, in Korea. The shower that is here in Korea is the "whole room as a shower." This is not always bad: all of the fixtures are on the wall and there is a drain in the floor. In a decently sized room with a good fan, things dry quickly and the bathroom remains safe. Our bathroom is very small and has a cruddy fan. Everything gets wet and stays wet. The tiles are spattered with water that clings to dirty feet when people go to use the toilet. And sometimes the toilet is unsettlingly wet. Oh... I will live, trust me, I will live.Is there anything else?
Yes, actually. I am having a great time. The class I prefer more is Dilemmas in Asian Development, taught by Dr. Richard Estes from the University of Pennsylvania; he has been to over 120 different countries and has done some phenomenal work in the field of international development. I have classmates from all over the world: Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, China, Singapore, Indonesia, Germany, Italy, Saudi Arabia--you name it! I am the only American in my economics class and one of two in my dilemmas class--it is really phenomenal to get all of the different perspectives. My roommate is a Korean graduate student who, conveniently, studied in the US (and has beautiful English) and is finishing-up her degree in political science (so, we have much to discuss). Her name is Miha--her English name, that is. Many Asian students, when studying in countries where European languages are spoken, select an English name because others have difficulty pronouncing their names. I never thought I would hear my name mispronounced so many different ways: I have told my new friends that I will try to figure out a Korean name to make it a bit easier on them. Maybe I will choose "Haneul," whereas that has the same meaning in Korean as my name does in French.
Well, I need to get back to studying and start on laundry. Until next time!
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