Random Things We Hate About Korea

Although we love so many things about Korea, there are definitely some we could live without. Here is a random selection in no particular order:

1. Water: This is two fold. First, you can't drink water out of the tap; it is going to be really great to go back to a country where you can. Some people do it here, but we have been told by foreigners and Koreans alike that it is a bad idea and not even boiling it will solve the problem because it is a chemical/pollution issue. Second, and much more important, is the way you are served water with meals. Restaurants have these tiny little cups that fit about three swallows of water. Sometimes you can ask for "big water" and get a western-sized glass, but not always. We really miss having a full glass of water with a meal!

Tiny water cup :(

2. Soap on a stick: This is just what it sounds like. A bar of soap impaled on a metal stick in the school bathrooms and various public restrooms. You wet your hands, rub them on the soap, then continue washing. I guess this is more practical than a bar of soap sitting next to the sink, but for some reason this grosses us out, seems inappropriate and just plain weird, and we hate it.

3. The education system: This is a huge one! Although Korea does exceptionally well internationally in math, science, and reading, we really have a hard time accepting the way they do it. Korean students are put under so much pressure that is at a level American students could never begin to understand. They attend school literally all day, with their normal school day immediately being followed by various academies (hagwons) where they learn more intense science, math, English, music, etc. Olivia's first graders normally are going to bed in the 9-11pm range. Michelle's sixth graders were only getting around 4-5 hours of sleep in preparation for their middle school placement exam and even now that the exam is over (which the look of terror and despair on some of these students faces when they learned they were not accepted was one of the most horrible things Michelle has ever personally witnessed.. amplified by the fact they are 12 years old), they only sleep 6-7 hours a night. These kids are exceptionally smart and talented, all of them playing multiple instruments -not just hot cross buns on a recorder, but symphony orchestra style- in addition to their academic achievements, but there is a reason that suicide rates are quite high in Korean universities. The stress and pressure to do well are just too much. We would never want to subject our children to this type of education system.

4. Some health-related things: The Korean medical system is great for the most part. It is fast, inexpensive, and from what we hear the doctors tend to do a good job. However, we really hated that during our medical exams (mandated when getting an E-2 teaching visa) the people drawing our blood and handling our urine didn't wear gloves nor wash their hands after touching the urine samples before drawing our blood.

5. No knives: We love chopsticks and find them better for eating most things. However, some things are better eaten with a fork but there is rarely a knife available. And we miss butter knives, a steak knife spreading butter is just not the same.

6. Psycho drivers: We have decided that if we die in Korea it is going to be in some driving-related incident. Most likely crossing the street when the crossing sign in on and some crazy person decides to just go. Or maybe in a cab. We have definitely had one ride that was absolutely terrifying  In fact, Olivia had a cab driver tell her that when he got angry he liked to make accidents with the delivery men on scooters. Both of us have also been in a taxi behind a clearly drunk delivery man on a scooter who just out of no where decided to drive, hit the car in front of him, and fall off, only to be too drunk to get back on. It is also possible one of these delivery men will kill us when they are zipping down the streets filled with pedestrians.

7. Laundry: Going back to America and doing laundry is going to be amazing. The washing machines take forever for some reason, everything must be washed in a garment bag, they tear up your clothing regardless of the garment bag, dryers are uncommon, and your clothing just never feels as soft as it should - i.e. crunchy towels are fairly common regardless of fabric softener.

8. The lack of public garbage cans

9. Corn on pizza: We will eventually do a post just on food but for now we will just mention how much we dislike the tendency to put corn on everything. Especially pizza.

10. Sales people: The sales people here are really in your face all of the time. In grocery stores they will follow you around and try to point out everything you should buy and just won't leave you alone no matter what you try to say to them. In the downtown area, they stand outside their stores like cheerleaders with microphones and will literally grab you to try to pull you inside. It's a cultural personal space difference that we dislike.

11. Office supplies: American (western?) style folders and three-ring binders don't exist or they are hard to find. Instead they are binders with sheet protectors inside where you put all of your papers, this just feels inefficient to do ALL the time.

12. People going on and on in Korean when we clearly do not understand: We fully understand we live in Korea and don't speak the language, and don't expect anyone to speak English just for our benefit. We have also had great experiences where we have to explain ourselves fully with sound effects and gestures. However, we really hate it when someone just goes on and on in rapid Korean when we don't understand. It is stressful and frustrating. It is much better when someone is talking to us in Korean and relying primarily on gestures instead of words.