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[demondabbler]

Hey everyone!

I visited Korea recently and had a wonderful time. My girlfriend is Korean and she knows about my toys! Best girl ever.

Here are some peculiar cultural observations:

1. Middle-aged women called Ajumas clean the mens' restrooms all day long.
2. Motorcycles are allowed to drive on the sidewalk. One night I even saw a taxi drive up onto the sidewalk.
3. Your American cellphone is obsolete in Korea.
4. Everybody is always connected and always looking at their cellphone.
5. In familiar situations, everyone eats from communal bowls. People even drink soup from a communal bowl.
6. Both men and women will choose fashion over warmth. Girls wear thin stockings in -16C weather. I saw a girl in short shorts too.
7. Kissing in public is considered risque. PDA should not progress beyond holding hands.
8. Plastic surgery is hugely popular. In the beginning you think "Wow, so many pretty girls" but by the end of my 17 day trip I started to think "All these girls look the same". Men also do plastic surgery. Two people asked me if I had done surgery on my nose,. since I have a long nose for an Asian guy. I guess that's a compliment?
9. People are much less paranoid about germs, it seems. For example, at a theatre act there was only one cup of water left by the water cooler. After drinking, I saw 3-4 people leave the cup and then proceed to use it again.

I'll add more observations as I think about them! Korea is a fascinating country with a wonderful culture and cuisine. I can't wait to go back!

[DaaaBears]

Man that's awesome!!!

I have always wanted to visit Korea as I thought that must be a pretty cool place with all their SC root and Samsung stuff!

I also love Korean food in the states, is it really the same? Or Korean food here has been "Americanized"?

[HardGay]

Never been to Japan or Korea for vacations before...only been to their airports a few times for layover to asia. I really want to go someday and experience it. I think you're post is pretty accurate..and probably have similarity among most of asia countries..

From all of the materials i've read online..one thing for sure about korea is that they're crazy good with plastic surgery and it's super common there.. which reminds me of a pretty funny picture i've came across before... funny but at the same time..it's almost true that with the rate plastic surgery is going..nobody will be able to recognize their own kids in the future..you will always have doubt in the back of your mind if that's your kid or not 

[demondabbler]

Man that's awesome!!!

I have always wanted to visit Korea as I thought that must be a pretty cool place with all their SC root and Samsung stuff!

I also love Korean food in the states, is it really the same? Or Korean food here has been "Americanized"?

Hey Daabears! It really was a great experience. I  also noticed that Koreans like all of their products to be Korean. Most of the cell phones I saw were from Samsung.

One thing that I like about Korean food in the States (at least California), is that it is pretty true to its origins. If you go to a respectable Korea Town such as Santa Clara or Los Angeles, and you go to the right restaurants where Koreans are eating, I would say that the food is of similar quality to average-level restaurants serving common dishes. Of course, Americanized Korean food does exist.. such as in Santa Barbara.. but where Koreans live together as a community I think you will be able to find traditional places.

At high-end restaurants, however, you are going to see that really high-end Korean cuisine is hard to come by in the States and will cost you an arm and a leg. In contrast, you can find high-end Korean cuisine for a pretty reasonable price. My GF and I had gourmet bulgolgi for $60 for the two of us that in the states would have cost double that.

Here are a few more observations:

1. Smart phones have trended upward in size. Now they are a little bit smaller than the Ipad Mini.
2. A Korean dish costing $10 in USA like tofu soup or cold noodles costs half that in Korea.
3. Young people commonly will eat cheap food at home such as ramen/rice and spend the money they save on a coffee. An Americano at Starbucks in Korea costs around $4.50. Very expensive by American standards.

[demondabbler]

Never been to Japan or Korea for vacations before...only been to their airports a few times for layover to asia. I really want to go someday and experience it. I think you're post is pretty accurate..and probably have similarity among most of asia countries..

From all of the materials i've read online..one thing for sure about korea is that they're crazy good with plastic surgery and it's super common there.. which reminds me of a pretty funny picture i've came across before... funny but at the same time..it's almost true that with the rate plastic surgery is going..nobody will be able to recognize their own kids in the future..you will always have doubt in the back of your mind if that's your kid or not 

Hey Hardgay!

You wouldn't believe it but just a couple of days ago I was mentioning the same pic you posted to my girlfriend. It is true that the plastic surgery is crazy-good. Unfortunately I think that the cosmetic enhancements are creating a very homogenous look. I wouldn't like to go out with a girl with heavy plastic surgery.. seriously, after around 10 days you start to realize you have seen the same face dozens of times. It doesn't help that the most common surgeries involve the window to the soul. I saw a lot of similar windows.

[HardGay]

1. Smart phones have trended upward in size. Now they are a little bit smaller than the Ipad Mini.

You've brought up another thing about cellphone sizes that intrigue me.... as we have advanced in technology we have gotten smaller phones over the yrs..now that smart phones are at it's minimal size...we're starting to move backwards.... me and a few friends that uses iphones are always making fun of another buddy that have gotten the Samsung Note.. yes it's bigger and it's really good for video viewing and playing games while your on the train or bus...but noooo..it's not very practical for phone use... it looks very bulky and weird..imagine holding a ipad mini on the side of your face.... but of course I do think it's fitting for people with large hands etc..then it looks normal..example.. Lebron James and other big athletes...but for asians....not so cool (from the appearance view of things)

[Captainawesome]

 Is Gangnam Style the national anthem there yet or what?

On a more serious note traveling outside the country really opens your eyes up to what you're missing.

[demondabbler]

1. Smart phones have trended upward in size. Now they are a little bit smaller than the Ipad Mini.

You've brought up another thing about cellphone sizes that intrigue me.... as we have advanced in technology we have gotten smaller phones over the yrs..now that smart phones are at it's minimal size...we're starting to move backwards.... me and a few friends that uses iphones are always making fun of another buddy that have gotten the Samsung Note.. yes it's bigger and it's really good for video viewing and playing games while your on the train or bus...but noooo..it's not very practical for phone use... it looks very bulky and weird..imagine holding a ipad mini on the side of your face.... but of course I do think it's fitting for people with large hands etc..then it looks normal..example.. Lebron James and other big athletes...but for asians....not so cool (from the appearance view of things)

I completely agree with you Hardgay! It seemed a bit absurd seeing girls in the metro with these massive cell phones that were practically the size of their purses!

[demondabbler]

Is Gangnam Style the national anthem there yet or what?

On a more serious note traveling outside the country really opens your eyes up to what you're missing.

For sure! I have lived in Spain, Mexico and Korea and by far Korea has been the most eye-opening in terms of cultural differences!

[Captainawesome]

... how about the women there? lot a lookers?

[demondabbler]

... how about the women there? lot a lookers?

There are a lot of lookers, but they all look the same due to plastic surgery. And the emphasis in plastic surgery is on the face, rather than the chest, much to the dismay of American males

[DaaaBears]

http://kpsurgery.tumblr.com/

[Captainawesome]

http://kpsurgery.tumblr.com/

I remember seeing that before somewhere. The doctor that fixed those women up really knew what they were doing.

[emeri]

http://kpsurgery.tumblr.com/

I remember seeing that before somewhere. The doctor that fixed those women up really knew what they were doing.

holy crap. well nothing surprises me anymore on the internetz. needless to say, this sort of lifestyle sells in the states - and where i live to boot.

[DaaaBears]

I do think it's kinda scary for us guys, since makeup can already make girls look very different. I was first shown this clip like a couple of years ago:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Mu_betPexI[/youtube]

And with plastic surgery............I don't even know what to think.

I mean do you guys think if this is actually a good thing or not?!?!?!?!