Korea's Not So Bad!

So, Jen's posted a photo album of the first half (or third) of our adventures on facebook; it's called, "nami hates korea." Appropriately titled; touche, Jennifer, touche. Take a look if you please.

Okay I get it - I'm a debbie downer. I suck, I complain, I'm a brat; I know these things. But, can you really blame me? Korea's been rough; teaching has been tiresome. Wah wah wah.

However, there've been some good times. Since our last post, we've gone to a Korean baseball game (so enthusiastic!), visited Nami Island (I know!), attended a Korean + Western rock festival, seen a weird nonverbal martial arts show, gone to Haeundae Beach (where hundreds frolic in the waters fully clothed except for...me), eaten super fresh sushi (we picked our fish ourselves!), seen some old shiz (temples, tombs), traveled to Jeju island (waterfalls everywhere!), and befriended our cab drivers, students, and hairdressers.

Now, as we're entering our last week on this godforsaken peninsula, I've realized that I should share some of these good, or even great, things about Korea, Seoul, this summer, our (mis)adventures, etc. So, here goes. Jen and I'll keep adding to this list, so check back!

1. Public transportation. The transit system here is a-ma-zing. Subways are clean, fast, and play a nice, little melody whenever we are approaching a stop at which we can make a transfer to another line. And the melody, we think, sounds like the beginning of MGMT's Kids. So, there. Where subways don't go, buses do. The bus system is vast and unlike other cities, fast and reliable. Being a non-driver, I know my public transportation systems. DC - clean but limited; NY - extensive but dirty with frequent breakdowns; Boston - fails on all accounts; SF - please, you call that a public transportation system? Being from NY, having lived in DC, going to school in Cambridge, and moving to SF, I am an unbiased critic. In addition, the KTX trains race across the peninsula and the taxis are cheap! Airport limousine buses connect Seoul's two airports to all the bustling and hidden nooks and crannies of Seoul. We just took our first and second rides in them this past weekend. It was freaking awesome; we could only wish it was that easy to get home from Logan, JFK, or LaGuardia.
   
2. Sustainability. Sustainability and "going green" are different here in Seoul. It's less conscious, less self-laudatory, and more ingrained within existing structures and mindsets. It's not about reducing greenhouse gases, stopping climate change, saving energy. It's about wasting less (food, energy, water, money). The practical side of sustainability really shines through -- for example, hot water for the washroom is controlled separately, by the user: you turn it on when you shower and turn it off afterwards; this way, hot water isn't running through the pipes 24/7. Most lights -- in public and private places --, revolving doors, and escalator are motion-sensored. The boiler rooms double as drying rooms. All appliances, including hand dryers in public restrooms, are unplugged when not in use. Utility bills are not included in the rent, but paid for separately by each tenant, directly to the utility company. And the garbage and recycling, oh my god. In order to dispose of "real garbage", you have to purchase special bags; these bags are small and specific to your neighborhood/district. They're not inexpensive, small, and sort of a hassle to get, so you end up trying to throw away less garbage. Recycling is free and you have to separate everything into Plastic, PET Bottles, Paper, Cardboard, Glass, Metal, and Compost. Compost is thrown away in a different area from the recycling and it's really gross (Jen does it), so you end up trying to waste less food. This is all mandatory, written into the city or national law: Genius.
3. Cut-outs. Koreans seem to love posing with those posters with the faces cut out of them...or they think foreigners do. In any case, we love them. Jen and I see them everywhere and we CAN'T RESIST posing with them!
   
   
4. Food. Oh lord in heaven, the food is amazing. Now, at home, I don't eat meat; here, I do. Now, at home, Jen does not eat pork; here, she does. The meat is so good here. We never want to eat steak or hamburgers again. So many kinds of meat prepared in so many different ways - chicken, beef, pork -- it makes me want to curse the ground in which vegetables grow and roar, ME CARNIVORE ME EAT MEAT. Korean food is so flavorful and uses so many different flavors at once, Jen and I don't know how we're going to go back to American style Salt + sometimes Sour + Butter. It's a party in my mouth, folks, and y'all are invited. I'll leave Ice Cream/Shaved Ice, Bbang, Korean Tea, and Donuts to Jen; I know they hold a warm spot in her heart.
5. Public drinking. Drinking is allowed anywhere and everywhere! Shops sell beer in huge plastic bottles that you can just carry around and swig out of and you walk to and fro. We love it. Koreans don't take advantage of this rule, as foreigners do when they visit (in touristy areas, Westerners are drunk off their asses, splashing booze everywhere, breaking bottles, littering), but it creates a nice, relaxing atmosphere in which to enjoy one's beverage.
   
6. Free Wifi. Never again will I be unable to live-blog; nothing can stop me from tweeting my heart out here. There is free wi-fi EVERYWHERE. Seoul is currently the most interconnected city in the world, in terms of hi-speed internet access, and I know it. My iPhone picks up Wi-fi everywhere. It's quite lovely, given that I had to leave my precious 3g network behind.
7. Public Exercise Areas. In parks, along waterways, or in the most random places, there are these public exercise machines. They demonstrate Seoul's commitment to delivering accessible and super fun pathways to health and out of obesity (not that anyone here is close to fat. The fattest people here are the foreigners, and boy do they roll)!
8. Fresh fresh seafood. We pick the fish, they kill the fish, we eat the fish. SO GOOD. Below: Before and After.
   

P.S. I just wrote this entire post shirtless. It is really freaking hot in Korea.