From a very timely barrier opening as my “limousine” bus speeds me from the airport to city centre (a delay of a few tenths of a second more and we’d have smashed through it), to the culinary delight of pickled and spicy vegetables; it’s clear I’m half way between China and Japan. There’s an interesting mixture of cultures here, a permanent thorn placed firmly in the side of each local in the form of the country’s divide and a plethora of American Military and Canadian English teachers taking Korean wives for themselves.
It is, however, an interesting locale and with a large portion of evangelical Christians rapping and singing their way to clinical madness – somewhere that deserves further investigation than the five days I’ve afforded myself. Wander around for a kilometre and you’ll see that the coffee crowd will certainly be kept happy with a torrent of shops to satisfy their metabolism accelerating desires; with some Starbucks located opposite each other due to demand. The remaining shops all seem to be sponsored or owned by the two dominating companies of South Korea. I’m fairly certain that just about everyone is employed by either LG or Samsung; the most notable stores including “Samsung Fashion” and the “Samsung Art Gallery”. It’s a strange economy driven by electronic giants, who regularly contort to fix the prices of certain goods.
More relaxed than Japan in terms of manners and politeness, it’s a shock to my supposedly enlightened way of holding myself of the last three weeks. I’ve struggled to drop the nod and “Hai” of Japan and keep thinking of the numbers in their language (it really is the easiest to pick up thus far), instead of attempting to learn even basic Korean. It’s a difficult language certainly, but a few days will potentially allow your ear time to adjust and pick out some of the nuances between the two. There are more questioning tones used, it sounds more aggressive – like Cantonese does when compared with Mandarin. Thankfully there’s little need to learn here, as the vast majority speak English, though in somewhat typical fashion will occasionally demonstrate shyness when conversing. I am saddened, however, by the majority American and Canadian English teachers who perpetuate such an agony-inducing accent; the whine and atrocious destruction of English must stop now.
Head to one of the five main historic attractions and don’t set your expectations too high. Nothing can possibly top the temples and shrines of Japan, which for all intents and purposes are perfectly maintained due to the people’s own love of tourism. There are, however, some similarities in design and also hints of Chinese architecture too. It makes sense considering the geographical location, though thus far the major difference with Japan and similarity with China has been a large use of green and red paint. Each awning is also protected by a specifically odd number of guardian statues; ranging from 3 to 11 with an increasing number demonstrating the significance of the building and also clearly – the space available for placement.
Until yesterday afternoon I’m embarrassed to admit that my only contact with South Korea had been through the two characters in the disappointing and time wasting “Lost” series. Though it has provided something of a basis for comparison; and being Hollywood has used the most typical elements of culture, which I must say have been seen frequently. What wasn’t made abundantly clear is the hysteria which has infected a growing number of South Koreans, and like a scourge of humanity it is a blot on the landscape.
I am referring of course to religion; specifically Christianity in this case. In 6 months and 8 countries I have never experienced a single Buddhist trying to force-feed religion to me, sing and rap it with accompanying dancers, carry plaques on front and back whilst screaming through a megaphone, or aimlessly wandering a train intimidating innocent civvies. It’s a war as far as they’re concerned; hiding under a veil of false pretence that “doing God’s work” is justification for the madness and bullying. Much like Islam, there is a sinister undertone encouraging conversion through unwritten rules; rather than respecting others and wishing only for enlightenment. For the first time since leaving London I genuinely feel angry (possibly due to my own “official” faith being the same), and as the train doors announce imminent closing, my foot is poised ready to boot a moron from the train. I’ve a burning desire to prevent any further bullying of the young girls he seems to take delight in targeting. Whether a sexual thrill for him or any other reason; I see no justification here. These kind of scum serve no purpose and contaminate the gene pool by simply existing; they must be neutered to prevent further degradation.
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Another Tower to tick off
It’s a tower with a view. I’d have to think about it for a minute to count the number of these I’ve gone up. This one is placed firmly atop a mountain and at 371m in elevation provides a scenic, if glass-shielded view of Seoul. This many towers and it’s become like the temple visiting. It’s a city; there’re some houses, offices, trees and roads. Maybe an occasional river or bridge, but let’s be honest – what else could there possibly be? Taiwan did it best; the 101 is an incredible feat of geekery and provides plenty to watch, read and learn about. Most towers provide simply a view, some tat for sale and overpriced beverages; my advice is only visit if you’re kicking heels.
According to some guide books, Koreans don’t smile much. I couldn’t disagree more if you tried to convince me that god exists. Not only that but I am treated very amiably. And I use the first person here because a few locals have stipulated that Koreans are only friendly to me because of my race, rather than it being a general attitude. For me this is a huge disappointment and makes me question motives once more. In Japan Western men are seen as fashion items to women; trophies to lord over fellow competitors. Here perhaps the same is true – the phrase goes “Chinese women take a week, Japanese a day, Korean just a KFC”. This goes some way to explaining the vast number of fugly State-side men with Korean beauties that they would simply never dream of acquiring at home. Moobs aren’t particularly attractive after all.
Going walkabout and it’s as developed and modern as anywhere I’ve seen; in some regards moreso. Thanks in no small part to the electronic giants you’ll find high-resolution touchscreen LCDs with access to all sorts of useful information in he tube stations, free high speed wireless able to pull down the latest episode of whatever poison you’re faithful to in minutes and far too many shops selling gadgetry to make any coherent sense of it all. This theme continues in to architecture and city planning, making for some good bokeh opportunities.
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| From 03 Jun 2010 |
Rivals as large as Celtic and Rangers; neither South Korea or Japan ever want to lose a baseball game when pitted against each other. Pick up an audio guide and listen as stories of atrocities committed by the “Imperialistic Japanese” are regailed. Considering the honour and nobility the country is now known for, it’s a shame that this chapter had to be written before anything was learned. It’s easy to see why Japan sided with the Germans so easily, with so many similarities and desires for world domination. Once you’ve heard all the tales of sorrow you can handle, return the PDA with GPS-activated narration to the front desk.
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