Koreans

I thought a quick post about the Korean people might be nice, since until now most of our posts have been about traveling or getting settled in. Before coming to Korea, I think that Katie and I imagined that Koreans would be stuffy, prudish, and generally disapproving of foreigners. This perception was likely the result of reading countless guidebooks that went into painstaking detail regarding Korean cultural specifics and placed a heavy emphasis upon the influence of Confucianism in Korea.

However, in general we have found Koreans to be remarkably friendly and helpful. They may stare a great deal (especially in Changwon, where a foreigner is a rare sight), but so far we have not been harassed or heckled in any way. On the contrary, Koreans have gone out of their way to help us. A case in point: Katie and I found a couch the other day -we had been on the look out for a discarded couch in good condition- but unfortunately it was very far from our apartment. Katie helped me carry it about a quarter of the way home, but a man in a business suit came out of no where and took Katie's end of the couch. He then proceeded to help me carry the couch all the way back to our building. I wisely opted not to let him help us up to our apartment, or even our floor, thinking it best that he not know where we live. I naturally assumed he would want something for his effort. To our surprise, he would not even accept compensation for his cab ride back to his area of town. He shook my hand, gave me his business card, and cheerfully waved goodbye as he walked away.


Most of the school kids wear uniforms, and a sight like this is not uncommon. Often if there is a large group of school children, especially girls, they will dare each other to run up to foreigners and say "hello". Then they giggle and run away. Every time. Though we are certainly getting used to it, I haven't seen any of them do it out of meaness.


Small stores and shops frequently employ entertainers of various sorts to stand outside and advertise for them. In this case, a shop had guys dressed up as clowns and wearing stilts making balloon animals and singing and dancing in front of the store. They were hilarious, and absolutely loved having their picture taken.


I'm sure that we'll encounter friendly people and unfriendly ones in Korea, as we would anywhere, but so far we've generally enjoyed Koreans' warmth and kindness.