Notes on Korea 2

1. Along with stairs being slippery and questionable, hand rails are nonexistent or non functional. Hold on for your life.
2. Many Koreans admit that their nation is slightly xenophobic and reluctant to welcome other cultures into their own.
3. Despite our distinguishing North Korea and South Korea, the Korean constitution considers the entire peninsula united.
4. Koreans pick their English names when they start learning English. What name would you pick in another language!?...
5. Korean culture is very room oriented. Many people like their space or to have their group separate from other groups. But this isn't necessarily for privacy issues, however.
6. If a guy takes you on a date to Outback Steakhouse, he's essentially saying he loves you.
7. Every age group dresses fashionably. Every day...
8. Despite how clean Seoul is as a city, it is impossible to find a garbage can.
9. Although many guys are metrosexual to the extreme, the gay population is relatively low and very repressed here.
10. Even after a light turns red, drivers will continue through it for at least another 5 seconds. You never want to be the first person to cross a crosswalk...
11. In K-Pop music videos, if a character in the video falls down, it means they have cancer and are going to die. DRAAAAAAAMA!!!
12. Like the teeny tiny cups they have, the napkins are even smaller. And they're never fabric. They're like tissue paper, really...
13. In restaurants where you're eating in, they will give you a reusable cup--never a paper or plastic one. Way to be sustainable!
14. Bathroom stall doors are really tall and stalls are a lot more substantial. Koreans like privacy when they pee. Also, all those fancy toilets that spray your tush are quite prevalent.
15. When it's even drizzling, EVERYBODY has a fashionable umbrella. Everyone.
16. It's impossible to hail a cab. You really have to show off your goods (and being blonde helps, but not much).