Inspired by one of my personal favorite webpages of all time, I am adding this regular segment to my blog. Enjoy!
1. KIMCHI
Ubiquitous, smelly, and famed for its dietary properties (questionable, as all claims made by Asian peoples are questionable [see also "world's tallest buddha" and "world's longest wall seen from space" posts...ok, one of those IS true}, kimchi is a Korean staple. And the people - they LOVE it! There are about 4 billion different kinds of kimchi, all served in tiny little dishes before a meal. I have only tried about 8, but I couldn't tell the difference between any of them.
2. LADY UMBRELLAS
When in Korea (and other Asian countries), bring a smallish umbrella, preferably in pastel shades, maybe even some lace around the edging, to shade yourself from the sun and preserve your whitest skin possible. Tanning is not big here, and I've even seen some men attempting to block out the nasty sun's rays using their European men's leather carry-alls.
1. KIMCHI
Ubiquitous, smelly, and famed for its dietary properties (questionable, as all claims made by Asian peoples are questionable [see also "world's tallest buddha" and "world's longest wall seen from space" posts...ok, one of those IS true}, kimchi is a Korean staple. And the people - they LOVE it! There are about 4 billion different kinds of kimchi, all served in tiny little dishes before a meal. I have only tried about 8, but I couldn't tell the difference between any of them.
2. LADY UMBRELLAS
When in Korea (and other Asian countries), bring a smallish umbrella, preferably in pastel shades, maybe even some lace around the edging, to shade yourself from the sun and preserve your whitest skin possible. Tanning is not big here, and I've even seen some men attempting to block out the nasty sun's rays using their European men's leather carry-alls.
3. SAMSUNG
The home company of everything electronica, the Korean muse seems to rise and fall with the stock prices of this corporate conglomerate. A great many Korean families are way over their heads in debt these days, and technology is one suspected culprit!
4. BLACK PEOPLE
The stereotype is true: Asians think Black people are an oddity. Now, take it to heart that they also think I am an oddity, but still, they're not lining up to touch me or take pictures with me (well, now that I think about it, they kind of do...anyway...). But I have seen great crowds gather around black friends and fellow tourists, just to get a snapshot with them.
It's also been said that Koreans sometimes try to wipe the dirt off, but I have never seen this and that is most likely something that happened many, many years ago. I have seen some distrust in Korean faces when I walk with a black friend (but then again, you see that in the States, too!), but nothing so overt as cleaning behavior. Overall, I think Koreans simply see a photo op and take it!!
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