So Korea! - Part 3

To continue my list of "So Korea!' experiences, here's a few more I have added to the list.

9. Outdoor exercise equipment - In addition to the traditional brick and mortar gyms, outdoor gyms are all over the place. I really appreciate a country that promotes exercise and well being with free gym equipment for the public. This one is in Suseong Lake where I take my daily walk/jog.

Here's a close up of the equipment that we have on our 6th floor apartment building. It is similar to the ones that are at the lake and I have seen this type of equipment all over the city in parks and recreational spaces.

10. Sidewalks as parking spaces - Pedestrians have no safe haven here. Even the sidewalks are utilized as parking spaces and cars treat them as another lane of traffic. I always have to remind myself that when I am out walking with Jensen that I need to be aware of my surroundings. You never know when a car decides to park and cut you off while walking on the sidewalk.

11. Squat Toilets - I've heard about these before arriving in Korea. I had to use my first one when we stopped a rest area on our way to Jinju for the Lantern Festival. Surprisingly, it wasn't too bad. Just make sure you don't do legs as your weight training the day before you have to use a squat toilet.

12. No electric dryers - Most Koreans hang their clothes to dry and do not use dryers. The washer that was provided by our landlords does have a dual setting of wash and dry. I opted to borrow a separate dryer from base housing since the one the all-in-one washer/dryer combo did not dry as well. This may not be so out of the ordinary, but even laundry businesses hang their customers clothes out to dry.

So Korea! - Part 2

To continue with Christian's phrase "So Korea!", here is part 2 of the on-going list of things that we have observed while living in Daegu.

5. Kimchi fridge and freezers - Most people know that kimchi is a regular staple in Korea's diet. What I didn't expect is the sheer fondness for this culinary side dish that it is common to have a dedicated set of fridge and freezers to store the plethora of kimchi so that it may be readily available at all times. That hideous pink monstrosity is the main fridge and the 4 built-in located on the left and right side are the kimchi fridge and freezers.

Has anyone seen a fridge in pink before?

Here are some of the containers that are used to store kimchi.

6. Cars in mainly white, black or silver - I've already mention that when we first moved in to the our apartment, the 2nd floor garage was filled with mainly those colors types. I thought it was a coincidence, but as a country, Korea prefers these colors. I wonder if it's because as a homogeneous culture, they also gravitate toward that type of color scheme for their cars. Check out the short video clip below and see how many cars pass by on a busy intersection.

Can you guess which one is my car?

7. Spam gift sets - Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) starts next week and these gift boxes have been for sale at Homeplus. Coming from the Philippines, I'm used to eating Spam, but I have never seen these before.

The price is roughly $24. The conversion rate is usually 1000 won to $1.

8. Personality according to Blood types - Instead of Zodiac signs, most not all Koreans believe that your blood type has a great deal to do with your personality traits and all the other things that go with your horoscopes. Here is a link that better explains this superstition:  http://beyondhallyu.com/culture/its-in-your-blood-the-link-between-blood-types-and-personalities/

Here are some pens I found in Homeplus that are geared towards blood types.

So Korea!

So Korea!  That is what Christian says when we notice things that are only found here in Korea.  I think it's catchy and I couldn't resist using it for the title of this post.

There are a few things that I have noticed that is "So Korea" since we moved here.  I'm sure the list will grow for the duration of our stay, but I wanted to go ahead and write about our experiences here, so far.

1. Man purses: I guess a man carrying a designer purse is quite normal here.  I keep thinking of the Seinfeld episode about the European carry all, but the men here are carrying purses, not specifically made for men.  Not a messenger bag, but a purse. I've noticed that men also wears skinny jeans and are very metro sexual.  Even beyond that to the point that they appear androgynous. Sometimes, I can't tell if a man dressed in skinny jeans and carrying a purse is a male or female. I had my haircut recently and the man next to me was getting a perm.  Not a usual thing I would see back home.

 2. Squid Burger - I knew that we would find crazy types of food here, but this one was a bit out of the usual suspects of Korean food.  We even tried a bulgogi burger which was pretty good.

3. Straddling the lanes - Please pick a lane and stay on it.  Now that I have a car, driving around in this type of traffic is so frustrating!  I guess sooner or later, I'll get used to it. Please note, that I was at a complete stop when I took the this photo.  

4. Elevator Trucks - High rise apartments are common here and usually freight elevators are used, but sometimes these types of trucks come in handy. First one I took on my way home from work. The second photo I found online.

That's all for now, but I will be continuing this list on future posts.  For those who have lived in different countries, please let me know if any of these are familiar in a particular country.  I've lived in the Philippines and visited England, but I have not found any commonality in this list. What I have gathered seems to be exclusively Korean lifestyle.