Mini Replica of N Korea

South Korea is many years behind an advanced society even though they pretend to be one. Pretending is an important part of their society as I’ve mentioned before. Sometimes, an article comes out about how South Korea (and or Seoul) is a wonderful place to travel to, and it makes me laugh wholeheartedly. Why go to a place that struggles to be diverse, when you can just have more fun in a place that already is? I’ve traveled to numerous countries and Korea will never ever be a destination I recommend. I even coined a term down here, “Korean Face” (There’s very little smiling in Korea); it’s what living in Korea will make you have.

This was a pamphlet I found on a practical guide to Korean Etiquette.

Korean women are leagues behind western society in terms of equality, even still. Women here really need a woman's liberation, they are generally bound to societal rules of female image. Women here have very little common sense and dress for looks versus function, much more so than in the U.S. It is not uncommon to see women in 3-4 inch high heels going hiking, walking on the beach, walking on ice covered sidewalks/roads, or just going grocery shopping.

Korea is isolated and it’s not because of its geography. South Korea is full of mini-Kim Jong Il’s who think that Korea is the best and that Korea doesn’t need anyone’s help. When in fact, Korea is desperate; It’s a country full of obsolesces. It doesn’t have great tourist destinations, great food (or variety of food), friendly people, convenience, or diversity in general. It does have old people who think their entitled to cutting in line whenever they feel like it, teachers who are great at faking it, and a general atmosphere that mirrors a prison.

The problem is, how do you change social problems when those in power don't want to relinquish it. South Korea is stuck in the past. It's strange that although the countries of North and South Korea are considered separate, because sometimes their ideologies and methods of social behavior are similar:

"Was it incompetence or callousness that led them to do this? You take your pick," he said. "There is so little accountability in the system, the regime has considerable capacity to inflict misery on the population without any significant political risk." -- Barbara Demick, North Korea's economic moves bring new misery

Link to full article.

Colors – don’t expect to see many in Korea. There are mainly four colors of cars: white, grey, black, and some really rare other color. The buildings are similar; they have a post-war-era feel to their design. Schools are designed exactly the same everywhere, since it’s cheap and quick. As with many things, it is bland. Supposedly, Seoul is undergoing an image renovation in 2010. They’re trying to fix fugly, but Korea’s ugliness lies with its people; they are a society that doesn’t accept anyone but themselves.

I predict Korea will disappear; they let their egoism get the best of them. They’re trying to fix things too late and incorrectly by throwing money at their problems. Every boss in Korea still wants and expects to be treated the same as the past, where they are the absolute ruler of their minion; It’s a groupthink society at its finest. As they say “Absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

I’ve never heard any native teacher say that the Korean’s respect them or do what they're supposed to do. They're not to be trusted. ESL is a joke here and always was since it was run by people that think Korean's know what their doing and that they do things perfectly. The public school books have numerous errors that any native English teacher can clearly see. They love to teach tons of idioms (yeah, these are so important, not) when the majority students can barely say a few verbatim phrases. Numerous signs, English slogans, and travel pamphlets are filled with errors. Other Koreans see it and copy the same errors and it becomes commonplace. Once you enter Korea, Konglish has taken over; they don't care what the correct way is, they just want their way. English is something to make you look cool, it's a fad and every one wants on the bandwagon.

Also, native speakers don’t like to talk in Korea, it draws unwanted attention their way; it’s a sideshow complex if you will. Most Korean’s don’t know how to mind their own business and will stop and stare at any conversation, as if they’re going to absorb it magically. A typical example was when I was sending Christmas cards at the post office, and the lady nearby blatantly bent over the counter, for a while, to stare at my envelopes which had “Merry Christmas” on them. Even when I traveled through China, I didn't feel so 'foreign' as they love to call us. We are 'foreigners' and they won't let you forget it.