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white_shadow
Joined: 28 Mar 2005
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 Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2005 9:03 pm Post subject: Thoughts and things I noticed when I came here |
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The driving here is crazy
Is Seoul the U-turn capital of the world
What is with those big bumperson the cars? Is it supposed to be cool?
Koreans (Seoul) speak less english than I expected
The trees here are awesome. They are well manicured and healthy, in California many of the trees are diseased, dying, or infested with pests
The costs of items are more than I expected.
I haven't been harrassed by anyone, but that may be because I have an intimidating look and a big muscles.
There are almost no city trashcans, yet the city is relatively trashfree.
Where do I have to go to find a regular shower stall?
What percentage of the population has clothes dryers
A bunch of other stuff but I can't remember them |
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Tiger Beer
Joined: 07 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2005 9:56 pm Post subject: Re: Thoughts and things I noticed when I came here |
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| white_shadow wrote: |
| The trees here are awesome. They are well manicured and healthy, in California many of the trees are diseased, dying, or infested with pests |
Where are you from in California?
| white_shadow wrote: |
| I haven't been harrassed by anyone, but that may be because I have an intimidating look and a big muscles. |
You'll have to wait a really long time to actually be harrassed by any Koreans here. Somehow some have had it happen, but I've yet to actually be harrassed. Annoyed at times, overkilled by friendliness and politeness way too many times.. but harrassed? Far few and far between incidents, and struggling to even think of them now.
| white_shadow wrote: |
| There are almost no city trashcans, yet the city is relatively trashfree. |
Thats a huge mystery.. deserves its own thread title!
| white_shadow wrote: |
| What percentage of the population has clothes dryers |
Probably extremely, extremely low. I've yet to see one. |
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keithinkorea
Joined: 17 Mar 2004
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| Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2005 10:18 pm Post subject: Re: Thoughts and things I noticed when I came here |
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| white_shadow wrote: |
| There are almost no city trashcans, yet the city is relatively trashfree. |
Thats a huge mystery.. deserves its own thread title!
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That's down the the rubbish halmoni-haraboji types with the carts and the ajumma with the brightly coloured vests. They pick up the rubbish. Also store owners and employees can be seen outside their shops and restraunts picking up stuff.
I heard there are no bins because people would dump all sort of strange things in them like, dead animals and industrial chemical waste so they just got rid of them all. The only place you find bins is outside some subway station exits. |
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Free World
Joined: 01 Apr 2005
Location: Drake Hotel
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| Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2005 4:39 am Post subject: |
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| Yeah, the driving was the first thing I noticed. Followed closely by the lack of garbage cans. |
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Ya-ta Boy
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Established in 1994
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| Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2005 4:46 am Post subject: |
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Where do I have to go to find a regular shower stall?
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You mean the glassed-in type? I only saw those in a few motels.
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The costs of items are more than I expected.
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You must be shopping in department stores. Those places have outrageous prices. Try the traditional markets, street vendors, etc. They have much cheaper prices. And need I say avoid name brands? |
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winnie
Joined: 08 May 2005
Location: the forest
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| Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2005 6:00 pm Post subject: |
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The first things I noticed here....
neon crosses on so many churches...didn't expect so much Christianity....
those funky little fake police cherries everywhere....supposed to make people think they are cops??
and the huge numbers on all the apt buildings....I guess b/c there are so many and they all look the same. |
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Hyalucent
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: British North America
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| Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2005 4:01 am Post subject: |
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| First thing I noticed: Surface to air missiles lining the runway at Kimpo. |
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stumptown
Joined: 11 Apr 2005
Location: Paju: Wife beating capital of Korea
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| Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2005 4:17 am Post subject: |
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| winnie wrote: |
The first things I noticed here....
neon crosses on so many churches...didn't expect so much Christianity....
those funky little fake police cherries everywhere....supposed to make people think they are cops??
and the huge numbers on all the apt buildings....I guess b/c there are so many and they all look the same. |
I think those little funky cherries are supposed to testify of your charitable contributions to a social cause/social charity.
Last edited by stumptown on Mon Jun 13, 2005 3:53 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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white_shadow
Joined: 28 Mar 2005
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| Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2005 6:04 am Post subject: |
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| Whats a polics cherry? |
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stumptown
Joined: 11 Apr 2005
Location: Paju: Wife beating capital of Korea
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| Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2005 6:19 am Post subject: |
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| white_shadow wrote: |
| Whats a polics cherry? |
Yeah, what is a "polics" cherry? |
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ajuma
Joined: 18 Feb 2003
Location: Anywere but Seoul!!
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| Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2005 9:22 am Post subject: |
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| Blue roofs! Pretty cool! |
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komtengi
Joined: 30 Sep 2003
Location: Slummin it up in Haebangchon
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| Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2005 9:25 am Post subject: |
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| you must go to bed early... there's plenty of rubbish to be found. I nearly threw up the other night walking home from Itaewon, the stench was so overbearing |
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Bulsajo
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2005 11:51 am Post subject: Re: Thoughts and things I noticed when I came here |
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| white_shadow wrote: |
There are almost no city trashcans... |
I once asked why there weren't more trashcans around and was given an interesting answer (at least for Gangnam at any rate):
It turns out there was- once upon a time- a campaign by the local govt to make Kangnam (as it was known then) more beautiful.
The committee in charge decided that the biggest eyesores around were the overflowing trashcans; thus the best way to beautify the gu would be to have them removed.
So they were.
True story (at least as far as I can tell- I did have it verified by a second source).
I often used to see whole flocks of people scouring parks and riverbanks picking up trash. some of them looked like civic groups consisting largely of old retired folks, and some of them looked down and out and I was told that they were part of an employment program. |
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bucheon bum
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2005 2:18 pm Post subject: |
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| winnie wrote: |
The first things I noticed here....
neon crosses on so many churches...didn't expect so much Christianity....
those funky little fake police cherries everywhere....supposed to make people think they are cops??
and the huge numbers on all the apt buildings....I guess b/c there are so many and they all look the same. |
Those were my first observations too. Well not the police thing but the other two. |
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matthews_world
Joined: 15 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Mon Jun 13, 2005 3:51 pm Post subject: |
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| I noticed I couldn't read Hangul. That was fun whilst ordering food. |
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