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sadguy
Joined: 13 Feb 2011
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 Posted: Sun Sep 04, 2011 5:51 pm Post subject: |
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| myenglishisno wrote: |
They grew up sitting on the floor. It's comfortable for them.
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i don't know how true this is. i've asked lots of my co teachers over the years how they manage sitting on the floor. the majority of them say they don't like it because it's uncomfortable. and they hate it even more if they are wearing a skirt because they have to sit in that funky girl way. |
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myenglishisno
Joined: 08 Mar 2011
Location: Geumchon
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| Posted: Sun Sep 04, 2011 5:59 pm Post subject: |
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| sadguy wrote: |
| myenglishisno wrote: |
They grew up sitting on the floor. It's comfortable for them.
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i don't know how true this is. i've asked lots of my co teachers over the years how they manage sitting on the floor. the majority of them say they don't like it because it's uncomfortable. and they hate it even more if they are wearing a skirt because they have to sit in that funky girl way. |
The reason that it's physically possible for them is because of practice, though. The reason most Westerners can't do it is because we've never been expected to do it and have always relied on chairs.
I remember when I took Hapkido and we were doing warm ups. The instructor basically said while we were standing up, "everyone put your right foot behind your head" and every... single... person there could do it without a hitch regardless of how inexperienced at Hapkido they were. Me however, couldn't even lift my foot up past the half-way mark  |
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alfr
Joined: 27 Aug 2011
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| Posted: Sun Sep 04, 2011 8:20 pm Post subject: |
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| funny thing is: most koreans nowadays eat on chairs at home, they love western furniture (at least in seoul). the reason many restaurants still have guests sitting on the floor is that it's more easier to clean the floor if there arent any chairs... |
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akcrono
Joined: 11 Mar 2010
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| Posted: Sun Sep 04, 2011 8:40 pm Post subject: |
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Wow, some of these posts...
| jvalmer wrote: |
| DaHu wrote: |
| It's not cool for hosts not to think about their guests, so why can't you criticize them? |
OP should have done a little more research on the dining customs of Asians before taking a job here. |
Most Koreans I know have no preference or prefer to sit in chairs. This is reflected that the majority of restaurants (Korean or otherwise) have chairs. The restaurants I know with options, the chairs usually end up getting taken first. Proper research would NOT have helped (and I'd be hard pressed to find a source that listed sitting on the floor as something to be expected in Korea).
| Setaro wrote: |
| DaHu wrote: |
| It's not cool for hosts not to think about their guests, so why can't you criticize them? |
You expect them to drag in a chair and high table just for the foreigner? Trad. Restaurants here have 12 inch high tables, it's not like they can get just get a chair for the foreigner and he can eat alongside them, lording it from above.
Jesus OP, you don't have to sit crosslegged, sit with your legs out at your side or something, it's not like you have to hold the lotus position for 2 hours. |
Wow.... no one expected them to pull up a chair; no one even suggested it. Dahu's point was that if you have mixed company, you do something everyone can enjoy. I wonder, however, if his "hosts" even knew he had an aversion to siting on the floor. |
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DanseurVertical
Joined: 24 Nov 2010
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| Posted: Sun Sep 04, 2011 9:59 pm Post subject: Re: Koreans and Chairs. |
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| UlsanBoy wrote: |
I know as a guest here it's not cool to criticise the host, but sorry I've cracked and I'm going to do it. I had a work thing today. We had to go for a meal.
It all went fine the food was hot but I eat it without complaints, we laughed and joked and all around it was a fun night out but the one thing I could not take was sitting on the floor for four hours.
Why do Koreans love sitting on the floor? |
Well, it's not just Koreans... And about the educational context, I remember having kindergarten class in the US usually sitting on the floor. We sat "Indian style", as it was called.
I like couches plenty, but I personally prefer not to sit in a chair, provided the floor is at all padded. Back rests of chairs often encourage or cause poor posture. Sometimes too the seat is contoured in a way that's just hell depending on your dimensions. I do, however, like these.
But whichever your preference, I'm not going to criticize you if you prefer chairs. |
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rkc76sf
Joined: 02 Nov 2008
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| Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2011 12:01 am Post subject: Re: Koreans and Chairs. |
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| Steelrails wrote: |
| UlsanBoy wrote: |
I know as a guest here it's not cool to criticise the host, but sorry I've cracked and I'm going to do it. I had a work thing today. We had to go for a meal.
It all went fine the food was hot but I eat it without complaints, we laughed and joked and all around it was a fun night out but the one thing I could not take was sitting on the floor for four hours.
Why do Koreans love sitting on the floor? It hurts like hell and frankly it's dangerous. It can cause blood clots. It may sound trivial but it's the one reason I won't be renewing my contract next year. |
If sitting on the floor is uncomfortable it is because of bad stretching and exercise habits (or a severe condition). Invariably people who have a problem with this are overweight and have poor exercise habits (or a severe condition)
I love to relax in a chair at a roast meat place, but if sitting on the floor ever becomes that awkward, the problem is with me and my health, not with the custom.
I recommend 20 minutes of stretching exercises in a day. It will become comfortable in no time and promote long-term joint health. |
That's a pretty silly assumption, I'm not overweight and exercise all the time- I'm in great shape, but I don't like sitting on the floor any more than anyone else. It's uncomfortable and my legs go numb after a while. Most westerners are uncomfortable by it, so I guess we're all overweight and have poor exercise habits (probably a severe condition, maybe even mentally challenged). |
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eamo
Joined: 08 Mar 2003
Location: Shepherd's Bush, 1964.
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| Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2011 12:09 am Post subject: |
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The floor restaurant days might be numbered......for a kind of funny reason........It's been noticed that women prefer (or even insist on) table/chair restaurants because they can keep their high-heels on and feel more modest in their mini-skirts.
So, chair restaurants are steadily doing better and more and more floor restaurants are converting to chairs, according to my restaurant owner friend. |
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rkc76sf
Joined: 02 Nov 2008
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| Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2011 12:25 am Post subject: |
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| eamo wrote: |
The floor restaurant days might be numbered......for a kind of funny reason........It's been noticed that women prefer (or even insist on) table/chair restaurants because they can keep their high-heels on and feel more modest in their mini-skirts.
So, chair restaurants are steadily doing better and more and more floor restaurants are converting to chairs, according to my restaurant owner friend. |
Why that's crazytalk. Go figure- a woman would want to sit in a chair to avoid having someone see straight up the shotgun barrel. Utter nonsense. |
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Louis VI
Joined: 05 Jul 2010
Location: In my Kingdom
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| Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2011 1:22 am Post subject: Re: Koreans and Chairs. |
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| UlsanBoy wrote: |
| ... sitting on the floor... It can cause blood clots. |
Stretch your legs out while sitting on the floor and it's even better than a chair for your blood flow. One factor in high stroke rates in Korea is the amount of squatting they do: THAT is bad for circulation. |
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fermentation
Joined: 22 Jun 2009
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| Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2011 1:35 am Post subject: |
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| You don't have to sit cross legged. Sitting on chairs is actually less natural than sitting on the floor. Sitting on a chair all the time is the main reason so many Americans have chronic back pain. |
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Louis VI
Joined: 05 Jul 2010
Location: In my Kingdom
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| Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2011 2:05 am Post subject: |
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| fermentation wrote: |
| Sitting on a chair all the time is the main reason so many Americans have chronic back pain. |
It's also what causes that modern ailment hemorrhoids: sitting on chairs and toilets. It's not healthy. |
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PastorYoon
Joined: 25 Jun 2010
Location: Sea of Japan
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| Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2011 4:58 am Post subject: |
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| fermentation wrote: |
| You don't have to sit cross legged. Sitting on chairs is actually less natural than sitting on the floor. Sitting on a chair all the time is the main reason so many Americans have chronic back pain. |
Like only Americans are sitting on chairs? The entire world is basically sitting on chairs. |
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eamo
Joined: 08 Mar 2003
Location: Shepherd's Bush, 1964.
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| Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2011 5:09 am Post subject: |
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| rkc76sf wrote: |
| eamo wrote: |
The floor restaurant days might be numbered......for a kind of funny reason........It's been noticed that women prefer (or even insist on) table/chair restaurants because they can keep their high-heels on and feel more modest in their mini-skirts.
So, chair restaurants are steadily doing better and more and more floor restaurants are converting to chairs, according to my restaurant owner friend. |
Why that's crazytalk. Go figure- a woman would want to sit in a chair to avoid having someone see straight up the shotgun barrel. Utter nonsense. |
Don't believe me? Ask some Koreans like I did.
The preference by women because of high-heels and mini-skirts is not the only reason of course. It's also that Koreans simply feel tables and chairs to be more modern and 'now'. Like in the same way that most middle-class Koreans sleep in beds and sit on sofas now. |
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PatrickGHBusan
Joined: 24 Jun 2008
Location: Busan (1997-2008) Canada 2008 -
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| Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2011 10:55 am Post subject: |
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Most restaurants have a mixed approach: tables with chairs and low tables for floor sitting. Up to people to decide what they prefer.
I know at my inlaws, they sit on the floor to eat and use a low table. This is the case at many of my wife's friends places but they all have a small kitchen table and chairs anyway.
I personally have no problem with either option. If I sit on the floor I simply try to corner a spot where I can lean against a wall. It thats not available, then sit "indian style" which is pretty confortable as well.
Some restaurants also have a pit under the table so that floor sitting ends up being like sitting on a chair as your legs hang down into the space under the table. |
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myenglishisno
Joined: 08 Mar 2011
Location: Geumchon
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| Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2011 11:07 am Post subject: |
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| PatrickGHBusan wrote: |
| Some restaurants also have a pit under the table so that floor sitting ends up being like sitting on a chair as your legs hang down into the space under the table. |
I love that. When I sit there I'm able to pretend I can actually Indian sit.
I remember with my PS, we'd keep going to a restaurant over and over again that was 80% made up of those 'pits' and we'd always sit in the only area without the pit. One time, we went and that area wasn't available so we had to sit in the pit. I think some of the older teachers complained but I was happy. |
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