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Bloopity Bloop
Joined: 26 Apr 2009
Location: Seoul yo
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 Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2009 2:20 am Post subject: Observations in K-land |
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My bad if there have been a ton of these threads in the past.
Post any strange/inexplicable/random things you've observed in Korea recently.
Contradicting what I just said, when I watched "I Am Legend" in Korea a few years back, the audience was COMPLETELY silent the entire movie except for the part when Will Smith was doing pull-ups shirtless... all the guys started going, "oooohhhhhhh..." like they wanted a piece of big Willy  And even then, no females made a sound. WHAT?!
Not even a peep the rest of the movie. |
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AmericanExile
Joined: 04 May 2009
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| Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2009 3:27 am Post subject: |
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| Doors to businesses that only open inward. It's a good thing there are no fires in Korea. |
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Joe666
Joined: 19 Nov 2008
Location: Jesus it's hot down here!
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| Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2009 12:45 pm Post subject: |
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I see a lot of aspects in Korean culture that are western or modeled after western culture and yet we are to some extent viewed in a negative light, dispised, discriminited etc. Not in all cases/all the time, but in general, I have felt it!!
Western models in advertisements, food, clothing, music, religion, movies.
Plastic surgery to: make the eyes bigger, nose less flat/higher bridge, cheek bones powers sanded.
I just don't understand how you can love/embrace so much of let's say XY and in some ways hate Y. |
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Goku
Joined: 10 Dec 2008
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| Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2009 4:16 pm Post subject: |
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I noticed on the ground there marble tiles that have a yellow bumpy hard plastic. What's the justification for
1) Using marble tiles only to cover them in plastic.
2) Why put the tiles there in the first place, if you're only going to be covering them up.
I'm sure there is a good logical reason. I'm just curious as to why. It's been eating at me ever since I got here. I'm sure I'm the only one who cares about this too.
Another thing I wonder about is why are hair salons so advertised. Why is it that every hair establishment has a swirling pole to designate its craft. I know people cut their hair fairly often but it's not like I'm in an emergency need situtation where I need a revolving set of colors to make me aware of its presence. I mean like any other kind of store there's a gigantic sign in front.
Actually, I know the reason for this but I'll let others ponder on this. Why are the beeps of car so "soft". You would think that because horns are for emergency situations you'd want them to be as alerting and emotional impulsive as possible. Especially since kids are everywhere. (I'm told it's because of an incident where a man got of his car and killed someone because the other guy kept beeping. It was a Japanese Yakuza incident that I guess somehow the Korea learned from.)
Why is the pigeon population so low? Considering there is so much food and areas for them to reside I imagine they should be booming. Is it because the theif cat population is so high they eat the pigeons? And why is it the pigeons I do see, are skinny as hell?
Why is it that the of the vending machines vary so much in options for sugar and cream. I usually see these variations
Just Cream or Just Sugar, but not both
Cream and sugar, or just sugar, but not just cream
Cream and sugar, or just cream, not just sugar (Only 1 machine I saw like this) |
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RufusW
Joined: 14 Jun 2008
Location: Busan
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| Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2009 7:44 pm Post subject: Re: Observations in K-land |
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| Bloopity Bloop wrote: |
| ...the audience was COMPLETELY silent the entire movie except for the part when Will Smith was doing pull-ups shirtless. |
That sounds like bliss.....errr...the silence, not the nakedness. I think British audiences still try to stay quiet during a film, whereas I believe Americans shout at the screen. Amirite? |
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Bloopity Bloop
Joined: 26 Apr 2009
Location: Seoul yo
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| Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2009 7:56 pm Post subject: Re: Observations in K-land |
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| RufusW wrote: |
That sounds like bliss.....errr...the silence, not the nakedness. I think British audiences still try to stay quiet during a film, whereas I believe Americans shout at the screen. Amirite? |
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gprov
Joined: 05 Jun 2009
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| Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2009 8:42 pm Post subject: |
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| Goku wrote: |
I noticed on the ground there marble tiles that have a yellow bumpy hard plastic. What's the justification for
1) Using marble tiles only to cover them in plastic.
2) Why put the tiles there in the first place, if you're only going to be covering them up.
I'm sure there is a good logical reason. I'm just curious as to why. It's been eating at me ever since I got here. I'm sure I'm the only one who cares about this too.
Another thing I wonder about is why are hair salons so advertised. Why is it that every hair establishment has a swirling pole to designate its craft. I know people cut their hair fairly often but it's not like I'm in an emergency need situtation where I need a revolving set of colors to make me aware of its presence. I mean like any other kind of store there's a gigantic sign in front.
Actually, I know the reason for this but I'll let others ponder on this. Why are the beeps of car so "soft". You would think that because horns are for emergency situations you'd want them to be as alerting and emotional impulsive as possible. Especially since kids are everywhere. (I'm told it's because of an incident where a man got of his car and killed someone because the other guy kept beeping. It was a Japanese Yakuza incident that I guess somehow the Korea learned from.)
Why is the pigeon population so low? Considering there is so much food and areas for them to reside I imagine they should be booming. Is it because the theif cat population is so high they eat the pigeons? And why is it the pigeons I do see, are skinny as hell?
Why is it that the of the vending machines vary so much in options for sugar and cream. I usually see these variations
Just Cream or Just Sugar, but not both
Cream and sugar, or just sugar, but not just cream
Cream and sugar, or just cream, not just sugar (Only 1 machine I saw like this) |
weird... |
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Surfer Rosa
Joined: 24 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2009 11:21 pm Post subject: Re: Observations in K-land |
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| RufusW wrote: |
| Bloopity Bloop wrote: |
| ...the audience was COMPLETELY silent the entire movie except for the part when Will Smith was doing pull-ups shirtless. |
That sounds like bliss.....errr...the silence, not the nakedness. I think British audiences still try to stay quiet during a film, whereas I believe Americans shout at the screen. Amirite? |
Depends if it's a Tyler Perry movie or something with Martin Lawrence. If yes, then yes. |
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Jammer113
Joined: 13 Oct 2008
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| Posted: Mon Jun 08, 2009 8:11 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| I noticed on the ground there marble tiles that have a yellow bumpy hard plastic. |
I believe that's for blind people. It tells them when to stop. So you'll see a line of yellow cement tiles in a line, all leading up to the ones with plastic bumps at the edge of the street. They can follow the cement ones, and then stop when they feel the plastic bumps.
You'll also see them in other places, like subway stations, the edge of stairs, etc.
They also don't have cross walk buttons here. But if you push the button at the cross walk, it'll give you a count down telling you how many seconds is left for the green light. |
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Goku
Joined: 10 Dec 2008
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| Posted: Mon Jun 08, 2009 8:15 pm Post subject: |
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| Jammer113 wrote: |
| Quote: |
| I noticed on the ground there marble tiles that have a yellow bumpy hard plastic. |
I believe that's for blind people. It tells them when to stop. So you'll see a line of yellow cement tiles in a line, all leading up to the ones with plastic bumps at the edge of the street. They can follow the cement ones, and then stop when they feel the plastic bumps.
You'll also see them in other places, like subway stations, the edge of stairs, etc.
They also don't have cross walk buttons here. But if you push the button at the cross walk, it'll give you a count down telling you how many seconds is left for the green light. |
AHHH that makes a helluva lot of sense. I knew there had to be a reason for all these tiles with lines on them. I thought there had to be a good logical explanation. Thanks for the info bro.
That's good stuff right there |
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DWAEJIMORIGUKBAP
Joined: 28 May 2009
Location: Electron cloud
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| Posted: Mon Jun 08, 2009 8:34 pm Post subject: |
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Lol to this - 'Amirite?'
Goku - nice avatar man.
okokokok. Why do Korean men find it ok to adress me with okokok but hate it when I do it back? Like - you don't realise that I have a brain and know that you're dismissing me as a human and that I have the ability to retaliate?
Why at the Insadong art cinema are there two girls sharing the same space in the ticket booth at the same cinema - one selling tkts for one movie and one for the other. Yet when one is on lunch or away for some reason - the other girl, even though she's just sitting there with nothing esle to do - will NOT SELL YOU THE [MOD EDIT] TKT FOR THE 'OTHER MOVIE' - as it is 'not her job.'
I mean really. All she has to do is reach across and print the tkt and take the money.
But oh no, I have to wait 45 [MOD EDIT] minutes until the other girl gets back.
Ricetarded |
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Bloopity Bloop
Joined: 26 Apr 2009
Location: Seoul yo
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| Posted: Mon Jun 08, 2009 11:14 pm Post subject: |
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| Goku wrote: |
Another thing I wonder about is why are hair salons so advertised. Why is it that every hair establishment has a swirling pole to designate its craft. I know people cut their hair fairly often but it's not like I'm in an emergency need situtation where I need a revolving set of colors to make me aware of its presence. I mean like any other kind of store there's a gigantic sign in front.
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Don't brothels also utilize the swirly poles? How many of those hair salons are actually hair salons?
I remember it was the same in Shanghai; although the guise there was massage parlors--massage parlors with half-naked women sitting in the front room. Brothels in Xi'an didn't even bother to cover up the nature of their business. If you walk down one of the main drags (forgot which one), there are women sitting or standing in doorways that will literally TRY to pull you in or at least do some pretty extreme stuff. One girl spread her legs open (no underwear--what a surprise) and another yanked out one of her boobs 
Asia: where prostitution is illegal but is completely overlooked by authorities. |
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BS.Dos.
Joined: 29 Mar 2007
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| Posted: Tue Jun 09, 2009 1:11 am Post subject: |
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I found out today that my handler, Mr. Lee, doesn't know how to use a pencil sharpener.
I kid you not. |
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thrylos
Joined: 10 Jun 2008
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| Posted: Tue Jun 09, 2009 1:18 am Post subject: |
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| For a country that prides itself as the 'only place with 4 seasons', why are they always so unhappy and uncomfortable with the weather? Chinese exchange students remark that the first Korean words they learn are "chooptah" and "dopta", depending on what season they arrive here. |
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harlowethrombey
Joined: 17 Mar 2009
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Tue Jun 09, 2009 1:28 am Post subject: |
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Only negative things or positive, too?
Got my hair cut today. 2 shampoos, a scalp massage and a very nice haircut for a low, low price.
Also, free coke and cookies. And a robe to lounge around in.  |
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