Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Captain Corea]

I'm not going to hide my dislike for the habit. I thik it is horrible, but that is besides the point.

The main reason I am posting is to ask about smoking habits here in Korea.

For those that smoke, what are the major differences here in korea vs where you are from?

[Yu_Bum_suk]

It's way cheaper, I can smoke almost anywhere I like, and I do it way more often than I did back home.

[tiger fancini]

[Demonicat]

Men tend to smoke a tiny feminine cigarette reminicent of Virginia slims. Women rarely smoke.

[DRAMA OVERKILL]

The price of cigarettes here vs. at home, and the opportunity to smoke almost anywhere here vs. hardly anywhere anymore at home are the biggies...

Last time I was home (Canada, a few months ago), cigarettes were over $10 per pack... Korea, approx. 2,500 won per pack, depending on your brand... Obvious huge difference...

In Korea, as is obvious, people generally smoke everywhere... In Canada, forget about it - smoking in public really seems to be frowned upon... Heard the "that's a terrible habit you got there" a few times while I was home, from complete strangers (outside in the open air, at that)...

In Korea, pouch tobacco, rollies, chewing tobacco, cigars, and rolling kits are non-existant - at least where I live... In Canada, all these and more available at any tobacco shop...

In Korea, women sneaking smokes in bathrooms, stairwells, slouched in booths at soju hofs with their friends for fear of having someone seeing them smoke... In Canada I don't see this - well, actually, I did, but that was when I was in grade 9 and 10... For the amount of men of all ages in Korea who smoke, don't see why some of these chicks are so secretive about it...

The variety of cigarettes here in Korea is huge - seems like every other month a new brand comes out on the market... In Canada, there aren't nearly as many domestice choices...

The flavour of Korean smokes is generally the same from brand to brand... And the "1 milli" thing is very popular here lately...

[Demonicat]

hey cap'n, out of curiosity. If you hate the choice (not so much of a habit for all of us), why are you curious? Considering taking the dark menthol flavoured plunge?

[Ya-ta Boy]

Ash trays here are wet and if one isn't, you can expect someone to spit in it to make it wet. They are also used to hold just about anything you can squeeze in--orange peels, peanut shells, used kleenex...

[babtangee]

While cheap, the cigarettes here taste like ass. Mild Sevens are about the only brand I can put up with. Marlboro taste pretty close to the same as back home, but they taste like arse back home too. I smoke less here than I did at home for this reason.

People still smoke in restaurants pretty much everywhere here. Though I think it is banned it's hardly being enforced. I'm all for this. Snooty non-smokers... ha ha. Running round all smug, sniffing their own farts. Forget about it in Korea.

Can't say any strangers ever gave me crap about smoking back in Aus., but then you'd be apt. to cop a punch in the mouth for such smugness when I was there. Damn students here give me a hardtime about it though - stalking me to the roof, trying to catch me, asking, "Teacher smoke? <shakes head> Teacher, bad."

[Sod_em_and_begorrah]

They're dirt cheap here and because there are so many 24 hour shops, you can buy them anytime. Back home I had to stock up and especially for Christmas day, make sure I don't run out.

I rarely see vending machines in bars. In fact I don't think I have seen one at all for smokes here.

Ashtrays usually have a wet napkin in them so you can't rest your cigarette in them.

Less women than men smoke here. In Ireland the opposite is true.

I kinda wish it was as inconvenient and expensive over here, I might have given them up by now.

[kimchi story]

They're cheap,Dunhill are a far cry from the days when This Plus was as good as it got in terms of flavor, and they make the beer taste better.

[Bibbitybop]

I don't smoke cigarettes, with the exception of a once a month party smoke, but I did like trying different rolling tobaccos back home. I may smoke a cigar now and then, and I definetly like smoking the hookah.

Here are the differences:

1. No good rolling tobacco around, although I hear the smoke shop in the Hamilton Hotel may have some. If I did get some, no one would think I was smoking a joint, whereas back home, people would ask for a hit and then be surprised by the lack of herb.

2. I can find Cuban cigars easier here than in the U.S.

3. There are more hookah bars in my vicinity in Seoul than there were in my college town.

4. You can light up anywhere here, especially in restaurants. There's none of those silly, restrictive smoking laws here like there are in the states. (I'm sure the non-smokers are gonna jump me on this point.)

[periwinkle]

I'm not a smoker, but I wonder how you guys cope on long flights? Use the patch, maybe?

[Yu_Bum_suk]

[Demonicat]

I smoke a pack of cloves a day, but I never had any problem with holding out on long flights.

[migooknom]

people in korea like to smoke when they poop.

i made a thread about this, but i think it got deleted