Trust in the People

Hillu,

A few years ago when I was travelling in Italy, I spent a few hours in Milan. While waiting for a friend, I sat down in front of the main station and put my plastic bag with two oranges, an Italy guidebook and the boarding passes for my upcoming flight, on the ground next to me. I, being me, left that bag on the steps when my friend arrived. After a one minute drive around the station, I realised I'd left the bag and we drove back around to the other side of the station to collect it. In the two minutes that I'd been absent somebody had taken my plastic bag full of just STUFF.

If I'd done that here in Korea, I think that bag would still have been waiting for me on the steps chirping a welcome back song to me, even if I'd stopped and had a meal before heading back to the steps.

I and many other expats living in Korea are often surprised completely baffled at this, as in our own countries, that bag would not only be gone but your orange peels too.

Take a look at the picture below, what do you see? Okay a till, a little note, one of those infuriating self checkout machines, an ice cream freezer (because duh) and some other things. Now, what can you not see? STAFF! This shop is so lazy that  trusts it's customers so much that it doesn't seem concerned about people helping themselves!

I felt like I was paying for food from my own fridge.

I once went to a store here with my sister, where she bought some souvenirs for people back at home. I, being in charge of holding bag of said souvenirs (what was she thinking!?), of course left them on top of the lockers where we had (intentionally) left our bags. Fast forward more than two hours after wandering the streets, finding a spa, taking a bath and chatting in the communal area, my stomach drops as I realised I had left multiple pairs of socks and some notebooks on a locker in the middle of the city. After taking a taxi and running like a mad man, there was our bag of treats, still on top of the locker. Not even the cleaner who was in that very area had tidied them away.

My final story is from when I left my wallet on a bus that was set to do a journey through all the rickety roundabout roads (probably mainly highways but that doesn't sound as good) of  the southern provinces of Korea, the day before my vacation. I realised FOUR HOURS after getting off the bus, at which point I do believe my stomach dropped so far that it left my body. It turns out somebody had found it, given it to the bus driver, who had driven it round with him all day before dropping it back at my local station for me (for a fee of 3000won/2 quid?!).

Basically, you can leave your crap anywhere and it will be alright (usually)



Gamsahapnida for reading,

Person questioning how he actually has managed to keep any of his belongings.



P.S. K-pop by Lee Hyori with 'Miss Korea'

Let's Eat!

Hello fellow residents of Earth,

I have recently come across something new, unusual and increasingly popular - a drama with minimal story and an emphasis on watching people eat.

A love triangle.

Watching people eat is just a part of it, and listening to people eat is the other part. The sounds of the eating is amplified (sometimes to an off putting level) to show how tasty the food is, and the 'actors' don't hold back in their chowing down.

Pleasure or pain?

Maybe you are thinking 'WHY!?' and so I asked a Korean friend the very reason for the existence of this show. He said it is so that you can enjoy the food without actually eating it. A co-worker told me that nowadays Korean people can be very stressed, so watch it just to enjoy it and relax.

Whatever floats your boat.

Didn't anybody ever tell you not to eat ribs in public!?

I do have some concerns thoughts about this show:

1. What happens if the director doesn't like your performance? Are you expected to vomit and try again?
2. How do people become actors for this? Do casting agents sit around in restaurants to see who is a good eater? Usually that is not acceptable.
3. Is this supposed to make me feel more hungry or less hungry?
4. Is this comparable to cooking shows? Part of me thinks yes. Another part of me says 'not quite' as I'm not sure if I'm being sold something or whether I am indeed just watching someone eat.

Thoughts?

Gamsahapnida for reading,

Up-and-coming foodstar.

P.S. Kinda K-pop by Dami Im with 'Super Love'. I say kinda k-pop because she is the Korean winner of the Australian X Factor, so the song wasn't made in Korea.

P.P.S. 'Why the hell not' music by No Doubt with 'A Little Something Refreshing'