Going out alone is taboo. Even going to a coffee shop alone is different than that experience in America. I frequently go to coffee shops alone to kill time in the city or relax and I have almost never seen a Korean sitting by themselves. Going to a restaurant or bar alone, though is really taboo. I sometimes go to Kim-bap Heaven (김밥창국), the "fast-food" ramen shop, alone when I'm in the city and even then I get funny looks when I dine solo. A lot of places don't make meals for one, everything is family style and served in a large platter, grill, or bowl.
Hanbok Ladies in the grocery store Lunar New Year is coming up and the Hanbok Ladies are back! Korean holidays usually entail people spending time with thier families and bringing eachother pre-packaged gift sets. For this, women working in stores dress up in traditional Korean dresses (Hanbok-see picture below) and stand in the aisles with specially wrapped packages of food, oils, wine, cookies, rice cakes, Spam, etc, and yell out their item and price for hours. This is most common in large supermarkets (E Mart, Lotte Mart) where there are aisles and aisles of these packages beautifully packaged and ready for gifting.
Shoes Indoors: When you go inside in Korea you take off your shoes. When you get to school in the morning, you change your shoes for indoor "slippers" (sandals). When you get home you take off your shoes in the entry way. And at restaurants, if you're eating on low tables sitting on the floor you take off your shoes. If you sit a regular tables with chairs you (typically) leave your shoes on.
Baking Cakes My friend Sinnae asked me the other day if I've ever baked a cake. Of course, growing up with an oven, I said yes. She said she's never baked a cake. Never! She's probably never baked anything! Oven's are not standard in Korea so most people my age have never used them. We're attending a "cake-making class" next month at the local YWCA where she will bake her first chocolate cake. It'll be fun to be a part of her inaugural baking experience. However...people often give cakes from bakeries as gifts and signs of appreciation. I taught a teacher's son this week at camp and the teacher just came into my classroom with 2 sponge cakes for my co-teacher and I to say thanks. Or if you go to a friend's performance or celebration, you might bring a cake from a bakery instead of (or in addition to) flowers.
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It wasn't really an uneventful week. There was a crazy snowstorm for about a week, I had 4 days of really fun English Camp at my school, I just completed a "cleanse", weekly yoga classes, temple visits, and Korean conversation lessons continued, and now I'm officially on vacation until Feb 2nd. Woohoo! Made it! I'm planning another hike up Mt. Halla next week; other than that vacation plans are null. I might head to Seoul with John, but I'm really gonna take it easy and catch up on studying Korean. Waiting out this cold weather...
2 comments:
I know the two countries would hate to admit it, but it's crazy how similar some of the customs in Korea are to Japan, especially the fascination with cakes and pastries in general!!
Koreans do pride themselves as being nationally unique. But I think you're right, there are definitely some big similarities considering how intertwined their histories have been. I'm planning a trip to Japan this Spring, I'll report back.
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