About a year ago, we were the Perm traveler Elnara Mansurov, who has been traveling to different parts of the world for several years. Now his notes have grown into a full-fledged travel project mishka.travel. Today FURFUR publishes a report on a trip to North Korea, in which Elnar told how he went to the mausoleum of Kim Il Sung, met Korean girls and was almost mistaken for a spy.
We flew on the plane with Dennis Rodman, who, after staying with Kim Jong-un, decided to lead the DPRK national basketball team. Some kind of surrealism: I'm flying in a new AN-124 to Pyongyang, a flight attendant brings a burger for lunch, and not far from me sits a big black guy, whom I remember from playing the NBA on the Sega console.
Much that is written in the media about North Korea is not true. Even the information that goes to television and the leading media in Russia is greatly distorted. For example, some of them reported that a military parade was held in Pyongyang on Independence Day September 9, led by Kim Jong-un. In fact, there were no military equipment in the city that day, there are many holidays in this small country, and any military parade is a costly event, so on September 9 we had a labor army of the militia (this is something like an army in reserve) or a worker Peasant Red Guard of the DPRK. I felt myself in the chronicles of a war film, as if I was seeing off North Korean fighters to the war. Hundreds of ZILs with people in uniform, girls with Kalashnikovs, nurses, a military band and one long black limousine with a portrait of great leaders on the roof. Koreans cry, launch balloons into the sky and throw artificial flowers at the militia. There are no fresh flowers in this country, at the airport we also observed how loved ones were met with artificial flowers.
In the reports on visiting the DPRK, one can read about the cult of personality, the prohibition of photographing from the windows of the bus and the complete absence of cars on the roads. Times change, most of the facts become myths, but the truth is that in Pyongyang we even stood in a small traffic jam. On the roads there are mainly Chinese cars, sometimes our UAZs and Priors. In the villages you can find legendary trucks with a gas generator, stoked with wood or coal. On the way to Wonsan, we met them many times, but Koreans react quite jealously when you start photographing them.
At the entrance, phones are no longer taken away - on the contrary, you can buy a SIM card from a local operator and call home, however, it is cheaper to call from a hotel.
It is still prohibited to photograph the military, military objects, working people, as well as those places that the guide tells about (for example, inside a mausoleum or some museum). You can take pictures of ordinary people, but the guides ask you not to frighten the North Koreans, but ask permission to photograph them. I travel around the world with the head of a bear, but I was forbidden to take photographs in it against the background of the monument to the two leaders. It is also forbidden to shoot sculptures, parodying the leaders, or cutting off parts of the bodies in the picture. They may be asked to remove. Photos with a bear's head were secretly taken.
In the DPRK, the transcendental collectivism and snitching, the system of denunciations works smoothly. Therefore, even if you run away from the hotel from the supervision of your guide, ordinary townspeople will immediately turn you in. In the afternoon near the restaurant I went to the tram stop, tried to get to know the locals, to communicate; the first thing they did was scatter. And the next day the guide asked: “Elnar, why did you try to communicate with the Koreans? Understand that they rarely see tourists. ” That is, information about this has already been reported to her, and a friendly explanatory conversation was held with me.
It is still impossible to photograph the military, military objects, working people,
as well as those places that the guide will tell you about (for example,
inside the mausoleum or
some museum).
Our bus driver was proud that he had not had a single accident in 25 years. Probably because there were practically no cars on the roads in the last 25 years, and the roads themselves are six- or eight-lane "concrete roads". Now on the streets of Pyongyang you can find taxis, and private owners on motorcycles are beginning to appear. It is quite possible that in ten years Pyongyang will not be a half-empty city, but will become an ordinary Asian noisy metropolis with all the exhaust gases and motorcycle taxi drivers shouting and arguing with each other over another client.
For me, the whole trip was a solid spy movie. And I must say, I was not disappointed. I sometimes write down travel notes in a voice recorder on my phone, but once the guide, after our conversation with her, saw the microphone icon on the phone and suspected me of recording all our conversations. I expected the special services to be of particular interest to me when I left the country, so I hid the memory cards with photographs. But nothing happened.
But Igor, a representative of the then unknown Ukrainian party "Blow", was less fortunate. He liked to joke about signs and slogans, jokingly translating them in his own manner; Koreans did not appreciate humor and suspected him of knowing the Korean language. During a visit to the mausoleum, the "Chekists" caught Igor and interrogated him about "the real purpose of his visit to the DPRK."
We were fascinated by one Korean girl, her name was Un Ha, she was a tour guide in another tour group. They asked our guide to organize a date with my single friend, joke with jokes, but we managed to crank up the meeting. True, there were four of us on a date: in addition to the two of them, there were me and our guide. On another it is impossible. A friend took a French wine (I think you can imagine how much it costs in a closed country), I took a beer to watch with pleasure. The Korean women drank only water, the embarrassment grew, we discussed general topics about whether they are on the Internet, whether they are going to visit Russia again, whether we come across harmful tourists from our country. Everything looked like a pioneer camp and an acquaintance with another detachment. After 20 minutes of boring monotonous conversation, our guide became ill and she went to the room, followed by Un Ha.
That evening, we invited our guide Zou to celebrate our departure, who in his age most resembled a representative of the special services, since our guide, Comrade Pak, was, by all accounts, really a guide, which was confirmed by her appearance in other reports. Our third guide, a trainee Kim, was very young, the knowledge of his language was noticeably worse, so Dzo (we called him Joe or Choi) in our eyes was from the organs. That evening our "spy games" continued. After we decided that we were all brothers and went to our room for whiskey, the fun began. It is believed that every room in the hotel is bugged, Zou turned up the sound of the TV to communicate with us frankly. He asked who was “good” and who was “bad” in our group, and said that Igor was clearly not here by chance. They talked about forbidden books, about the real state of affairs in Russia, and not about what their propaganda says. We exchanged banknotes with him for memory, which, as it later turned out, went out of circulation.
We were fascinated by one Korean girl, her name was Un Ha, she was a tour guide in another tour group. We asked our guide to arrange a date with my single friend.
While Kim Jong-un threatens the world with his atomic weapons and launches of ballistic missiles, while some talk about the advantages of living in North Korea, and some domestic bloggers after a visit to this most closed country bring and publish only "glossy photo reports" made under close scrutiny employees of the local state security service, other bloggers, violating local laws, take pictures of real and real life in the DPRK.
Recently, pictures of socialist Korea from the Polish blogger-photographer appeared on the network. Michal huniewicz now living in England.
It shows North Korea as it really is. I must say that the photographer could have been sent to a local prison if the state security officers had found these photographs in his luggage at the border.
The military is everywhere
China is on one side, North Korea on the other. The difference is obvious.
The difference is especially evident at night.
The first illegal photo taken in North Korea from a train car
Believe it or not, these people are waiting at the station when they will clean toilets in order to pick up waste for fertilization to their gardens
Shot from a train of one of the DPRK village
North Koreans are only allowed to travel within the country
Patrolling North Korean soldiers
Poor but proud people.
Arrival to Pyongyang. The blogger claims that it was a production because there were no more other trains and there was no reason for elegantly dressed people to leave anywhere either.
In Pyongyang, we have already met local guides who never left the blogger for a single step.
Just street photography and local flavor
Pyongyang urbanism
View of the cityscape and the Ryugyong Hotel itself
There is no button for the 5th floor in elevators in hotels. You can only get there by stairs. And the blogger tried to get there and saw that the entire floor was occupied by the state service. security. Supposed. that there is equipment for tracking guests
All service personnel in the restaurant and hotel are wary and fearful of foreigners.
Kim Il Sung Square. One of the places where guides are urged to take a photo.
To live in the capital of the DPRK, you must have a special permit for this and a special badge that is issued to the official residents of the capital. But, the author notes that in China, such badges can be bought on the market.
Border guards would not have let such a photo initially, because guides are urged to photograph the two full-length statues. The photo shows local residents of Pyongyang, who come with flowers and bows.
A real grocery store for North Korean residents only. The author writes that he had only 20 minutes for this photo. Then his excursion curator took him out of this store.
Souvenir products
The Muscovite's dream is to stay away from traffic jams. In the DPRK, a car is an unaffordable luxury.
Workers perform work practically in formation
Sociological murals on the streets of Pyongyang
A source m1key.me |
Back in 2015, the world community was shocked by the sincerity of the French journalist Marcel Cartier, who decided to independently go to the DPRK, which is now increasingly called simply North Korea. His goal was to find out if everything is as bad there as described by the Western (and not only) media. As it turned out, not every existing myth corresponds to reality. This article can somewhat change your myths about a closed state, and its charms, shortcomings, and the like.
Cartier admits that many things struck him to the depths of his soul and left no stone unturned from the stereotypes that had existed in his mind before. Here are just a few, but the most striking ones.
Americans are not hated at all, but happily greeted as guests
Koreans have class consciousness at the highest level. They never hide their contempt for imperialism, which in the United States is part of the regime system, but if you tell a DPRK citizen that you came from America, then your conversation will not be about hatred for each other, but about sports, differences in politics , culture and much, much more. That is, secular. For example, in the People's Palace of Studies in Pyongyang (where, for a second, there are more than 30 million books), the most frequent piece of musical art is not a local performer at all, but a collection of hits by the immortals The Beatles. But do not despair, because about the same frequency, North Koreans ask for CDs with Linkin Park recordings. This is especially true of progressive youth, who have found a place here too. Doesn't sound like an iron curtain, does it? And if we add that they are actively interested in the American basketball league, then it becomes generally strange. And this interest is not limited to the most famous names of this sport.
Cartier passed customs and border control twice as fast as in the European Union
Many of the Westerners who took the courage and finally made their way from Beijing to Pyongyang were worried that the immigration process would be painstaking, long and, as they say, "with passion." Imagine their surprise when the cherished seals in passports appeared within a few minutes. Only a few passengers had their luggage checked selectively, but without fanaticism. The travel agency strongly advised the journalist not to take with him the images of the American flag or posters, books, films, or other things that could narrate the events of the Korean War. Cartier did not take it, but he was very surprised and later noted that even if he had all this in abundance, he would not have experienced problems, because the customs officers were not very interested in such trifles.
Pyongyang is an extremely beautiful, cultured and clean city
Cartier speaks of the capital of North Korea as one of the best cities he has ever seen. Pyongyang impressed him with its neatness and comfort even for a tourist who does not know a word of Korean. Given the fact that in the Korean War (here, by the way, it is called the Patriotic War of Liberation), US troops subjected the city to massive carpet bombing, by 1953 only two buildings remained intact here. What happened to the city during this time is worthy of the deepest respect. A mass of statues and stately official buildings, large park areas for people to relax, residential buildings that never cease to grow skyward like mushrooms. Earlier it was said that at night in Pyongyang there is impenetrable darkness at night, but this is not true. Yes, there is no mass of advertising glowing at night, which is inherent in Western cities, but the lighting of important aspects of the DPRK capital works constantly and this is even more pleasing, because it is much easier to fall asleep at night than, for example, in Paris, always noisy and burning with all the lights, from where originally the author of the article.
A hairstyle "like Kim Jong-un's" is not required and there are practically no people who wear it
During his stay in North Korea, the French journalist managed to notice only one man who tried to imitate the leader of the DPRK. The hairstyle, Cartier notes, did not suit him at all and at first the reporter thought that the rumors were really true, but later he became convinced that this was another fiction on the part of the BBC, Time and other publications that, with the light hand of the South Korean media, spread this information. Cartier also became convinced that the fact that North Koreans are limited in their choice of hairstyles is also a lie. Yes, in local hairdressing salons, there are indeed portraits of models hanging on the walls, but this is not done as the only choice, but, rather, is intended to simplify the life of a client who cannot decide. Also in some beauty salon in New York. Only the price is five times lower.
People in the DPRK are constantly joking and smiling.
Here you can ask a reasonable question, what is happening, most likely for show? The journalist claims that he would be sincerely surprised if he found out that all the laughter that the Koreans shared with him turned out to be feigned. If we argue in this way, then we can assume that in North Korea, in some incomprehensible way, they can guess in what kind of cars rushing at great speed the inhabitants of other countries are sitting in order to laugh at this very moment. The Koreans have a lot of very witty jokes on a variety of topics, including the Americans on the demarcation line. The French journalist is confident that the most successful is the following: “An American soldier passes a cigarette to a DPRK soldier across the demarcation line. The Korean soldier takes it, and then the American asks if he hates the Americans, then why does he smoke American cigarettes, to which the Korean soldier replies: "So I don't smoke it, I burn it."
The monolithic nature of ideology is not the monolithic nature of the inhabitants of the DPRK
You should immediately understand what is individualism, and what is individualism and what a big gap between these two concepts. In fact, Cartier notes, his observations made it possible to understand that people in the same Pyongyang can communicate on a variety of topics, support an idea that, it would seem, can only occur to a native of the "open West." People here have a lot of interests, and everything is used: sports, culture, music, cinema and much, much more. They are free to choose what they like and what they don't.
People are dressed like a needle, and, moreover, all over the country
Even in the countryside, where the French journalist managed to visit, Koreans are dressed very dignified. There was not a single place he visited where people looked unkempt or in clothes that resembled rags. Another myth turned out to be the fact that all men and women dress the same. This is not how typical Europeans and Americans were taught to think. Men often wear brighter clothes than modern teens, but there is room for business style too. The tie is an international symbol. There was also a place for him in North Korea. Women, on the other hand, do not deny themselves dresses in bright colors, some choose traditional Korean clothes, while others even choose sportswear. At the same time, no one violates the norms of decency, but people look completely different.
English is a compulsory school subject from grade 1
The knowledge of English among young people is impressive. Even shocking. Cartier says that 90% of those whom he approached on the street spoke fluently in English with him without any visible discomfort. As it turned out, it's all about the quality of education. Previously, foreign languages were taught here from the first grade, however, due to the fact that it was not so easy for children to learn absolutely foreign English, the discipline was transferred to grade 3. In addition, the study of the Chinese and German languages is actively taking place, but here it is already up to the choice of the parents of the primary school student.
Koreans are very fond of tourists and want to develop this area.
One of the aspects of the economy, as it seemed to Cartier, which the DPRK government will develop, in the first place, will most likely be tourism. The new airport building, located in Pyongyang, is under construction and will soon expand impressively. The Koreans would very much like to open their country to the outside world, but they are confident that this should be done somewhat differently than the People's Republic of China did in its time. They don't want North Korea to become the next pillar of Western culture and lifestyle, because their fears are largely understandable.
Cartier also noted Air Koryo in a separate text. In all the reference books, she is given only one star, but he said that he was ready to argue with anyone that the estimate was artificially underestimated, because in terms of service and comfort, this is one of the best agencies whose services he had ever used. First, they have a new fleet of Russian aircraft flying between Beijing and Pyongyang. In addition, there is also entertainment during the flight, you can even buy a hamburger, and a choice of coffee, beer, juice or soda water. This service deserves at least three stars. Unfortunately, it is not the passengers themselves who choose.
Beer in the DPRK is officially recognized as a non-alcoholic drink
In almost every area of the country, you can now find a local brewery that provides people with the needs for this drink locally. There is a huge variety of varieties that are very popular throughout the country. Most dishes in local food service buildings are served, by default, with a small amount of beer. For example, if you visit the stadium named after Kim Il Sung on a tourist visit, you can see there how locals drink beer with plastic cups during a friendly match between the DPRK football teams. The most striking example can be any football in Russia - the stadiums both in the Russian Federation and in Korea are full, but the crowd in the latter is not aggressive, which helps to enjoy the game, and not be afraid for their own safety.
Most of the stories that I publish in the West about the DPRK are blatant lies and slander
Approximately 100 to 120 US citizens were in Pyongyang at the same time with the French journalist. This is largely due to the fact that amateur runners were allowed to participate in the Pyongyang marathon for the first time. One couple said that this was their second visit to the DPRK. Interestingly, they were in North Korea just a year ago, but they liked the country so much that they wanted to return. They noted that they were afraid to go last time. They were especially scared after the story of how Kim Jong-un allegedly gave the order to shoot his friend because she refused to act in a porn film. Other rumors that Kim Jong-un executed his own uncle with the help of a pack of hungry dogs (dogs in various interpretations were changed with a mortar, machine gun, hanging and many others). Educational camps and prisons do exist, but this does not reject the fact that the Western press is throwing quite a lot of energy into the campaign to demonize the DPRK and distort objective reality, which, naturally, does not reflect in the best way on the people of North Korea.
Nikolay Ofitserov
We are not trying to outperform the propaganda directed against South Korea by their northern neighbors. Only the personal feelings of a person living in the Land of Morning Freshness.
1. Increased attention
If you are of a European type, then they endlessly stare at you, every time they look away or their head, pretending to just look somewhere in your direction. Well, such is the fate of blond people, while others I wish to fully enjoy the beauty of Korea.
2. The closeness of people
The concept of true friendship in Korea and the countries of the former USSR is very different. In our country, for example, not everyone is called a friend, but only those who have already proven with time and deeds that they are worth your trust. Koreans call almost every acquaintance a friend, even one with whom there is no particularly close relationship.
However, this does not mean that Koreans are such friendly and open people. They are simply trying to maintain the status quo of universal human-loving attitude towards each other (I do not interfere with you, and you do not interfere with me). Often, Koreans are friends because of selfish motives, such as learning English, appearing favorably to friends by being friends with a foreigner, or simply because of money.
Therefore, I would like to advise you not to rely entirely on the word given by the Korean, especially if it is your business partner or employee, because it is highly likely that once trusting, you can get into an uncomfortable position, and that Korean will pretend that it is all your fault. Unfortunately, true strong relationships are rare in Korea.
3 collectivism
If in the Western world, first of all, people value individuality and a creative approach to everything, then in Korea the opposite is true: the ability to stand out and be like everyone else is most valued. At school, for example, even in a highly competitive environment, many schoolchildren do not realize their potential, just because they do not want to stand out or appear to be upstarts or “smart guys”. There is also a strong tradition to form your own narrow circle in which everyone follows the same rules and fashion.
Another example can often be seen on the streets: if it starts to rain a little bit, the Koreans get it or run to buy umbrellas, even if the rain is not strong. However, if you are walking in the rain and just decided to enjoy the autumn weather, then passers-by Koreans will look askance at you, because you clearly stand out.
On top of that, it's very difficult to make friends with Koreans unless you belong to the same group as them, be it a class or a club. Very often, Koreans avoid expressing their opinions publicly or openly in person, instead, in order not to stand out, they are likely to agree with everything with a smile, and later, not in front of unnecessary witnesses, they will vent their indignation or anger.
4) inability to speak directly
Very rarely, a Korean will ask you for something directly, but mostly he will beat around the bush, trying to apologize a thousand times, and asking: "I'm sorry, but is it okay if I disturb you with my request?" etc. And only after a series of long explanations and apologies, the Korean will hint at what he actually wanted to ask for.
And here lies the biggest difficulty for foreigners, especially for those who are not familiar with the culture of the East: foreigners simply do not understand what they want from them, moreover, wasting their time on meaningless explanations. As a result, a conflict may occur, or one of the parties (Korean) may feel offended, because how dare this foreigner not understand if I crucify in front of him for half an hour.
However, the same applies to foreigners: if possible when speaking, or if you need the help of a Korean, be very modest and naive, as if you have no choice but to bother your Korean friend. In this case, by being humble and polite, both parties can come to a mutual agreement. And finally, the most important thing - learn to read hints, the Korean will never tell you directly "yes" or "no", his answer will almost always be somewhere in between.
5 age matters
Perhaps the very first thing you are asked about in Korea is your age. Even in an era of colossal progress and high technology, Korea maintains the Confucian way of life. This means that all interpersonal relationships are clearly structured in accordance with the concepts of ethics and seniority. Even with minimal age differences, people address each other in different ways, using different styles of courtesy. This may sound very respectful and polite, but in my experience, most of it is nothing more than blind adherence to tradition.
6 ethics and manners
In theory, this is a topic for a separate article, so I will try to be brief. Even with all the feigned politeness, Koreans very rarely know how to behave at the table, especially the older generation. My friends and I often noticed how Koreans (mostly old people) chomp loudly, talk with their mouths full, and create all sorts of other obscene sounds. Unfortunately, I do not understand why such behavior is not directly condemned by anyone, and is permissible.
Another example of bad manners is that Koreans do not know the limits of personal space. For them, the norm is to stand and chew gum, moreover, chomp loudly in the elevator, or come close to you in public transport. The most interesting thing is that, according to the Korean stereotype, this behavior is more inherent in the Chinese, for which the Koreans laugh at them and look down on the Chinese.
7.System of education
If you are planning a family life in Korea, then most likely you will all have to get acquainted with the Korean education system. I don’t think that everyone will like it, because, in my opinion, education, devoid of all creativity and based on constant cramming, simply has no future and is not able to compete with other countries. In addition, during the final exams, the whole country falls into hysteria when parents visit temples and churches, praying for high scores for their children, and schoolchildren, unconscious, try to memorize what they missed.
At this time, schoolchildren experience tremendous stress and pressure from parents, school and society, because they are firmly convinced that if they do not pass the exam with the highest score, then 12 years of study, parental money and hours of self-study were wasted.
Therefore, I advise you to think hard, are you going to doom your child to 12 circles of academic hell? I think no.
8 food
If you are a fan of Korean food, then the numerous eateries scattered all over the city streets are at your service. However, if you are an adherent of your national cuisine and want to cook for yourself, then several problems arise. First, the price of food is much higher than in Kazakhstan. Secondly, there are simply no such familiar products as kefir, sour cream or cottage cheese. Third, the disgusting quality of the bread.
Koreans just don't make good bread, and if there are bakeries that make good tasty bread, then the price of one loaf can exceed $ 4, which looks like sheer madness to me personally.
9 lack of variety in the kitchen
If you are a strict Muslim, Buddhist or vegetarian, then Korea is absolutely not the country where you will feel comfortable. Korean cuisine is replete with pork and many other types of meat, so if you cannot eat this or that type of meat due to your religion, then nutrition can be one of the problems.
The paucity of Muslim restaurants and eateries makes life difficult for many students, as it takes time to find good meat and cook it, or to find a restaurant that does not serve pork, disguising it as beef.
The same goes for vegetarians: in most cities, with the exception of Seoul and Busan, it is very difficult to find a good vegetarian restaurant, so you will most likely have to cook your own food.
10 borscht !!!
I, being a student of Russian nationality, abandoned by the will of fate in a foreign land, unbearably miss my mother's soups, and in particular borscht.
Once I had an idea to cook borscht (all according to my mother's recipe), and then the problems began.
In Korea, there are almost no beets, of course, without which a good borscht cannot be cooked. So, in order to taste a plate of borscht (even of the lowest quality), you will have to pay three times more money than for a regular lunch in a diner.
I tried to list the main problems of life in Korea, which, in my humble opinion, can become an obstacle to a comfortable life or travel in Korea.
Now let's talk about the other side of the coin.
Each country has its drawbacks. To insure myself against severe disappointments, I propose to consider 10 cons of life in Korea. Everything, of course, is subjective, personally it seems to me that 10 cons are as follows:
1.
Lack of a basic concept of etiquette and the concept of personal space
This applies to older people who consider it their business to tell you, despite the fact that you yourself may already have children, what and how to do, moreover, in an orderly tone, even if they do not know you. They can start communication with a younger person with the phrase "Hey, you!". And some individuals may even openly fart, sorry, on the subway (which happened to me twice), not to mention the constant coughing in the street.
2.
TO Oreian traditional festivals
Korea has two significant traditional holidays - Chuseok, the harvest festival in autumn, and Seollal, the lunar new year. For a long time, these holidays were considered very important, which gather all relatives at one table in the house of the oldest relative, where they play games and have fun.
But now everything has completely changed because of the constant employment of Koreans and their inability to have fun, and also because of the difference in generations: the younger ones have no right (!) To ask the older ones anything. Type is not decent and still a bunch of all kinds of cockroaches. There is such a picture (this is not only in the husband's family, but in most Korean families): relatives who go to visit, swear all the way that they have to go so far (usually this is another city, and often the relationship between relatives, to put it mildly very much ”, but you have to go - it's a tradition), and the relatives who receive the guests swear that you need to cook a fig of food for the whole crowd. Then everyone meets with smiles on their faces, as if they were just waiting for this meeting.
Then they bow to the ancestors (only men), that is, they put out food, light the fragrances and bow in memory of the deceased ancestors. Then they start eating. At what all women bring, and men like sit so important. Then communication begins to be "squeezed out" on general topics discussed annually to keep the conversation going. After the topics are exhausted, a tangle of time begins, like, it's inconvenient to leave right away, you need to create the appearance that everyone is interested)). You can watch TV. Hmm, in general, for an ordinary "Russian" person like me, all this nudotina is very difficult to survive, even if it is a few hours only 2 times a year! Brrrr ... Moreover, the most interesting thing is that Koreans are always proud and stick out their "family values". Aha! As if not so!
A! Well, and most importantly, they give MONEY for these holidays, which is above all for a Korean and for which all the inconveniences Koreans can endure)) Because money is everything for a Korean!)
3. Inability to get close to people, to be sincere
I think it is already clear from point 2, but I will add a little. It's a little offensive that in most cases, Koreans become "friends" if it suits them. And about sincerity, you will never know what they really think of you, since they always have a politeness “mask” on their face.
4. Lack of New Year's atmosphere
This is my sore subject. Their Christmas is Catholic December 25th, on this day, couples usually arrange a date! So that's it. Well, sometimes a family can go out to a restaurant. Our New Year on December 31 in Korea is practically ignored. No trees at home! The only thing is that enough people gather in the very center of the city to see the mayor or someone else ring the big iron bell at 12 at night. And if you are in another part of the city, then in general there is no feeling that this is a new year. Once, only at 10 pm, I returned from the funeral on December 31 ... but that's another story.
5. Worship of elders
Again, this is the cult of age in Korea. Here, when meeting, the first thing they ask is how old you are, in order to understand how to behave. If you are older, even a year, then there is such respect and ways, if you are younger, then frivolous, relaxed communication. The most interesting thing is that even twins can be distinguished between an older and a younger brother or sister!
6. Trying not to stand out from the crowd
Oh, God forbid, at lunch with employees of different ages, you ordered noodles when everyone ordered rice. Oh no no no! Now, of course, they won't say anything (not like a few years ago), but they'll look askance. We have 2 canteens in our company, that is, 2 menus. We go there with our department all together. So, the youngest girl in our department is 20 years old. Usually, everyone approaches the menu and “chooses the type” (because they usually eat whatever the boss prefers). Although, okay, I will not exaggerate, our boss is quite loyal and still can listen to the wishes of junior employees. Although not all are like that. But the most interesting thing is that when that girl is asked, her answer is always the same: “oh, but I don’t know how to make that choice” and looks at the floor with embarrassment.
7. Conversations about plastic surgery
Korea is just a paradise for people with "defects", as plastic surgery is very developed here and the prices are quite cheap for it. For example, if a girl is not pretty, then she can ask her parents to give her a "nose surgery" for graduation from school, for example.
Recently in the elevator there was the following situation: two women were driving and a younger girl, whom they know, but apparently had not seen for a long time, came in. The greeting was followed by a question: oh, what did you do with your nose? something you have changed so much. (it's very cool to ask this question in front of strangers in the elevator!). And the girl replies: no, she just changed her hair!))))
I, of course, tore up. The most interesting thing is that the girl left earlier, and these women began to grin and discuss, like: well, well, she did her hair ..)))
8. Lack of cheese
You can, in principle, find it, but you have to look for it and it is sooooo expensive ((((no comments
9. Carrying babies like a gypsy
It just pisses me off! They wrap, or rather, tie the child to themselves from behind with a blanket !!! even very small! what happens to the bones there ?? I can’t imagine.
10. Vacation
Korea has the smallest holidays in the world!
This is the kind of life for me in Korea, with its minuses. Maybe you can calmly survive them and they will not seem so scary to you 🙂 What is the most unacceptable minus for you?