But they're good-natured. Occasionally I will twist my right wrist in an invitation to race, and they almost always laugh. They're not out there joyriding for the most part. They're working. Many have an array of cellphones on their dashboard (at least 3, all turned on), in addition to a GPS unit. I can frequently punk them by squeezing through spaces between buses and taxis that they can't. When they catch up to me, they'll give me a nod, like, "Well played."
2. Makgeolli (MACK-go-lee). Buy some and make a Korean happy. For some reason they love it when I pick up a plastic bottle of this local thirst-quencher. One store clerk clapped.
3. Mosquitoes are here in abundance. Bring DEET.
4. The money is super-simps. In American terms, there are $1, $5 and $10 bills, and 10- and 50-cent coins. No pennies or big bills that I've seen. No need, as in Europe, to feel obligated to buy a museum ticket or something at a megastore to change that 50-euro note.
6. Koreans have a lack of spatial awareness. Seoul is a really crowded city, so I understand why the notion of personal space could be a strange one. But just in terms of walking down the sidewalk, they trip all over each other. Advertisements on TV and in the subway try to drive home the notion of walking on the right.
7. Where are all the cops? This has to be the most lightly policed big city I've ever been in, and one of the safest. People here work to get ahead; they don't steal. The English-language blogs are replete with stories about how, after leaving a purse or a briefcase in a bar, the owner returns the next day to find it in the exact same spot.
8. I've never spent so much time on the subway. The distances in Seoul are enormous. Forty-minute rides are common, particularly when crossing the river, for some reason. Koreans are really quiet on the metro. Eighty percent of them are glued to their smartphones; the other 20 percent are watching soap operas or American baseball on their 8-inch TV screens. Outer doors keep stressed-out students from throwing themselves in front of the trains. No joke. These nine-hour college-entrance exams consume them.
9. Every Korean food or drink is described as "well-being" for its healthful qualities. I swear if there were a Korean cigarette, it would be marketed as "well-being." Even the locals make fun of this.
10. Where's all the alcohol abuse? I'd read a lot about it, but the only widespread drunkenness I've seen is by the train station. Funny how some things are the same all over.
11. ATMs are hit-and-miss. Many won't work with your North American debit card. Look for the word "global" somewhere on the machine. The language button is usually at bottom right. Sometimes you have to insert your card to get the language option, which kind of freaks me out.
12. Respect for elders is a real thing, not a guidebook canard. Youngsters yield their subway seats to the ajummas and addoshis.
13. Speaking of English-language guidebooks to Seoul, they're mostly garbage, with Koehler's being the least bad. When I get home, I will get around to posting an Amazon review about all his errata. It's also heavy and expensive. But he exposed me to the Gansong Museum, so there's that.
14. Korean baseball is great. To watch, that is. Fans are segregated by loyalties, soccer-style, and they don't so much clap as they do bang these balloon tubes together. There is no such thing as a meaningless regular-season game, beer and cheerleaders keep the excitement high, and the mediocre pitching translates into a lot of scoring opportunities.
16. Biking in Seoul: Exhilarating. The most fun I've had on a bicycle. Not for novices, but the congestion works in your favor. I feel more unsafe in Tucson, where SUV drivers with guns are whizzing by your left elbow at 50 mph. Don't pass buses on the right unless they're creeping or stopped. Taxis will cut you off to pick up fares. There are some 40 miles of trails along the Han River for no-stress outings. As everywhere, the number of mountain bikes in the city is depressing. The low-cost bike world is stuck in 1978, and I'll never understand why.
17. Want to know why Asian economies continue to expand while Europe's societal cracks continue to deepen? Look at the tax rates, for one thing. Most people in Korea pay 6 to 15 percent on personal income, and the corporate rate is in the mid-20s. The overall tax burden here as a ratio of GDP is about 25 percent, one of the lowest levels in the developed world. And there aren't any make-work government jobs that I can see. People just basically work their asses off.
18. Channel 26 (CGN) shows lots of American movies with Korean subtitles. But wherever you click, you'll find funny, inventive commercials that are in need of no translation.
19. The Escalator Wars: Maybe I'm imagining this, but there seems to be some tension between folks who think you should stand on the right, and those who think it's OK to block the left. The lefties have some imaginative explanations: 1) The government says it's OK. 2) Think of the mechanism! If everyone stands on the right, the escalator will break! 3) You want to climb? That's what the stairs are for. Me? I'm firmly in the stand-right, climb-left camp, and I shall be vindicated.
20. Yeah, I'm headed back to Tucca in a few hours.
My flight isn't till 8:20 p.m., but my landlord insists I have to be out by noon, claiming a new guest will arrive at 1. I call bullshit. Her online calendar shows no such booking; we simply got off to the wrong foot on Day 1. But how cool is this? Just a few subway stops away, I can early-check my bags with Asiana, spend a free day in Seoul, and in the evening take the 43-minute express train to the airport.
End
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