Korea - Day 3

My host today didn't speak English as well as the previous two hosts (his doctorate was from Korea), but again, he was very nice and helpful. A professor from Texas A&M (and a graduate of Baylor Law School) that I have known for a while arrived this morning, so I spent plenty of time talking to him. After breakfast, we went to the Korean Folk Village. The village gave good examples of how Koreans lived throughout history. There were many performances, including a Korean "drum line", acrobatics using a teeter-totter, and a tight-rope performer.



After touring the village, the host took us to lunch (at the Outback!). They served an extremely strong lemonade (I believe they used carbonated water). We were scheduled to present at Dankook University at 2, but were running a little late. On our trip to the University, I realized this was a much larger event than I anticipated; there were placards on the highways directing people to the event! I have been an invited speaker at the University of Louisville and the University of Miami, so I expected a similar situation (although the Miami students were still bitter about losing to Ohio State in the National Championship game a couple of years before I spoke there). I couldn't have been more wrong. The seminar was sponsored by an initiative from the Korean government, called BK 21. The host said this stood for Brain Korea in the 21st century. Basically, they were trying to improve programs to make Koreans more competitive globally by focusing on specific areas; at Dankook, the area was sport marketing. There were a couple of hundred people in the audience, including some dignitaries from the University. The seminar lasted until around 6; unfortunately, I was the last speaker so I had to wait quite a while. We ended with panel discussion with questions from the audience. I actually had a few questions, including one from the dean of the graduate school at Dankook. The event was videotaped and there was a photographer taking hundreds of pictures (my host said he would get copies and send them to me.
After the seminar, we left to have a traditional Korean meal. In the parking lot, my host handing me 5 new $100 (U.S.) bills for presenting. I was amazed at the meal. I was not hungry because of the large meal for lunch, but the people just kept bringing out more food. I tried a few things and would have probably eaten more if I hadn't have been so full.

More thoughts/observations:

• I talked to my host on the way back to the hotel about the GPS systems in Korea. There are cameras on the highways and those speeding will be photographed. The GPS alerts you as to where the cameras are! The system also tells you which lane you should be in at all times (for upcoming turns).
• I could never drive in Korea. I told you how erratic the driving is, but yesterday took it to another level. I realized that staying in your lanes is not very important to Koreans. Drivers weave in and out and often times take up 2 lanes (even on the highways). At many intersections, 3 lanes can turn left; however, there is no way there is room for this many cars to turn (and there are not really lane guides for them to turn).
  
• Parking is at a premium in business districts. We drove around quite a bit to find parking for lunch, going through many alleys. The alleys are so narrow (and people walk on them) that our drive "bumped" a few individuals. I was shocked that these people didn't do anything.
• The reverence for elders is unbelievable. Basically, the younger faculty members were servants to the older ones. They waited until the elders were seated, took their coats, and served their drinks. They treated guests the same way.