Korea - Day 4

Thursday, I had another great host (he did his Ph.D. at the University of New Mexico). He brought along his younger brother, a sports writer. I learned more about the Korean culture from those 2 than I had in the previous 3 days. For example:

• The host said when he was in high school, he attended from 8 am until 11 pm. Students take 8 classes and after that, they are expected to stay and learn/study some more. There are no summer breaks and although there are no classes on weekends, they still have to go to school to study.
• Every male has a 2 year military obligation they must complete after high school. They can defer immediate enrollment (typically for college), but must complete it by the time they are 30. The only exception is if they have a handicap, in which case they only have to serve a year.
• There are no guns in Korea (except for the military/police), so crime is very low. I think I only saw a policemen once.
• There is a strong emphasis on technology from the government. The host said the internet is incredibly fast. He said he could download a complete movie in about 5 minutes (he knew from his time in New Mexico, this would take several hours in the U.S.). There are no copyright laws in Korea, so people can download all the movies they want from sites that are illegal in the U.S. Also, all software is "free" in Korea.
  
• There are over 12 million people in Seoul. Most live in apartments. They must buy them as there is really no renting. There are also no mortgages, so people have to pay cash. The only other method is to put down about half of the cost of the apartment. The owner collects the interest and gives you your money back after you leave (typically around 2 years).
• There is little drug use and when caught here, it is a serious crime.

The conference I am attending is actually put on by a couple of different groups. There was some serious miscommunication on our schedule for the day. After breakfast, we went to a Korean market (think flea market). About 20 minutes after we arrived, our host received a phone call saying we (myself and the professor from A&M) were the only invited speakers not at a lunch. Our host (and I) thought we had the day free. Well, we had to rush back, get dressed and attend the lunch. After that we were able to go back to the market. This time, we took the subway. The host mentioned that Seoul had one of the best subway systems in the world, and I was impressed with it. On one of the transfer lines, the subway had a wall to separate the track from the people (doors opened when the train arrived). The host said this was to prevent people from jumping onto the track and committing suicide (the suicide rate in Korea, especially among women, is very high; he said it averages around 45 per day). He said that if you ever hear of an announcement saying there are "technical difficulties" it is because someone jumped onto the track. Here is what the market looks like:
Even though I have not seen any overweight Koreans, check out this sign:
My host said there was a place that sells cheap prescription glasses (he said he bought 10 pair for just over $200). I went and looked at prescription sunglasses. I found a pair I liked and the salesman got my prescription by using my current glasses; he said they would be $70. My host told him I would pay half that; we settled on $50. He then said it would take 2 hours, but my host told him that was too long, so he said come back in an hour. We did and they were ready (can you imagine getting a pair of prescription sunglasses in the U.S. for $50 in an hour?). I got Briana a few items then we headed back to the subway. When we were close to the hotel, we heard an announcement on the subway. Guess what it was? The subway was having "technical difficulties". We waited about 5 minutes, then took a cab ride the rest of the way. We saw what the difficulties were. There was a group on a bridge (that our subway went over) that was protesting and threatening to jump. I'm not sure what the outcome was, but I bet the police won (either the protesters jumped or they were put in jail). There was a night reception then I talked to a former classmate at Ohio State (Harry Kwon) for a couple of hours in the hotel restaurant. Harry is Korean and just got a job back in Seoul.

A couple more thoughts/observations:

• While there was a lot of merchandise for sale on the streets, there are a few huge, multi-story buildings with an unbelievable amount of vendors. You wouldn't believe how crowded it was. The aisles were barely wide enough for 2 people. I asked my host's brother is the vendors were independent. He said yes, and the operation was run by the mafia (I don't think he was kidding).
• I saw an amazing tae kwon do demonstration at the conference. Guys were breaking boards held around 10 feet in the air.

This has been a tremendous learning experience for me. I am so glad I was selected and had this opportunity. This will be my last blog from Korea as I am scheduled to leave tonight. I will definitely not forget my time in Korea.