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(If you view on YouTube, you can watch in HD)
Friday, October 8, 2010
What I've learned so far...
At this point I have been in the land of the morning calm for a little over a month. I feel like I'm settling in well. I've made some friends, both waygook (from the Korean 외국인 [oegukin], meaning "foreigner") and Korean. I'm enjoying the culture and the people. Almost everyone, while at first seeming apprehensive, is very warm and welcoming after being addressed. They will go out of their way to provide you with help and anything you might possibly need, even while understanding little-to-no English. Many of the braver students and younger children will attempt to strike up conversation with me while walking around town or riding my bike. Or at least just shout the majority of their minimal English vocabulary at me as I pass.
Kid: "Hello!"
Me: "Hi!"
Kid: "I love you!"
Me: "Thank you..."
So with my somewhat limited experience, here are a few things that have really stood out to me thus far:
Korean food is AMAZING. I have yet to try a dish I do not like. Some favorites include 비빔밥(bibimbap), "bibim" means something like "to mix" and "bap" is rice, rice with fresh vegetables and usually seaweed and maybe a fried egg on top and perhaps some sort of meat or seafood thrown in for good measure. Top with red chili paste and mix it all together! 물냉면(mulnaengmyeon) "mul" is water, "naeng" is cold, and "myeon" is noodle or noodle dish. This dish is a cold soup with noodles made from buckwheat and other various root flours, thin sliced cucumber and vegetables, and a half a hard-boiled egg on top. The broth is tangy and served as an icy cold slush. The kicker is the slice of pear they put in the bowl! It sounds crazy, but it's delicious! 비빔냉면(bibimnaengmyeon) is essentially the same dish but the broth is served on the side in a separate bowl. It is flavored with sesame oil (yum!), has a healthy portion of red chili paste on it and as with the bibimbap, the "bibim" implies that you mix it all together. In either case the egg should be eaten first as a matter of health and protection.
Most meals are served with a variety of 반찬(banchan), or side dishes. At nicer restaurants the banchan will cover so much of the table it will be hard to make room. One side dish that is ALWAYS provided at any meal is (say it with me) 김치(kimchi)! There are hundreds of varieties, but the most common are cabbage or radish fermented with red pepper powder, salt, and spices and herbs. Recently we've been seeing more radish kimchi as heavier than usual rains during the growing season ruined many crops of leafy vegetables. That has also affected the amount of lettuce served alongside many meat dishes which usually use lettuce as a wrapper. One of my favorite banchan is 전(jeon), pan-fried dishes often taking the form of little pancake-like things, 파전(pajeon) in particular which is made with egg and green onions and often with seafood is quite tasty. It can be served as a meal itself.
Perhaps the most interesting dish I've had here so far is 순대국(sundaeguk). First I should explain sundae. You may be thinking "ice cream!" But you really shouldn't. Sundae is a sausage made from stuffing a pig's intestine with cellophane noodles, barley, seasoning, and pig's blood. Sounds terrible, right? It actually is remarkably similar to boudin, almost shockingly so. "Guk" is soup, so what they do for this dish is take a broth made from ox bone and cabbage and toss in some cleaned chopped intestine along with the sundae and serve it to you with rice (which you put into the soup), and a bowl of tiny, salted, fermented shrimps which you can add for flavor and saltiness. Mix in some red chili paste for zing, and you've got yourself a meal! As repulsive as this may sound to a western palate, if you had the chance to eat it not knowing what it was, you'd probably like it. It's delicious and very filling.
There is a caveat to accompany this talk of delicious food: Korean cuisine carries some underlying theory about balance. Balance of nutrition, balance of temperature, balance of color and texture and spiciness, and balance of flavors. Normally this makes for very delicious and healthy meals, but when a food or flavor that is somewhat foreign is thrown into the mix it seems to set the whole idea a bit off-kilter. Case in point: Koreans have some very odd ideas about cheese. It's very hard to find cheese here that's not processed. I'm lucky enough to live about a minute's walk from a GS Supermarket that happens to sell French (imported from France, not just French-styled) Brie and Camembert. They cost about 9 bucks for a round that fits in the palm of my hand, but it's worth it. One popular snack served in sealed bags in the supermarket is (dried?) cheese sticks. Cheese, often with walnuts or something mixed in, in thin sliced sticks. That doesn't seem so bad, but I can't be sure, I haven't tried them yet. The REAL issue with cheese is that for some reason, in Korea, it should be sweet. During orientation, one teacher in our group bought what she believed to be round cheese cracker sandwiches. They looked identical to the ones you can buy in the states: ridged edges, some evenly spaces holes in each side, a layer of processed cheese paste smeared between. As it turned out, they were cheese COOKIES. Not crackers, but cheese sandwiched between two sweetened, shortbread-like cookies. I tried one. Terrible. Although, when relieved of their cheesy adhesive the cookies were actually pretty good. Once, about two weeks after I arrived, I bought what appeared to be cheetos puffs. The bag showed an illustration of the curved corn puff with what looked like cheese being drizzled over it. I hoped that it was visual hyperbole emphasizing just how cheesy these delicious puffs really are. I was not so lucky. There actually was a layer of yellow substance across each cheeto which was not cheese, but frosting. Absolutely foul. I ate one and threw the bag away. This balance theory also seems to suggest that when drinking beer, one should eat sweet things, so that is what is served. You often must request salty snacks like peanuts if you prefer that with your suds.
Koreans drive like maniacs. Some, not all. Running red lights seems to be the norm as long as you might've made the light three or four second earlier. Pedestrians don't always have the right-of-way. Not all crosswalks have signals, but for those that do cars will continue on their path unless you are physically in their way. Most of the time drivers will not wait for you to cross in front of them, rather taking an attitude that because a car is bigger and faster it therefore should go first. When walking on the sidewalk you must always be careful to watch and listen for bicycles. Understandable enough. But you must also share the side walk with mopeds/scooters. Okay. And occasionally motorcycles. What's that? Yes, motorcycles, "autobis", Harleys mostly. It's just so much easier to drive on the sidewalk: there's no traffic!
I think that many westerners feel like Asians all look very similar. While there are definite similarities in facial structure in the region, I think that we tend to pick out those broad similarities because they are features we are not accustomed to. I'm sure the same goes for western features over here (I had a lady on the street tell me I looked like Michael Jackson). It's dependent relative to what you are used to being around. I was happy to notice that very soon after my arrival here I was able to start telling many of my students apart (names are still very difficult, though), I wondered if it had anything to do with serving so many Asians for the two years I was working at the restaurant. I feel that being fully immersed in this environment, around these people will break down some of that mental glossing that happens to us when presented with things, ideas, and people very different from what we are used to. I think I could actually notice it happening when looking around the cafeteria today at lunch. I get the strong sense that after spending an extended stay here there will be a reversal in my flash perception of features that stand out to me. The broad similarities that at the moment and in the past I applied to all people of Asian descent will be what is glossed over, accepting them as the norm, and instead it will be the little differences that characterize individual appearance that will stand out. So that 원홍 and 정수 and 수영 will look just as different to me as Johnny, and Malcolm, and Elizabeth. And I won't even consciously see the broad similarities. At least not at first glance.
I will close with this relevant anecdote: One afternoon a few days ago I was walking across town to Aaron's apartment, listening to music in my headphones, moving through the crowds, and generally beginning to feel as if I fit into the landscape pretty well. I was getting the occasional stare (I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt, I think my leg and arm hair was drawing attention, it's very rare here. Foreigners in businesswear generally attract less attention as well), but otherwise I was really feeling a connection to this place, almost as if I was beginning to belong. Then as I passed a darkened shop I caught a glimpse of myself in the window and for a split second was very shocked to see just how out-of-place I looked! Aaron summed up my feelings well with the phrase "Whoa, what's a waygook doing here?!"
Kid: "Hello!"
Me: "Hi!"
Kid: "I love you!"
Me: "Thank you..."
So with my somewhat limited experience, here are a few things that have really stood out to me thus far:
Korean food is AMAZING. I have yet to try a dish I do not like. Some favorites include 비빔밥(bibimbap), "bibim" means something like "to mix" and "bap" is rice, rice with fresh vegetables and usually seaweed and maybe a fried egg on top and perhaps some sort of meat or seafood thrown in for good measure. Top with red chili paste and mix it all together! 물냉면(mulnaengmyeon) "mul" is water, "naeng" is cold, and "myeon" is noodle or noodle dish. This dish is a cold soup with noodles made from buckwheat and other various root flours, thin sliced cucumber and vegetables, and a half a hard-boiled egg on top. The broth is tangy and served as an icy cold slush. The kicker is the slice of pear they put in the bowl! It sounds crazy, but it's delicious! 비빔냉면(bibimnaengmyeon) is essentially the same dish but the broth is served on the side in a separate bowl. It is flavored with sesame oil (yum!), has a healthy portion of red chili paste on it and as with the bibimbap, the "bibim" implies that you mix it all together. In either case the egg should be eaten first as a matter of health and protection.
 |
| Mmmmm... 비빔냉면 |
Most meals are served with a variety of 반찬(banchan), or side dishes. At nicer restaurants the banchan will cover so much of the table it will be hard to make room. One side dish that is ALWAYS provided at any meal is (say it with me) 김치(kimchi)! There are hundreds of varieties, but the most common are cabbage or radish fermented with red pepper powder, salt, and spices and herbs. Recently we've been seeing more radish kimchi as heavier than usual rains during the growing season ruined many crops of leafy vegetables. That has also affected the amount of lettuce served alongside many meat dishes which usually use lettuce as a wrapper. One of my favorite banchan is 전(jeon), pan-fried dishes often taking the form of little pancake-like things, 파전(pajeon) in particular which is made with egg and green onions and often with seafood is quite tasty. It can be served as a meal itself.
 |
| Gongju guys enjoying a meal of 갈비(galbi) with lots of 반찬(banchan)! |
 |
| Either marinated pork of beef is cooked over hot coals at your table. This is pork. |
 |
| Disgustingly delicious. |
There is a caveat to accompany this talk of delicious food: Korean cuisine carries some underlying theory about balance. Balance of nutrition, balance of temperature, balance of color and texture and spiciness, and balance of flavors. Normally this makes for very delicious and healthy meals, but when a food or flavor that is somewhat foreign is thrown into the mix it seems to set the whole idea a bit off-kilter. Case in point: Koreans have some very odd ideas about cheese. It's very hard to find cheese here that's not processed. I'm lucky enough to live about a minute's walk from a GS Supermarket that happens to sell French (imported from France, not just French-styled) Brie and Camembert. They cost about 9 bucks for a round that fits in the palm of my hand, but it's worth it. One popular snack served in sealed bags in the supermarket is (dried?) cheese sticks. Cheese, often with walnuts or something mixed in, in thin sliced sticks. That doesn't seem so bad, but I can't be sure, I haven't tried them yet. The REAL issue with cheese is that for some reason, in Korea, it should be sweet. During orientation, one teacher in our group bought what she believed to be round cheese cracker sandwiches. They looked identical to the ones you can buy in the states: ridged edges, some evenly spaces holes in each side, a layer of processed cheese paste smeared between. As it turned out, they were cheese COOKIES. Not crackers, but cheese sandwiched between two sweetened, shortbread-like cookies. I tried one. Terrible. Although, when relieved of their cheesy adhesive the cookies were actually pretty good. Once, about two weeks after I arrived, I bought what appeared to be cheetos puffs. The bag showed an illustration of the curved corn puff with what looked like cheese being drizzled over it. I hoped that it was visual hyperbole emphasizing just how cheesy these delicious puffs really are. I was not so lucky. There actually was a layer of yellow substance across each cheeto which was not cheese, but frosting. Absolutely foul. I ate one and threw the bag away. This balance theory also seems to suggest that when drinking beer, one should eat sweet things, so that is what is served. You often must request salty snacks like peanuts if you prefer that with your suds.
Koreans drive like maniacs. Some, not all. Running red lights seems to be the norm as long as you might've made the light three or four second earlier. Pedestrians don't always have the right-of-way. Not all crosswalks have signals, but for those that do cars will continue on their path unless you are physically in their way. Most of the time drivers will not wait for you to cross in front of them, rather taking an attitude that because a car is bigger and faster it therefore should go first. When walking on the sidewalk you must always be careful to watch and listen for bicycles. Understandable enough. But you must also share the side walk with mopeds/scooters. Okay. And occasionally motorcycles. What's that? Yes, motorcycles, "autobis", Harleys mostly. It's just so much easier to drive on the sidewalk: there's no traffic!
I think that many westerners feel like Asians all look very similar. While there are definite similarities in facial structure in the region, I think that we tend to pick out those broad similarities because they are features we are not accustomed to. I'm sure the same goes for western features over here (I had a lady on the street tell me I looked like Michael Jackson). It's dependent relative to what you are used to being around. I was happy to notice that very soon after my arrival here I was able to start telling many of my students apart (names are still very difficult, though), I wondered if it had anything to do with serving so many Asians for the two years I was working at the restaurant. I feel that being fully immersed in this environment, around these people will break down some of that mental glossing that happens to us when presented with things, ideas, and people very different from what we are used to. I think I could actually notice it happening when looking around the cafeteria today at lunch. I get the strong sense that after spending an extended stay here there will be a reversal in my flash perception of features that stand out to me. The broad similarities that at the moment and in the past I applied to all people of Asian descent will be what is glossed over, accepting them as the norm, and instead it will be the little differences that characterize individual appearance that will stand out. So that 원홍 and 정수 and 수영 will look just as different to me as Johnny, and Malcolm, and Elizabeth. And I won't even consciously see the broad similarities. At least not at first glance.
I will close with this relevant anecdote: One afternoon a few days ago I was walking across town to Aaron's apartment, listening to music in my headphones, moving through the crowds, and generally beginning to feel as if I fit into the landscape pretty well. I was getting the occasional stare (I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt, I think my leg and arm hair was drawing attention, it's very rare here. Foreigners in businesswear generally attract less attention as well), but otherwise I was really feeling a connection to this place, almost as if I was beginning to belong. Then as I passed a darkened shop I caught a glimpse of myself in the window and for a split second was very shocked to see just how out-of-place I looked! Aaron summed up my feelings well with the phrase "Whoa, what's a waygook doing here?!"
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