Published by Swiss James on 25 May 2007
K is for Corea
So yes, Korea. I spent three years there in the Glorious Land of the Morning Calm- all of them in Seoul, all of them working at Incheon airport.
Korea is notable for many things, the delicate nuances of its food (which stinks, burns your tongue and tastes fantastic), the passive, sweet nature of its inhabitants (who will force alcohol down your neck and run riot through town on a Monday night at the drop of a hat), and the Cosmopolitan nature of it’s population (99.5% Koreans - 0.05% OHMIGOSH- LOOK, THERE’S A FOREIGNER!!!).
Last weekend (at a toy / hip-hop clothing market on Changle Lu) there was one shop with a Korean flag over it. I went in and pretended to look around, then asked the guy (in Chinese)-
“Are you Korean?“.
He was. So I said:
“Hello!”
in Korean, and then tried to say something, anything in hangukmal (i.e. Korean, keep up).
a toy/ hip-hop clothing market at 190 Changle Lu.
All that came out was a stuttering mess of three languages (mostly English swearing).
Can my Chinese after 4.5 months (admittedly including lessons twice a week) really be better than my three years worth of Korean ever was? Apparently so.
I blame the Soju. The sweet, sweet, Soju.