reasons i love korea (in no particular order)
+street food- the quantity and quality is hands down the best i have experienced: all kinds of meats on sticks, a "traditional korean food" called toast which is basically an omelet sandwich, various forms of deep fried goodness and perhaps the greatest human achievement since the polio vaccine, a hotdog somehow covered i na batter of french fries.
+Video games as sports- there are two channels dedicated to televising videogame matches complete with commentary.
+my students- they're young. they don't want to be there. they give me a hard time.
+red barn- my local bar. when i walk in everyone yells my name (ala cheers). tonight when i went there some girl screamed "oppa!!!" (in the rok people don't call each other by name usually. oppa means older bother) when i walked in. then she explained to the bartender that she had met me before. the bartender replied "everybody knows that guy"
+red- a bartender. see above.
+crane/claw machines- in the last few months i have won about 40 lighters, speakers for my computer, speakers for my ipod, an electric shaver, a hat, two pairs of suspenders, a bag, a pipe, an ashtray, a pen, two knives, a laser pointer, a few stuffed animals, a vinyl anime figurine, and 2 pairs of women's underwear.
+korean ballad music videos- somehow koreans have figured out a way to stuff the saddest most over top cheese into 5 minutes of film. i love them for it here are the basic plots of some of my favorites: a man
(still living) donates his eyes to a blind woman only to walk off into the sunset/sunrise/noonday sun with her seeing eye dog. i don't think she even knows that it is him that has given her sight. in another a man goes to prison for a woman who killed her creepy boss so that she could realize her dream of becoming a singer. after serving her time, he goes to a club to see her sing. she sees him, cries a single tear and that is the extent of their relationship. lastly, a couple, who probably met reaching for the same copy of a magazine that day are driving in an suv when they get into an accident. the car flips and bursts into flame. the man is trapped in his seat, the woman is not. for 4 full minutes we watch the man try to convince the woman to leave him. he yells, he pushes her, he leans in and whispers something that makes her cry even more than she already is. firefighters come and drag her out then the car explodes. everyone dies in korean music videos.
+soju and makoli- these are korean liquors and they are responsible for some of the worst and best times of my life. my favorite place serves soju (22%) for 100 won a bottle (about 11 cents). you have to buy food for every 4 bottles you drink but trust me it works out.
+bikini house (come on, meng, you knew this was going to make the list)- two women presenting music videos in bikinis. that's all i have to say.
that's all i have to say right now, but i'm sure i'll think of more later.
+Video games as sports- there are two channels dedicated to televising videogame matches complete with commentary.
+my students- they're young. they don't want to be there. they give me a hard time.
+red barn- my local bar. when i walk in everyone yells my name (ala cheers). tonight when i went there some girl screamed "oppa!!!" (in the rok people don't call each other by name usually. oppa means older bother) when i walked in. then she explained to the bartender that she had met me before. the bartender replied "everybody knows that guy"
+red- a bartender. see above.
+crane/claw machines- in the last few months i have won about 40 lighters, speakers for my computer, speakers for my ipod, an electric shaver, a hat, two pairs of suspenders, a bag, a pipe, an ashtray, a pen, two knives, a laser pointer, a few stuffed animals, a vinyl anime figurine, and 2 pairs of women's underwear.
+korean ballad music videos- somehow koreans have figured out a way to stuff the saddest most over top cheese into 5 minutes of film. i love them for it here are the basic plots of some of my favorites: a man
(still living) donates his eyes to a blind woman only to walk off into the sunset/sunrise/noonday sun with her seeing eye dog. i don't think she even knows that it is him that has given her sight. in another a man goes to prison for a woman who killed her creepy boss so that she could realize her dream of becoming a singer. after serving her time, he goes to a club to see her sing. she sees him, cries a single tear and that is the extent of their relationship. lastly, a couple, who probably met reaching for the same copy of a magazine that day are driving in an suv when they get into an accident. the car flips and bursts into flame. the man is trapped in his seat, the woman is not. for 4 full minutes we watch the man try to convince the woman to leave him. he yells, he pushes her, he leans in and whispers something that makes her cry even more than she already is. firefighters come and drag her out then the car explodes. everyone dies in korean music videos.
+soju and makoli- these are korean liquors and they are responsible for some of the worst and best times of my life. my favorite place serves soju (22%) for 100 won a bottle (about 11 cents). you have to buy food for every 4 bottles you drink but trust me it works out.
+bikini house (come on, meng, you knew this was going to make the list)- two women presenting music videos in bikinis. that's all i have to say.
that's all i have to say right now, but i'm sure i'll think of more later.