LIVE FROM INCHEON, SOUTH KOREA
Incheon International Airport, near Seoul, is located on an island. By some coincidence that I don't put too much importance in, so is Kansai International Airport, near Osaka. Though my flight only lasted an hour and a half, I've spent the better part of the day in transit of some form.
I'm currently in an internet cafe across from my hotel, thinking about getting some pizza after I write this. Magical sound effects from online games mix with familiar Starcraft voices and some elevator music to form a general buzz that sets the mood for relaxation. I've got a budget hotel room to myself, the prospect of maybe hooking up with a friend of a friend, about half of a month's salary in cash in three different currencies, girls waiting for me in Japan, instructions on what presents to buy, and three more days and nights in the land of the morning calm. After that I'll leave a continent for an island, much like I did almost one year ago to this day.
Asian Economics
Today I had experiences in Japan and South Korea that seemed to illustrate the difference in their respective economies. On my way here, I took the Nankai Rapid Airport Express from Namba to Kansai Airport. Just before I got on, there was an announcement that said all seats were reserved and you needed to buy an additional ticket for 500 Yen to ride the train. After buying the ticket and getting on the nearly empty train, I started reading my book. As far as I can tell, only one person in my car had his ticket checked by the conductor. At the airport I simply put in my card and was charged 800 Yen for the trip.
Why does the Nankai railway require this additional charge that they won't even check for? Because, by and large, people will pay for it. People will say that Japan is an island, and everything is just expensive. This fact is true, and it definitely has an impact on the situation, but alone this is only part of the reality. The reality is that Japanese business essentially relies on the assumption that most people will act against their nature and not complain when charged for ridiculous things. Likewise, price-fixing and economic agreements distort prices and people's money sense. I don't pretend that this doesn't occur elsewhere, but it seems so much more obivous in Japan. Why else would people pay the same price for a small can of Coca-Cola with a screw-on cap when they can have a 500 ml Long can for the same price? Why do vending machines operate outside of convenience and liquor stores, selling the exact same beverages sold in the store at a markup?
It seems like people are so reluctant to protest against institutional rules and practices that you can bully them into buying a 500 Yen scrap of paper with an announcement. But the thing is, Japan doesn't have to be like this. There are 99 and 100 Yen shops, which sell many of the same products you can buy in convenience stores blocks away. Though these stores may sell some products at a loss and others at a gain to stay in business, the fact remains that you can buy many things at prices one-third to one-half as much as those of the convenience stores. This is only a rough sketch, but I think that a lot of the costs in Japan are social and business constructions that rely on a collective delusion to promote business. In short, many of Japan's ridiculous prices seem to be divorced from reality.
Though I've only been in Korea a little over an hour, I can already tell that the economic system is different. Exchanging money sort of prepared me for this. The largest denomination in Japanese currency is the 10000 Yen note. You get well accustomed to those beige and brown bills with Fukuzawa Yukichi on them. Though they are supposed to be worth around 80 of your American dollars, until you start thinking about how to use them wisely you'll be going through them like toilet paper.
The six of them that I gave to the man at the money exchange counter netted me 480,000 Won (plus some change in Yen). I don't know if they were just out of bigger notes or something, but the man handed me a verifiable stack of bills colored the same light shade of green as bathroom soap. 48 notes worth 10000 Won each makes quite a stack. These were clearly not going to fit into my wallet, especially with the backup Yen and Dollars I had in there to start out with.
My first chance to use this new currency came at the airport, where I used the internet and phone terminal that eats 100 Won coins. It's an ugly little thing with a trackpad and small keys that gives you internet access in 2 minute chunks. Though it was pretty cheap, the weight of the coins seems to make using it a bit impractical. The second thing I bought here also gave me that impression. Of course, that was a 250 ml can of Lotte cider that set me back 700 Won. In other words, the coins that I needed to buy it weighed nearly as much as the can.
In Japan, we have a 500 Yen coin which has a satisfying weight without feeling too heavy. With it, you can obtain a medium length train ride, one drink in a reasonable bar, or three 500 ml bottles of the soft drink of your choice (plus change). In short, it's a coin with some power. The 100 Yen coin is quite smaller but still handy. The 100 Won coin, approximately the same size, seems to have more weight than value. The 10000 Won bill does not seem up to the job given to it by the man at the money exchange counter.
Attitudes towards business also seem different in Korea. Maybe this is why the man in the white tracksuit sitting next to me is allowed to play online games and sip Welch soda while running up to the counter a few meters away as necessary to take care of customers in this internet cafe. Somehow, no one seems to mind that it takes him a few seconds to get there. As far as I can tell, social rules don't require him to yell ritualized greetings and apologies at the top of his lungs to customers like in Japan either.
Or the women at the hotel, who only needed my name and a quick glance at my passport after I told them in English that I made my reservations over the internet. This flexibility on the part of the Korean people intrigues me. Though I'm not sure if flexibility is the right word for it - the only thing that really makes it seem that way is the Japanese model that I've gotten used to.
I'm currently in an internet cafe across from my hotel, thinking about getting some pizza after I write this. Magical sound effects from online games mix with familiar Starcraft voices and some elevator music to form a general buzz that sets the mood for relaxation. I've got a budget hotel room to myself, the prospect of maybe hooking up with a friend of a friend, about half of a month's salary in cash in three different currencies, girls waiting for me in Japan, instructions on what presents to buy, and three more days and nights in the land of the morning calm. After that I'll leave a continent for an island, much like I did almost one year ago to this day.
Asian Economics
Today I had experiences in Japan and South Korea that seemed to illustrate the difference in their respective economies. On my way here, I took the Nankai Rapid Airport Express from Namba to Kansai Airport. Just before I got on, there was an announcement that said all seats were reserved and you needed to buy an additional ticket for 500 Yen to ride the train. After buying the ticket and getting on the nearly empty train, I started reading my book. As far as I can tell, only one person in my car had his ticket checked by the conductor. At the airport I simply put in my card and was charged 800 Yen for the trip.
Why does the Nankai railway require this additional charge that they won't even check for? Because, by and large, people will pay for it. People will say that Japan is an island, and everything is just expensive. This fact is true, and it definitely has an impact on the situation, but alone this is only part of the reality. The reality is that Japanese business essentially relies on the assumption that most people will act against their nature and not complain when charged for ridiculous things. Likewise, price-fixing and economic agreements distort prices and people's money sense. I don't pretend that this doesn't occur elsewhere, but it seems so much more obivous in Japan. Why else would people pay the same price for a small can of Coca-Cola with a screw-on cap when they can have a 500 ml Long can for the same price? Why do vending machines operate outside of convenience and liquor stores, selling the exact same beverages sold in the store at a markup?
It seems like people are so reluctant to protest against institutional rules and practices that you can bully them into buying a 500 Yen scrap of paper with an announcement. But the thing is, Japan doesn't have to be like this. There are 99 and 100 Yen shops, which sell many of the same products you can buy in convenience stores blocks away. Though these stores may sell some products at a loss and others at a gain to stay in business, the fact remains that you can buy many things at prices one-third to one-half as much as those of the convenience stores. This is only a rough sketch, but I think that a lot of the costs in Japan are social and business constructions that rely on a collective delusion to promote business. In short, many of Japan's ridiculous prices seem to be divorced from reality.
Though I've only been in Korea a little over an hour, I can already tell that the economic system is different. Exchanging money sort of prepared me for this. The largest denomination in Japanese currency is the 10000 Yen note. You get well accustomed to those beige and brown bills with Fukuzawa Yukichi on them. Though they are supposed to be worth around 80 of your American dollars, until you start thinking about how to use them wisely you'll be going through them like toilet paper.
The six of them that I gave to the man at the money exchange counter netted me 480,000 Won (plus some change in Yen). I don't know if they were just out of bigger notes or something, but the man handed me a verifiable stack of bills colored the same light shade of green as bathroom soap. 48 notes worth 10000 Won each makes quite a stack. These were clearly not going to fit into my wallet, especially with the backup Yen and Dollars I had in there to start out with.
My first chance to use this new currency came at the airport, where I used the internet and phone terminal that eats 100 Won coins. It's an ugly little thing with a trackpad and small keys that gives you internet access in 2 minute chunks. Though it was pretty cheap, the weight of the coins seems to make using it a bit impractical. The second thing I bought here also gave me that impression. Of course, that was a 250 ml can of Lotte cider that set me back 700 Won. In other words, the coins that I needed to buy it weighed nearly as much as the can.
In Japan, we have a 500 Yen coin which has a satisfying weight without feeling too heavy. With it, you can obtain a medium length train ride, one drink in a reasonable bar, or three 500 ml bottles of the soft drink of your choice (plus change). In short, it's a coin with some power. The 100 Yen coin is quite smaller but still handy. The 100 Won coin, approximately the same size, seems to have more weight than value. The 10000 Won bill does not seem up to the job given to it by the man at the money exchange counter.
Attitudes towards business also seem different in Korea. Maybe this is why the man in the white tracksuit sitting next to me is allowed to play online games and sip Welch soda while running up to the counter a few meters away as necessary to take care of customers in this internet cafe. Somehow, no one seems to mind that it takes him a few seconds to get there. As far as I can tell, social rules don't require him to yell ritualized greetings and apologies at the top of his lungs to customers like in Japan either.
Or the women at the hotel, who only needed my name and a quick glance at my passport after I told them in English that I made my reservations over the internet. This flexibility on the part of the Korean people intrigues me. Though I'm not sure if flexibility is the right word for it - the only thing that really makes it seem that way is the Japanese model that I've gotten used to.