Things I Like About Korea

I didn't realize it'd been four months since I last posted.  Sorry about that.  Anyways, I'm writing today so I'm back!  The last few weeks in Korea have been a little stressful so in an effort to cheer myself up about the country, I'm making a list of things I like about Korea.

1.  Ddeokbokki.  It's delicious and spicy and I will eat it in my life forever from now on.

Ddeokbokki deliciousness!

image from Wikipedia

2.  Selfie sticks.  I know these get a bad rap and honestly, I think it's unjustified.  Have you ever asked a stranger to take a photo for you?  They are often bad at it.  Like really bad.  Example:

Weirdly angled, not centered, not taken close enough, nobody wants to look at the underside of my chin.

Compare that to a photo taken with a selfie stick.

Good job self!

Thank you Korea for teaching me that selfie sticks aka selcabongs (the Korean name) aka monopods are awesome and can be socially acceptable.

3.  The taxis.  They start at $2.80, have no extra charge for extra people, and are everywhere, even in my tiny town.  I have no idea how they make any money.

4.  The cosmetics.  Man, Korea is good at this.  They are fairly priced and of good quality.  Also, they are sold in stores that are adorable and let you test nearly every product.  Imagine if you could test drugstore makeup and how much better that would be.  Korea is living this life!  And they're doing it with better marketing.

A super cute cosmetics store that is princess themed.  I want to live here.

image from Wikipedia

5.  The phone apps.  Korean phone apps are in a world all their own.  I don't even use them because I'm too terrified by their power.  They have apps for finding private guesthouses, apps for the bus system, apps for the subway system (a truly beautiful subway system), apps for watching TV (that are FREE!), apps for sending gift cards to your friends, apps for shopping, and probably a billion other things that I don't even know about.  It's all amazing to me.

6.  My church.  When I first came to Korea my church was the only place I went where the people didn't stare at me.  And they are still kind and respectful towards me.  Actually now they kind of just ignore me, but in a good way.  I like that.

7.  My coworkers.  Even though sometimes they drive me crazy, I have always been treated like a full teacher at my job.  The downside to this is that sometimes I need help with things and nobody realizes it.  The upside (which significantly outweighs the downside) is that I am treated like a normal.

8.  My town.  It's cute and pretty and full of (mostly) normal people.  It's like a Fisher-Price set brought to life.  

9.  The language.  It's been really fun to learn and now I'm glad I did it.  I feel like learning a second language helped me to see my own in a different light.  And it helped me to understand the culture and my own culture better.  Learning Korean has made my time in Korea a better experience than it would be if I hadn't.  

10.  The friends I've made.  They're good people.

Good news, this worked!  I feel better.  How are you feeling today?  Do you want to eat ddeokbokki?  I think you should!