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Apartment Forests

With the huge population and economic boom that has taken place in South Korea over the last 30 years, Koreans have flocked into the cities, abandoning the generations-old family houses and farms in favor of apartments.  With space at such a premium in this growing country– Korea is only slightly bigger than the American state of Indiana–, apartments are built in mass-produced high-rise apartment communities.  Each community is built with its own small park, market, elementary school and other neighborhood shops.  It is common that children will stay with their parents in their apartment until they get married and move into a new apartment with their spouse.  Almost every Korean that I know lives in an apartment.

Annie said that these apartment communities are known as Apartment Forests.  They look like it.

And they keep building more.

-Jessica

See more KoreanKwerks.

Sleeping in Public

Koreans are notorious for overworking.  Students will commonly go to school to language academies to math academies to private lessons from 7 or 8 a.m. until 10 or 11 p.m. six days a week.  Businessmen routinely work late and then have “meetings” at the local bar with their bosses and co-workers until midnight or later.  Korea is a very late-night culture.

With everyone burning the candle on both ends, it is no surprise that you will see Koreans sleeping every chance they get.  They sleep everywhere.  And not just a little nodding off.  I’m talking mouth open, body splayed awkwardly, drool pooling sleep.  Maybe they’re more trusting of those around them, or maybe they’re just that tired.

-Jessica

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Personification of Food

Korean restaurants have the curious habit of advertising their food with little personified pictures. You’ll see pigs in chef hats, a happy chicken holding a platter of… well… chicken, smiling fish flipping a pan, and countless inanimate objects with smiling faces and thumbs-up telling you they’re cute enough to eat.

This chicken is holding a skewer of chicken.  Does this not seem just a little cannibalistic to you?

-Jessica

click here to see KoreanKwerks 1&2.

Birthdays and Ages

Being born on December 23, 1980, one would say I am 26 years old, right?  Well, not in Korea.  I found out last night that a Korean would consider me 28 years old!  That’s right, I’m 28!

Here’s how the math works… the time spent in the womb is counted, so they round up and call you 1 year old when you’re born.  From that point on, you do not advance in age on your birthday but at the lunar new year in February with everyone else.  There’s a big family celebration where everyone eats this special soup (I forget what it’s called), and the soup makes you advance a year in age.

So if I had been a Korean child, I would have been born on December 23, 1980, already 1-year-old.  Then two months later, at the lunar new year, I would have eaten some soup with my family and become a 2-year-old (though I had only seen the light of day for two months).  Interesting, huh?

-Jessica

For KoreanKwerks.1, click here.

Protective Coverings

You know when you buy a new watch or cell phone, and there is that clear film on the glass that is fun to peel off? Well, Koreans don’t peel it off. Of anything. They build and install industrial stoves, whole shelving units, bus stops without peeling off the protective film. What are they saving the steel and glass for?

Above is my souvenir from a shelf in the movie theater bathroom today. A sleek modern steel shelf, attached to the wall, and it was still covered in white plastic!

You know how they say not to save your good China for a special “someday”? Well, this is like using your China but keeping it wrapped in bubble wrap.

That’s episode 1 of KoreanKwerks. Stay tuned for more baffling oddities.

-Jessica