Questions Galore
Maybe you have come here looking for answers to your many Korea-related questions. I'm not a mind reader, but I have a pretty good idea what questions you may have. You see... I have this special method for figuring out what people want to know.
No, actually, I'm not sure who credit goes to for this idea, but I know that I wasn't the one who thought of it first. My special method is to read what comes up in a search engine's auto-complete. In fact there is a pretty funny website that looks for interesting auto-completes. Let's look at this first one.
Mind you, I'm not actually look for a reason why Koreans do anything. I'm actually wondering what others want to find reasons for. What baffles people who encounter Koreans? Yikes! Look at the first one. I can just imagine hundreds of people in a frantic search for answers coming to google and typing in "WHY DO KOREAN HAVE A SUCH BIG HEADS!!??!?!?!??" Well, I've been blessed with never having this predicament. No, no, no, it's not because I have an answer, it's because I believe the question is fundamentally flawed. Maybe it is hard for me to attribute a trait like 'big head' to this entire country because I've been living here for too long. It boggles my mind and so, in an act of desperation, I frantically opened google search and typed in "why do people think Koreans have big heads?". And what did I find out? Brace yourself. My mentor and sadly main source of Korea-related information didn't know (the first result on the list none the less). As an aside, if you want answers to Korea-related questions ask him or look through his blog.
Well, the other entries provide some insight into Korean culture. Yes, they say fighting at games and stuff for encouragement. And yes, they usually use metal chopsticks and a metal spoon unlike the rest of Asia. They eat dog, they love Starcraft. And of course they bow. But a few of these I don't quite understand. Good skin? Small eyes? Hide their faces? I guess I need to mention that Koreans care a lot about outward appearance, so it would be no surprise that many of them look to take good care of their skin. As for me, my skin is less than perfect and I can kinda feel that some Korean people really want me to do something to make it look better. And, I suppose the Koreans who don't look so attractive may want to hide their faces, but really I've never seen that. One last thing to learn from Koreans. Why do they smell? Well, my question goes something more like this "why DON'T they smell?" One thing I've done while in Korea is frequent the Jimjilbang. For those of you who don't know this is a special place for... uh... something like sleepovers, but with the main focus on steam rooms and saunas. One would think that seeing as how these places are open 24 hours that these rooms would become very smelly. Like the proverbial boy's locker room. But no, they pack into these rooms and sweat off pounds while their odor somehow slips into an alternate dimension. Now, it's true that just previous to entering the sauna Koreans have showered and bathed. But I think there is one more piece to this puzzle. I seem to sweat much more than they do. And sometimes I think I drink much more water than they do. So really, the next question I'm going to ask and the next question that should be at the top of the google auto-complete is "do Koreans ever die from dehydration?"
Wow, what a treasure trove of insight. The magic of this question is the simple yes/no answer it is formulated for. It's ok google users, I know you're not thinking very hard when you do these searches. Just like I imagined there is a cold sweat and a nervous tension in those fingers that need answers. Perhaps it was the Korean that suddenly realized that he/she was attracted to a Chinese person. Or the Filipino looking to see if he/she can convince a Korean to study a little longer in the Philippines. Or even me, the American, after hearing from a Korean that Koreans love Americans to see if he was telling the truth or if it was part of some trick to ensure another American endures pain and suffering. These questions seem to be beating around the bush. Won't someone just ask "Are Koreans racist in... like... a good way?" (Yeah, I dare you to start typing "are Koreans")
So, many people wonder about Christmas in Korea. And I think many people would be surprised that there are a large number of Christians in Korea. Korea has even 'invented' some new flavors of Christianity not available elsewhere (but coming to a church near you soon!) I also like the question about Chinese New Year. Just after that holiday I came back to school and wondered if I should tell my students that we call it Chinese New Year. Yes, the more culturally sensitive term is 'Lunar New Year' but it seems like 'Chinese New Year' has become synonymous with 'Lunar New Year'. To save you the trouble of asking a Korea, I'll just tell you that the Lunar New Year is a national holiday in Korea, but the cultural new year's traditions in China are much different than the ones in Korea. Surprisingly, a few of these questions actually have yes/no answers. Alas, one of the most disheartening things about google is its attraction to eating babies. *sigh*
Time for one more search. And this one's good. This search brings up some uniquely Korean things. These are mostly about the food and money. I've always heard of Korean BBQ, but it wasn't until I started typing in this search that I thought of figuring out what it is. I've probably had it, but I'm not sure because I wasn't paying attention. No one here seems to call it Korean BBQ. One thing you can't miss while in Korea is the ginseng. Stop by any of the convenient stores and you can pick up a little bottle of warm sugary water with a picture of some ginseng on it. Go to a larger market and you can buy some of that not-so-palatable root to chew on right there. The question that may stump the person who knows nothing about Korea is Korean age. Yes, Koreans have a special way to count age. When a baby is born he/she is one year old, because (or so I was told) that Koreans firmly believe that the child was alive previous to the mother giving birth. So, you're probably thinking Korean age is simple: normal age plus one. Welllll... not quite. Sometimes Koreans seem to add one to their age at the new year, but whenever I try to give my age this way and tell them that it is my Korean age they tell me I'm wrong.
Mind you, I'm not actually look for a reason why Koreans do anything. I'm actually wondering what others want to find reasons for. What baffles people who encounter Koreans? Yikes! Look at the first one. I can just imagine hundreds of people in a frantic search for answers coming to google and typing in "WHY DO KOREAN HAVE A SUCH BIG HEADS!!??!?!?!??" Well, I've been blessed with never having this predicament. No, no, no, it's not because I have an answer, it's because I believe the question is fundamentally flawed. Maybe it is hard for me to attribute a trait like 'big head' to this entire country because I've been living here for too long. It boggles my mind and so, in an act of desperation, I frantically opened google search and typed in "why do people think Koreans have big heads?". And what did I find out? Brace yourself. My mentor and sadly main source of Korea-related information didn't know (the first result on the list none the less). As an aside, if you want answers to Korea-related questions ask him or look through his blog.
Well, the other entries provide some insight into Korean culture. Yes, they say fighting at games and stuff for encouragement. And yes, they usually use metal chopsticks and a metal spoon unlike the rest of Asia. They eat dog, they love Starcraft. And of course they bow. But a few of these I don't quite understand. Good skin? Small eyes? Hide their faces? I guess I need to mention that Koreans care a lot about outward appearance, so it would be no surprise that many of them look to take good care of their skin. As for me, my skin is less than perfect and I can kinda feel that some Korean people really want me to do something to make it look better. And, I suppose the Koreans who don't look so attractive may want to hide their faces, but really I've never seen that. One last thing to learn from Koreans. Why do they smell? Well, my question goes something more like this "why DON'T they smell?" One thing I've done while in Korea is frequent the Jimjilbang. For those of you who don't know this is a special place for... uh... something like sleepovers, but with the main focus on steam rooms and saunas. One would think that seeing as how these places are open 24 hours that these rooms would become very smelly. Like the proverbial boy's locker room. But no, they pack into these rooms and sweat off pounds while their odor somehow slips into an alternate dimension. Now, it's true that just previous to entering the sauna Koreans have showered and bathed. But I think there is one more piece to this puzzle. I seem to sweat much more than they do. And sometimes I think I drink much more water than they do. So really, the next question I'm going to ask and the next question that should be at the top of the google auto-complete is "do Koreans ever die from dehydration?"
Wow, what a treasure trove of insight. The magic of this question is the simple yes/no answer it is formulated for. It's ok google users, I know you're not thinking very hard when you do these searches. Just like I imagined there is a cold sweat and a nervous tension in those fingers that need answers. Perhaps it was the Korean that suddenly realized that he/she was attracted to a Chinese person. Or the Filipino looking to see if he/she can convince a Korean to study a little longer in the Philippines. Or even me, the American, after hearing from a Korean that Koreans love Americans to see if he was telling the truth or if it was part of some trick to ensure another American endures pain and suffering. These questions seem to be beating around the bush. Won't someone just ask "Are Koreans racist in... like... a good way?" (Yeah, I dare you to start typing "are Koreans")
So, many people wonder about Christmas in Korea. And I think many people would be surprised that there are a large number of Christians in Korea. Korea has even 'invented' some new flavors of Christianity not available elsewhere (but coming to a church near you soon!) I also like the question about Chinese New Year. Just after that holiday I came back to school and wondered if I should tell my students that we call it Chinese New Year. Yes, the more culturally sensitive term is 'Lunar New Year' but it seems like 'Chinese New Year' has become synonymous with 'Lunar New Year'. To save you the trouble of asking a Korea, I'll just tell you that the Lunar New Year is a national holiday in Korea, but the cultural new year's traditions in China are much different than the ones in Korea. Surprisingly, a few of these questions actually have yes/no answers. Alas, one of the most disheartening things about google is its attraction to eating babies. *sigh*
Time for one more search. And this one's good. This search brings up some uniquely Korean things. These are mostly about the food and money. I've always heard of Korean BBQ, but it wasn't until I started typing in this search that I thought of figuring out what it is. I've probably had it, but I'm not sure because I wasn't paying attention. No one here seems to call it Korean BBQ. One thing you can't miss while in Korea is the ginseng. Stop by any of the convenient stores and you can pick up a little bottle of warm sugary water with a picture of some ginseng on it. Go to a larger market and you can buy some of that not-so-palatable root to chew on right there. The question that may stump the person who knows nothing about Korea is Korean age. Yes, Koreans have a special way to count age. When a baby is born he/she is one year old, because (or so I was told) that Koreans firmly believe that the child was alive previous to the mother giving birth. So, you're probably thinking Korean age is simple: normal age plus one. Welllll... not quite. Sometimes Koreans seem to add one to their age at the new year, but whenever I try to give my age this way and tell them that it is my Korean age they tell me I'm wrong.
Well thanks for reading. If you're in for a little fun why not go to google.com and type in these search items (or I know that's alot of work so just click on the links). If enough people do this then maybe it will appear on the blessed auto-complete.