Quirky Korea

There have been many incidents that have happened to me in Korea that aren't enough material for a blog post, but that definitely add colors to the picture of my life here.  I've decided to start putting these into Quirky Korea lists.

Quirky Korea

1) Metro announcement music. At the subway in Seoul, when your train is about to pull into the station, it is announced with trumpety fanfare over the PA system.  Kind of like the president is arriving.  Every 8 minutes. 

2) This month I accidentally ate jelly fish legs.  How does one accidentally eat jelly fish legs?  The same way you accidentally eat anything - someone sticks a plate in front of you, doesn't tell you what it is, and you assume it's noodles.  For the record: no, they weren't delightful enough to compensate for the weirdness of the idea.

3) Service. If you make a big or specific order, vendors will often throw in a free gift.  This is service.  Literally, that's what they call it, so if you aren't sure if they accidentally stuck something in, you can ask: "Service?"

Last week I bought a pack of batteries and received service: a packet containing some sort of white material.  I was pretty excited because I love free stuff.  It turned out to be one of those face masks that are worn by a) Zach Braff and b) bus drivers in my neighborhood.

4) Speaking of service, pizza places give you free sides of sweet pickles with your order.

5) There's no such thing as sending an unruly student to the principal's office here.  Teachers are expected to deal with students by themselves.  My co-teacher and I usually send disrespectful kids to stand at the back of the class for a while.

Posted in: ESL Korea 2012, Funny things that happen in Korea, Korean Culture, Only in Korea 2012, Quirky Korea