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There were good things about Korea, but it's a place I don’t have the desire to go back to. Some Korean people were nice, but most of them were rude, pushy and/or dirty. The problem mostly was all the fighting and arguing I saw. It was disturbing. My first fight was before I even got through immigration. An immigration desk closed, causing two lines to merge into one and three Korean men got so angry that they yelled and argued with the officers until they finally gave up and let them through to the front of the line. It was shocking because Japanese people were never do that and it's pretty rare in America to see such outward disrespect for officials, but that was only the introduction of many more fights to come.

I saw more fights in Korea than I have in my whole life. Mostly fights were among homeless men, but not always--businessmen fought too! One guy in particular, he must have been drunk or high, was punched and kicked by another man for about 30 minutes. Blows coming every 1-2 minutes and he never defended himself. I was waiting for a train at the station when I saw this. It was the middle of the day, in front of the major train station and no one stopped to help--even when guys dressed in army uniforms walked by--they didn't look twice. The victim was so out of it that he didn't even put up his hands to defend himself. It was disgusting. One time in particular he fell backwards and landed hard on the ground, his head hitting the concrete.

After that, in my mind, I kept seeing his head hit the ground and hearing the cracking sound over and over again. It really made me nauseous, but I couldn't stop thinking about it. I hate real fighting. Fighting in movies or WWF is one thing. And that’s why I hate boxing—it’s real! This was serious and definitely not play-fighting. That fall was the one time the guy ever expressed any pain--he put his hands to the back of his head and held it for a while, but then he got up for more. It was like he had agreed to be someone’s punching bag.

This was right in front of Seoul station, with all types of people walking by. Being a woman and speaking absolutely no Korean I couldn't help, but I was amazed that no one called the police or interfered at all. Koreans walked by--10 feet away--and just ignored them all. It was awful. Other fights were usually at night, when alcohol was probably involved. Pushing and yelling in the street that was just among a few people, but it made me feel really unsafe to be in the streets.

Taking a picture in front of Pusan station before the fighting begins! (We actually only saw one at each Pusan and Seoul stations, the others were outside restaurants or down small streets.)

I was also shocked by how much people pushed me. Sometimes just pushing to get by me, sometimes pushing to get in front of me. We were standing at the subway ticket machine, had already chosen our destination and were hesitating to put in the money (because I wasn't sure if it was the right amount) when someone came up--CANCELED our order and got his own ticket. And then TWO more people did the same thing. We hadn't even moved away--we were standing directly in front of the machine and they just pushed their way in front. I just stood there with my mouth open.

Women would cut in line in the bathroom without apologies. I was obviously waiting and they would go ahead. Children waiting for my bathroom stall would actually enter the stall BEFORE I left it!!! A normal-sized, narrow bathroom stall and there were two of us in it! It sounds like I’m exaggerating, but I swear I’m not! At vending machines and restaurant lines, subways doors--I was pushed, pushed, and pushed. Men, women and children all fought their way in front of me. I was stunned by the pushing. I either had to wait for them to finish or be aggressive back if I ever wanted my turn. –No wonder people fight so much—if I lived here I'd be angry, too!!!!

Some people, like the tourist information desks or hotel owners were very nice and helpful. And they spoke great English. I don’t want to make it sound like everyone was this way!

I saw two children who walked by me while I was sitting near a temple and they giggled to each other when they noticed me. They turned around and ran back to me—peering into my eyes and saying something to each other. Then they asked me, "Where are you going?" I was flabbergasted! Japanese kids can say "Herro" and sometimes if we're lucky we'll get a "How are you?" but "Where are you going?" My Japanese high school students can't say that! Three more girls walking by, stopped and gave me some candy without saying anything. They were just being sweet and I really appreciated it. But both those incidents happened when I was without Yuki.

Junichi Koizumi stood here for a picture at the APEC conference last year.

George Bush posed with other nation’s leaders in this exact location.

I think when Yuki and I were together, people assumed he was Korean or were more intimidated to approach me. Had I been with other foreign-looking travelers they may have treated us a little differently. We would have been more "helpless," but they all assumed Yuki spoke and read Korean and therefore weren't patient with us when we fumbled with buying subway tickets or ordering on a menu. Until, of course, he opened his mouth and then people realized we were travelers. Maybe they were a bit nicer then.

And there were many good things, too.

I loved the outdoor spirit and informality of the Koreans. So many people dressed up in their hiking boots over knee-high woolen socks, enormous sun-visors and packing retractable walking sticks. They wore bright colors, too. It was fun to see young men and women wearing jeans and tennis shoes and laughing and having a good time with each other. Sometimes the "perfection" of Japanese people—women have their hair and make-up done perfectly, high heels matching every outfit, and flashing expensive name brand bags, men’s business wear is consistently black suits and a formal tie, their behavior is polite and serious most of the time, voices never raising too loud—well, all of that makes me feel so casual or insecure in Japanese cities. If I'm wearing jeans or flats I’m seriously underdressed. If my friends and I are talking or giggling, we’re almost always the loudest people in the area.

I enjoyed watching Korean friends on the trains as they touched and fiddled with their clothes and fixed each other’s hair. They laughed out loud and looked like good friends. It made me want to join in their conversations and actually, made me feel really lonely in Japan. Japanese people are kind, but as a whole I wouldn't call them "friendly," as in they don’t want to become your true friend. At moments like those, I thought, “I went to the wrong country!” I really would like to have deep relationships with the people of this country, but I’ve only had a handful get past acquaintance. I feel like in Korea I could become closer friends with more people in a shorter amount of time. Of course, that’s just speculation, but that was my first reaction.

(Which is what all of this is! My first impression of any place or person can be very erroneous, but I have one nonetheless. I’m sure if I spent more time in Korea I would discover many more complicated layers of Korean society. From just one week in the country, this is all very superficial!)

My next post will include less talk and more pictures!

// posted by Sierra @ 7:35 PM