I'll take pot-pourri for 50,000 won, Alex.

Here we go again. You know I usually try to get a common thread in my postings, but sometimes (what I think are) interesting stories just pop up out of nowhere.

#1 Rice farming in Korea is much like that in Japan: it is a protected industry that, as a consequence, leads to (4-6 times) higher prices for consumers than imported rice would cost and, as a consequence, transfers money from each and every consumer to a few who till the land. This is somewhat a good thing, as if a nation simply paves over all of its land and something happens that disrupts trade then there will be little the people can do but starve, but I have to think that this amount of imbalance can't be all good for the economy.

Emotions come into play here, as well. Ask many (especially older) Koreans what they will tell you that Korean rice is better than imported rice. Others say that foreign (usually Californian) rice is not only cheaper than Korean rice but the better soil there also yields a more nourishing crop (a bit of a double-whammy for the locals). Whenever these (or any other competing ideologies) bang heads there is only one thing that can happen...there'll be a rally (below).


A typical Korean race riot...I mean rice riot.

In my first months here I was riding the subway when a crowd of headband-clad 할머니/halmoeni/grandmothers got on the same train. They all crammed in and I could see over all of their heads (not only because of my genes, but because of my diet when I was a kid...better fed children are just taller, but I digress). I recognized 쌀/ssal/uncooked rice (as opposed to 밥/bap/cooked rice) on their headbands and figured out why they were there...they were on their way to/from a protest. I just raised my right fist and said 쌀쌀쌀쌀. They laughed...crazy 외국인/weigookin/foreigner.

UPDATE: Recent article on rice here.

#2 Recently Samsung Electronics lost its (50-year old) golden boy Eric Kim. Seems he left to go to Intel after working his magic at Samsung. He left Korea when he was 11 (which would make that in 1965...at a time when Koreans who left could only take 20 USD with them!) but was lured back in 1999.

Many young Koreans have a similar idea of going abroad to work and then perhaps returning to Korea again later (although Kim didn't likely have much choice in the matter at 11 years of age). It seems they want to get their language skills up to snuff (thank God!) and learn more about the world outside of the Hermit Kingdom.

UPDATE: here's another story on Koreans emigrating.

#3 Speaking of weddings (kinda) it sounds like most young couples have little choice than to head abroad to make their mark. After spending 134 Million won (116,500USD!) for a wedding there is little left to put toward a home here so many couples are just renting at first. Traditionally, the groom's family would provide help with getting them a home and the bride's would basically outfit the new place (with furniture, appliances and hundreds of blankets and bedding).

#4 I asked a few gals what they thought was the difference between Korean men and Western men. The most common answer is that Western men are 'open-minded' and Korean men are 'narrow-minded'. Huh. Interesting. Never thought of us as being Renaissance men, but I guess to some Korean gals us bread-eaters have a more liberal view of the world. I'd have to concur. Many Korean men (the older, the moreso) have a pretty fixed way of thinking. They want to do things in a certain way, be treated and treat others in a certain way and get specific results from focused effort. I guess I was like that to in high school...but something happened on the way to age 33...and I think it has something to do with living on my own for 9 years during some of my school and then afterward. Many Koreans live with their parents until marriage so, for a guy, you go from your mom doing everything domestic for you to your wife doing it (then when you get older you move in with your son and his wife does it all for you, what a deal!).

Also, there are only about 70,000 foreingers in Seoul, a city of 12-15 million (depending on who you believe). So pretty much wherever you go you'd have more exposure to different cultures and people than in Korea...especially in the countryside. Language is a barrier too. I've noticed that gals here usually have a lot better language skills than men (maybe it's just my perception, though) so even if they come across a foreigner perhaps many guys would have trouble conversing.

#5 If you are one of them foreigners in Korea and you want to check out the country there are some pretty cool sounding tours offered by Adventure Korea. I've been meaning to take a look into one, but the timing just hasn't been right...and I've been here long enough and know enough people that I can get around. But, if you're new here or been so busy working that you haven't been able to get out it could be a good place to go places and meet people.

#6 Finally, money. (I'm rambling a bit...got a bit of a cold, dag-nabbit!) Bank of Korea is going to issue 100,000 and 50,000 won notes soon, and it's about time. They got these checks here (much like cash) but it seems pretty weird that the largest denomination is worth 8USD. Sometimes I have to walk around with whacks of cash...and aside from making me feel rich, it's a little cumbersome.

I also finally put some cash into a bank machine today. Usually everything is direct deposited but I was tired of having my balance end in ...9890 so I put a couple thousand won in (they only dole out 10,000 won bills here). It's actually pretty cool. All of the screens are in 99% perfect English and for deposits you don't even enter the amount...just put the bills in the cash dispenser (ya, the same place you take the money from, interesting) and it automatically identifies and counts the denominations and spits out any that are too worn to make the grade. Very cool. Oh ya, and there's a shredder at the door in case you want to destroy that receipt. There's also some sort of stampy thing (to the right), no idea what that's all about.


Look at that mountain of bills...just keep them out of the shredder!

Ok, that's it. Enough out of me for now.