Life in Korea

The global economy

Firstly, thanks for all of your positive and encouraging feedbacks on how you find our blog interesting. We’ve had second thoughts about continuing the blog while the global economy is in such turmoil. We knew the economic crisis was serious when even our son wrote, for the first time, that he was concerned about our financial health; we assured him that his tuition is safe. While we are traveling, we are also keeping our eye on the economy and feel the anxiety as well.

The blog is intended for sharing where we’ve been and what we’ve been up to so we’ll keep it as that. Many of you have mentioned that you look forward to opening our blog. As for the compliments on writing, I must admit the words and thoughts are mine but Joanne gets the credit for being my editor. After all, I did not get into college on the merits of my English skills.


Korean women

During our visit, I’ve encountered more Korean women than men. I’m sure it has to do with the fact that men are stuck somewhere inside toiling away while women are out during the day. I understand, however, that the men get their turn filling the streets during the night.

What I’ve noticed is that women in Korea, unlike their size and demeanor, are tough; I should know this because I lived with one for 27 years. It is no accident that Korean women win more tournaments in LPGA than Korean men in PGA, have won more Olympic medals than men, and holds the title of the world’s strongest woman (weight lifting). In Korea, anything that’s good for men’s health or vitality quickly disappear; not because men ask for them, but more so because women seek them for their men. I feel for all Korean men..


“pali, pali”

Koreans are known to be impatient people. The first word a foreign worker learns under a Korean employer is “pali,pali” or “hurry, hurry”. Whenever we’ve ordered in a restaurant, we’ve been amazed at the speed with which the dishes are served. Everything is fast here. We can see how Korea has developed into a world class economy in such a short period of time. The amount of change and advancements since we left the country is just amazing. The technology is so much more advanced in terms of every day life (keyless entry to your house, car, advanced cell phone tech in autos). It is all high tech and so convenient, you simply call a restaurant and they already have all of your info on file by caller ID and within a few minutes the piping hot food is delivered in chinaware (no take out containers) on a tray. You could live in this country without taking a single step outside the house because they even deliver your grocery.