Kimchi vs. Dim Sum

After having lived in Korea for almost 7 months, we are somewhat familiar with the culture. We’ve mostly adapted to it, although some things we may never really adapt to. One day soon, I’d like to write a blog about the differences between Korea and America. But, since we have just traveled to China, I'd like to highlight some of the differences between Korea and China.

If I am remembering right, Korea used to be a part of China. In history, they even called themselves “the small China.” So many aspects of Korean culture are rooted in Chinese tradition and thought. Rather than talking about the many similarities, I’d like to talk about a few differences.

1. Food.Chinese food tastes better! But Korean food is much healthier. Almost every meal that we had in China, both in restaurants and in peoples’ homes, had a (un)healthy dose of oil in every dish. I’m sure there are many dishes without the oil, but it was still an overwhelming amount in every meal. Koreans eat a lot of fermented and pickled foods, including the famous kimchi, which I (Ashley, NOT Taylor!) have grown to accept and even like. Fermented food is known for its health benefits. The Koreans definitely have it right on this one. Both countries eat a lot of vegetables. Korea seems to eat more fish, and not as much meat, excluding pork.

2. Temperature. Both places are cold, but the Chinese seem to handle it much better. All of the homes we visited in the villages were cold. Everyone, from the old to the young, were bundled up in coats, scarves, and hats when necessary. The buses were cold and drafty and the trains were a little cold as well. I didn’t realize that I was so spoiled in Korea. In Korea, ALL of the buses, trains, and subways (at least that we have ridden on) during the winter are HOT. When you get on a bus in Korea, you can expect to shed all of the layers even down to a t-shirt because they are HOT. We’ve realized that Koreans really don’t like to be cold. When it comes down to it, nobody probably does, but it’s made into a big deal in Korea. It’s not uncommon to walk the streets and see both men and women wrapped in a scarf that is twice as long as their body. I’m not kidding, these are the longest, thickest, scarves we’ve ever seen. And unfortunately, it’s quite fashionable in Korea.

3. Fashion. Speaking of fashion, Koreans win in this category. Koreans are way more fashionable, but it is definitely a unique fashion of their own. It’s hard to inconspicuously capture pictures of people passing by on the streets, but maybe I can find some stock photos to share.

4. Recycling. This one makes a lot of sense. Korea is such a small country, they have to be wise with their resources. Recycling is everywhere. There are separate bins for plastics, paper, metals, batteries, light bulbs, combustibles, food waste, and general trash. After the first few categories, there isn’t much left for general trash. I guess that’s the idea. Recycling is not as common in China, which does make life easier. We often find ourselves looking at “trash” in Korea and wondering which category it falls into. Do egg shells count as food trash? What about chicken bones? We call the food trash the “pig trash,” because it is fed to the many pigs in Korea, which are then recycled into human bodies, but not mine!

5. Cleanliness of the country. Korea definitely wins this one. Despite the confusion of what trash goes where, the streets are cleaner. We’ve seen so much trash just thrown on the ground in China. Littering is the norm. What is the point of having trash cans anywhere in this country? Public transportation is also really dirty in China. I guess that’s how it is in a lot of countries. Not Korea. I guess we’ve been spoiled again without realizing it. Despite Seoul being one of the world’s biggest cities, it has some of the cleanest subways you’ll ever see. The floors are squeaky clean, and there’s no trash in site. The streets are clean too. China is so polluted. There is a general gray haze everywhere you go- in the sky, on the buildings, on the streets. It’s just the norm there. Our first few days in China we tried to guess if what we were seeing was smog, or fog. We realized it was all pretty much smog, pollution.

6. Cleanliness of the people. In a way, China wins this one- at least in the bathroom area. I can't tell you how many times I have been disgusted in a public bathroom in Korea watching woman after woman walk out of a stall and directly out of the bathroom, passing by the sink- they don't even rinse their hands off with water. In China, this was reversed. I think every woman I saw NOT washing their hands in China was equal to the amount that I actually see wash their hands in Korea (did that make sense?). I was surprised. I thought China would be like Korea in this regard, but almost every woman in the public bathrooms washed their hands, even if only water was available with no soap.

7. Annoying habits. Chinese people, old and young, hack and spit wherever they feel like it. They make this really disgusting hacking noise and just spit- it doesn’t seem to matter where. We’ve seen it in passing on the streets, but we’ve also seen it take place on buses, subways, and even indoor facilities. I’m convinced that every man in China smokes. Ok, not really every man. But so many men here smoke. It might be reasonable to assume that every other man over the age of 14 in China smokes. Cigarettes are less than $1 a pack. Ash trays don’t seem to matter, they flick the ashes onto the carpet, living room floors, bus floors, anywhere…. I saw it yesterday as we sat in the lobby of a really nice hotel. In Korea, people, usually older, make this really annoying sucking noise as they are trying to get food out of their teeth. Instead of using a toothpick, they try to suck it out. The most annoying time to hear it is when you are sitting next to someone on a subway. And back to the kimchi- yes it has great health benefits, but kimchi breath is the worst!!

8. Technology. Korea is much further advanced technologically. They have some of the fastest internet speeds in the world, which makes our lives great. Wi-fi access is also easily available in many of the places we go. In China, we barely ever had access to any wi-fi and the internet was much slower. I'm sure some of this was due to it being a Communist nation, where much of the technology is regulated. They have filters and people who scan e-mails and other personal information. While in China, we were unable to access any blogs, including our own, Facebook, and of course, any religious sites. It seems like everyone in Korea has an I-phone or the latest high-tech smart phone. In China, regular, simple phones without all the gadgets seemed to be the norm.

9. Babies. Taylor already talked about the slits in the pants in China. Diapers don’t seem to be used much in China, but they are definitely put into good use in Korea. What you don’t see a lot of is infant carriers/ car seats. I’m sure this is common in larger cities where many people don’t have cars. In the 6 months we’ve lived in Korea, I have seen 2 infant car seats, and a few strollers. The majority of babies in Korea are strapped right on to their mother or father in a baby harness. They even have fashionable wraps that you can strap on during the cold winter months. I really like this style of transporting babies, because I think it is important for the baby to be close to the parents for comfort and reassurance. The only problem would be for people like me who are clumsy and trip a lot, but even then, I think one’s parental instinct would kick in and not allow the baby to be harmed. In China, I have seen a lot of babies wrapped in a big thick blanket and just carried in the parents’ arms. Not strapped on to the body in any way. I think this is far more dangerous and would never carry a child through a city like that!

11.Staring and lack of lines. I think these 2 are the most annoying of all. We were stared at so much in China. Some people would even point at us and talk. I felt like I was an object on display, or like an animal at the zoo. I wanted to yell at everyone, "Yes I look different! Stop staring at me!" Ugh! Korea is a much much smaller country than China and with the government's push for children to learn English in recent years, they have seen a dramatic increase in foreigners like us living in Korea. I think Koreans have become quite accustomed to foreign faces. We were surprised and relieved when we got back to Korea and no one stared. We were walking through the airport and people didn't even do a double take to look at us. Secondly, lines do not exist in China! This was so frustrating. We would be waiting in line to get on a bus, subway, train, or wherever, and people would just walk right up to the front and barge through. I have never seen this so bad in my life. By the end of our trip, we were cutting too. If lines don't exist, we might as well conform to their societal norms and save ourselves the trouble of being frustrated waiting in the back of the line.