5 Difficulties of Living in Korea

This list is not a Complaints Department for me in Korea.  Instead, it's an into to cultural differences as I live them.  I want to stress that overall I really love Korea.  Korean people are overwhelmingly kind and warm hearted people, not at all hard to live with.  And even though I loathe Buzzfeed style linkbait, I think lists can help conceptualize things.  I still prefer long-form, in depth, difficult-to-swallow discussions.  

What I don't want this to be is a Shit List of Stuff That Sucks.  It's for anyone potentially interested in Korea.  And for me to explain away my discord.  Being abroad is a strange, surreal and often difficult thing.  Most of the items on the list apply in general, some of them are specific to Korea for a USian. 

By being abroad you totally undermine your footing in hopes of rediscovering it.  For me, footing is home: my family and friends, chatting with strangers (which doesn't much happen here), having thoughtful conversations, cracking stupid jokes, speaking my own language.  I'm far away from that now, so I try not to dwell on the negative.  Shedding a different light or candle or beam always helps, so none of this stuff is insurmountable.  Here goes


1. It is not pleasant to be isolated, different, foreign.

But I suspect my non-white friends here can attest to different experiences, as they have dealt with being different, being the other already in white-dominated societies.  I have seen white bloggers say they are the other in Korea, which is not really accurate.  I suppose Asian people far outnumber western/white people, but to say that you are other implies more than just looking different.  The reason westerners are not the other here is because their worldview is not, will not ever be marginalized.  White folks here also don't have to fight for their humanity, or against systematic oppression- which are the key features of being other in a racist society like America. 

So to all westerners, of races and nationalities: In Korea you may feel out of place, but you will not face discrimination. 

Are Koreans racist?  Many white people here will assure you, yes they are.  But the answer is no, Korea is not a racist country.  Koreans will not dehumanize you for not being Korean.  Of course, this is a complex issue here.  Korean mass culture is a victim of colorism (anti-blackness) and Corporate-Thin White Standards of Beauty, problems on their own that do come into the general perspective.  And while some Korean people hold prejudice from never having met a non-Korean person their whole lives, the fact is there is not a violent, legitimized discrimination in place against white people, or black people.  The stereotypical imagery of the media creates some misconceptions but it doesn't drive people to actually act differently toward you.  Koreans might stare at you, that's about it.

You do have to confront the image of white people being loud, violent, and lazy.  I have to say, this stereotype is not dangerous or damaging to us, and is in place because of the abuses of Korea/Koreans by the US military.  It's a stereotype based on survival.

And it exists because we are that way, all the time.  I hate to say it but I hate the reality more.  Overall the teachers in my program are good, but too many of them come here to party and don't show any respect for the country whatsoever, like it's a playground with cheap alcohol.  I like drinking too but the level of beligerance can reach into the stratosphere here when you have any more than like two white guys drinking alcohol.  The worst case of this was during orientation, after our long day of lectures Claire and I went to the closest bar.  The crowd of teachers became so loud I actually had to plug my ears and leave the place ashamed.  They were screaming and chanting like a bunch of band camp kids.  That this is the image of English teachers in Korea causes me grave concern, but there isn't much I can do except show respect and engage with Koreans in my own quieter way.  It's a total bummer, but if our reputation sucks, we deserve it.

Some discrimination does exist here, from what I have read if you are South East Asian in Korea, you may have a little more of a negative stereotype to confront.  South Asians look different enough to be foreign from Koreans.  A lot of Korean men "import" brides from South Asia, which I don't even understand but it creates some tension (not to mention that it's basically sex trafficking).  Foreign workers face some of the same "illegal immigrant" xenophobia that we have from wingnuts in the US against Central Americans.  I have no idea how it plays out, but foreign workers here tend to be South Asian, Chinese and Turkish.  So be aware, but like I said Koreans are overwhelmingly kind people.  Japan also has a negative reputation for it's occupation and colonization of Korea.  I don't quite see that extending to Japanese people, but maybe it is there.

In general, Koreans are loving people who welcome you in peace and harmony and they have no where near the system of oppression of people of color that exists in the west.  If you are white/western/person of color you may feel ostracized.  But it is cultural curiosity, not systematic racism.  Gawks, stares, and surprise are by far the most common reactions to foreigners in Korea.  That's about it.

If you don't know any of the Korean language, this alienation will be made much worse.  If you live in Korea, learn to speak even a little Korean.  It's hard, it's really really hard, but it goes a long way in showing that you appreciate and try to offer your time and efforts.  I will make a post soon about the trails and errors of learning a language.  So, I'm trying to adapt and I have come a long way.  I'm not conversational in Korean but I can use very basic words to prevent myself from dying.  Good start. 

That was a rant.  Sorry not sorry.

The point is: feeling different is tough, sometimes you want to run away. 

P.S.  guess what, people of color deal with this feeling PLUS legitimized oppression in the West on a daily basis.  So for me, being different here is no big deal.  But if you are interested in hearing those complaints visit waygook.org for some whiny whiteys and ethnocentric people ranting about Korea.  외국인 waygookin means foreigner. 


It's not all rosy.  Actually, yes, it is.  It is all rosy. At least in 강릉




2. Contradiction is a part of life.  It's pointless to point fingers but hard not to sometimes.

Korea is very green, mountainous and serene.  But pollution and waste is a major, depressing, almost insurmountable problem.  The two realities both exist, as do many other contradictory facts of life in Korea.

I've noticed the exact same thing happening in our idea of America- it has the best and the worst.  It's possible to hear two completely different, equally as emphatic stories about a country.  You have to account for differences of opinion, which happens everywhere.  

Impurity, hypocrisy, inconclusive trends.  Get used to it.  

No one can be expected to be totally consistent, those people are usually fundamentalists of some form.  You can only be genuine.  

You also can't have a meaningful understanding about a place/thing unless you really have a motivated effort to learn.  And that involves, if you ask me, not blogs (yeah) or traveler's stories, or anecdotes, or banal conversation, but a focused reading of legitimate literature, in print and online.  Otherwise, geographic discussion tends toward gossip and stereotype.  

That said, mutually exclusive realities exist.  Totally hypocritical accounts exist because life is not always easily explained.  Korea is really contradictory at times. 

The Chill Korea

It's common in offices to wear slippers when you get to work, only putting on your best shoes for the stroll to work and back home.   People flip flop around all day, wearing dope suits.  It's cool.  Tom Haverford would not approve.

Offices here also go out to drink and eat in merriment on weekdays.   Weekday binge drinkging/eating is more the norm than the weekend type we do back home.   Drinking culture is extremely pervasive and acting a drunken fool is absolutely fine.   It's part of life.  (I've noticed while drinking or during meals is really the only time Koreans let loose)  

In general people are pretty chill, friendly, calm, willing to listen, smile, leave you in peace.   Traditional food takes a while to make, ferment, stew.  Harmony and balance are big parts of the national identity.  See the Korean yin-yang flag.  I can go hike up in the woods anyday I want.  And I do, most days of the week. 

Buddhism and Neo-Confucianism stress peace and rational thinking.  I love that.
 

The Cut-Throat Korea 

There is also another side of Korea that reminds me of home, in a bad way.   It comes down to the fact that they're both industrialized.  There is a certain impatience.   Cars go pretty fast all the time and fly down alleys by schools with children and pedestrians.   Congestion is also a part of life too, so crazy traffic is a given.   Don't get me started on the buses.  The Sewol tragedy perhaps highlights this, but it is erroneous to claim anything other than Free Market Capitalism caused the accident.   The hurry hurry lifestyle is entirely the making of capitalism.   Another day another buck.

Lines, like waiting to by a bus ticket for example, are sometimes free for all.   Line queues do not function with the concept of cutting like in the West.  Just kinda go to the front.

I don't want to paint a broad brush about daily life here, but I think most Koreans will agree that the pace of life is very fast.

So if you want to go somewhere, do the research.  Claire and I did some exhaustive/exhausting research about Korea and the culture before arriving here, which helped a lot.  Still, there are constant, mostly insignificant, flare ups that make me confused.  Like, why is Korea this way?  Asking questions like this is inevitable abroad, but it goes sometimes beyond inner dialogue into frustration, aggravation.  So you have to be empathetic.  

People love their country and their culture wherever you are.  They go to work, speak their language, and their home is mostly all they know.  Life goes.  Nowhere one earth is free of social-political-economic problems. 

Don't ask for consistency. Compare, contrast, but don't make demands.  Accept.  I need to remember this.

 

 



Jiktang Falls- "The Niagra Falls of Korea."  Chill Korea



 

 

3. Korea is not westernized.  Korea is a "high context" culture.

For counter-reference: the West, the USA have a low-context culture. Meaning: we prefer direct yes/no question and answer.  We like to be told exactly what to do, what is expected.  We praise individual effort and achievement instead of group or team goals.  Context is never totally agreed upon because differences in perspective come into play.  We have to talk about the "context" because we have fluid, individualistic ideas and the context is really low, sometimes gone entirely, unless explicitly stated.

Inversely, Korean culture is high context: the context is always very developed in a pre-determined way, deeply embedded, very unspoken, totally understood without direct meta-conversational speech (no what are we talking about? questions).  Group expectations are already givens, from boss-worker hierachy or age heirarchy.  Direct yes no questions are avoided, from a context of respecting and saving face.  It makes sense but it sounds authoritarian or weird when you write about it.  I actually really like the levels of formality.  I love bowing to coworkers and elder Koreans, it's fun.  You can even bow from a passing car or bow to people driving past you. 

But as for the lack of direct conversation, and lack of demands made on you as an individual--It's really really hard to get used to this in a workplace.   What I am expected to is a constant challenge.  Being ready and proactive is helpful.  My co-teachers are all very thoughtful and lovely people who are aware of cultural miscues from the beginning.  It's actually really fun to discuss cultural differences.  Living through them, ehhh, not so much.

Also, few Koreans speak English, even in major cities like Seoul.  I'm guessing it's from the lack of tourists (relative to Thailand or Japan for example) and the incredibly reading/writing-oriented form of English taught here, which is slowly changing.  Anyway.

Takeaway: Learn (basic) Korean (or the main language of the place you are visiting)

4. Food inconveniences

Number four is alternately titled: Do Not Come To Korea If You Are Vegetarian/Vegan.  Or seriously reconsider it. 

I mean, unless you really wanna go through the trouble.  Trouble, in this case means- having to explain every time you eat with other people why you're not eating meat; cooking your own food and bringing it to School/work (non-meat protein is limited to tofu, nuts, milk, and a tiny selection of legumes); and painstakingly researching Korean food vocabulary and the small portion of Korean traditional food without meat or meat broth.

You're in a foreign country- no surprise that foreign food and ingredients are hard to find and expensive.  It really wears you out some days, other times it's manageable.  You, meaning a potential person abroad.



This is the food I cook at home- fresh pea hummus, rice dumplings (not homemade) and sauteed garlic scapes. It was supreme.

Western food here is basically waffles, pizza, and hamburgers.  The main qualm I have is the massive, inescapable quantities of meat.  So much meat, all the time.  I was pretty dedicated to being vegetarian before I came and it's just not feasible here, unless I cook my own meals everyday.  So, I eat no meat in my home cooking, and at school where I have lunch five times a week, I try to skimp if not skip the meat altogether, but it can't always be done because it's usually like a stir-fry mix of meat and vegetable.  

Korea does have vegetarian dishes, some of which are almost meatless. Also, not eating meat is a vital part of Buddhism, but the western vegan/vegetarian lifestyle is not easily accessible, not easy to partake in.  

Lastly, I REALLY MISS GOOD BEER and Mexican food.  Korean beer is all very okay, foreign food amounts to Chinese-Korean food and an occaisional sushi place.  And pizza, which is everywhere, and not bad just very cheesy.  But somehow cheese is really expensive.  I forget what hops tastes like.

Did you see my food post?

 

 

 

5. Traveling around the country can be difficult

This depends on where you live in Korea, your budget, and your preferred method of transportation.  Bikes are cheap, so are cars and some buses.  Traveling time adds up quick.  Transfers can be stressful.  Public transit is pretty cheap and timely but you have to make your way to main hubs.  I live at the furthest extreme from any hub.  I'm closer to North Korea than any South Korean city worth mentioning.  I like the rural vibe.  I can go hiking up a beautiful mountain right in my back yard anytime I want.  It's awesome. 

Getting to the far South of Korea, which has the next major city Busan, and nice islands and parks is almost a journey itself.  We'll get there someday.  I suspect your willingness to travel bumpy bus rides and long train trips is key.  The bus rides remind me of the Hocking Hills in Ohio- beautiful but vomit inducing, long, and windy.  Claire and I both agreed we'd rather save some money and spare ourselves the discomfort of a 5 hour journey to get to the beach, or wherever.  So far, we have only been around our province and Seoul- a small portion of all there is to see.  But that saved money and time goes to finding cool stuff nearby and future big travel plans.


[I posted this a week ago and want to add an EDIT: My health has been completely wrecked since coming here, consistently.  I have had a nonstop sinus infection and ear/headaches for the entire time I've been here.  I don't know for sure the cause, but I have a good hunch that it's air pollution.  The air pollution is terrible some days.  I am afraid of having long term health issues.  I don't know for sure if the pollution is the cause, but my lifestyle choices if anything have been a lot more healthy since I came.  Pollution issues vary depending on where you are in Asia, and your own allergies but this is something to consider before you come here.  I wish I had.  I feel better since I started taking lots of homeopathic herbs instead of the immunity-threatening anti-boitics the doctors gave me.]

 

Daengwang-ri.  Amazing town on the train line.

What Freedom Means Here

I have lived in Korea for four months and I feel like I have so much to learn.  I got past the honeymoon, all is new phase pretty quick- this is probably the biggest learning period.  After that, it's more interesting, and perhaps more difficult.  This blog, particularly this post, is a mix of things I find important for an American audience, things I learned in college, misconceptions I had, and misinformation I hope to correct.   

I am not attempting to be comprehensive or to speak for Koreans.  None of this is a substitute for a Korean person's perspective.   I only want to offer insight to people like me who may have interest but have trouble finding non-wikipedia information.  

Basically, as always, I will discuss American Imperialism and social justice- which have extremely complicated, brutal, and if nothing else, globally unique history in Korea.  I gladly welcome any criticism or input from Koreans, fellow expats, or anyone.

Geography is low on the list of American interests.  Unfortunately for the world, American corporations and military might have immense impact in literally every country.  We have a positive influence in a few places, but overall, our hegemony is not welcome.  Of course you have to separate the people from the empire, which people around the world have no trouble doing.  When Rick Steves went to Iran he said the same thing, they say Death to America because we overthrew their elected leader and try to destroy their country, not because they hate individual Americans.

This is just down the road from my home in Dongsong.  Another 5 km down and you're at the DMZ.

Needless to say the majority of American soldiers represent our country respectfully, needless to say our military helped fight an oppressor in Korea, the Northern communists.  But when Koreans are polled on who the biggest threat to their peace is the majority say the USA, not North Korea.

To be clear I am not anti-military, I am anti-foreign domination.  I am anti-imperialist.

Every nation has the right to self-autonomy, this is not basic proper policy but a statement on human rights.  From the West Bank and Gaza, to Ukraine, to the indigenous Australian peoples, powerful countries abuse their position- going from helper to oppressor whenever there is money to be made, "interests" to secure.   

And we as Americans talk a big game about democracy but simply can't back it up in the real world.  

We occupy the world, our soldiers are in over 100 countries.  One reason has been to insure the fragile peace the US plays a role in.  But the main reason is to ensure the ongoing perpetuation of imperialist capitalism: exploiting value and resources from the periphery to the core in a way that furthers US interests.  This takes many shapes and forms, and the winner and loser is not always totally clear.

The American military presence in Korea is somewhat (sometimes, very) unwelcome by Koreans because of ongoing sexual assault of Korean women by US soldiers, brazen attitudes by US policy makers, and the prime-real-estate-grabbing US bases on Korean soil.  The best example of this I saw in Itaewon, Seoul.  

This part of Seoul is the main foreigner district, with a lot of cultural history.  Also with a massive hideous US base smack in the middle.  It is cinder block and barbed wire with placards every few yards reading DO NOT ENTER PROPERTY OF US GOVERNMENT.  In the middle of a culturally rich area, museums, art galleries, shops, is this base, and it is huge, covering block after block, I lost count.  

Odd juxtaposition.  But it is life for Koreans.  If America had a Korean or Chinese military base like this on our land... well I can't even speculate "if."  We would never let that would never happen, to us.  

Here it is on the map- that large dark gray area is all US military base.  That small green park is the National Museum of Korea, which is a glorious, free museum full of amazing history and artifacts that I want to visit again for an entire day.  For now, look at our impact:

I think Americans need to know this is not just a base but a presence of our soldiers.  There has been a recent spike in the number of sexual assaults of Korean women and US soldier misconduct, in which Americans typically receive full impunity from Korean law.  I know this might be risky to show, but this is not falsity.  It's not libelous, it is the reality.

Obviously, Korea is very developed economically so the story of capitalism and imperialism is different here.  But in fact, Korea is entirely unique in that manner.  After the Korean War and partition into two countries, the US had a vested interest in helping to rebuild the place, not just because of our military involvement, but because we had an opportunity to make an example of the achievements of capitalism, right smack against the near threat of communism.

The Korean struggle for independence and economic development are totally a product of the culture of Korea, which places high value on education.  There was also a unified goal for economic self-sufficiency that would be wrong to attribute totally to American influence.  Nonetheless, America sent millions in aid to the South, and helped establish the KCIA (sound familiar?) to crack down on organized labor.  I really want to avoid giving credit of economic success in Korea to Americans, that is not my point and not the historical truth.  What I want my readers to know is that America helped prop up right wing dictators and spread anti-unionism in Korea, in addition to constant pressuring and back-door dealings with the elite that excluded the Korean poor and working class.

I am not hopeless about the situation, and I am not afraid of North Korea.  But I want to use my frustration to spread more awareness, hopefully to be part of an ongoing change for the better.  I also see an astonishing silence of critical discourse on the military by American expat bloggers in Korea.  American young people, almost all of them ESL teachers, sounds like a small select group in Korea, but google it- there are thousands of us here blogging about literally every aspect of being American in Korea, every aspect except this imperialism one.  This is a serious concern.  I also want to point my readers towards some Korean tumblr bloggers who have a history of anti-imperialist writing, from a Korean perspective: 

beemill.tumblr.com

lostintrafficlights.tumblr.com

thisisnotkorea.tumblr.com

k0234.tumblr.com

ecue.tumblr.com

koreaunderground.tumblr.com

Many of my family members and loved ones are veterans and active service.  I do hear discussions from these loved ones on reigning in our empire, ending the frivolous war budget that pays people to parachute full time to promote the army.  Those discussions give me hope, particularly because change has to come from within institutions.  Outside pressure can only go so far.

One perfect example of change being pushed from the outside was the massive civil unrest and organized protesting by Koreans in 2008 against the forced importation of American beef, a meat Koreans are really into.  The whole unhealthy cows thing was a big problem, but an even bigger problem, really the core issue was the (correct) Korean perception that the US unfairly bullies its way into Korean politics and economics.  In the end, US economic interests won, the market has been flooded with cheap, sickly American cow meat.  At the very least stores are required to display where their meat comes from, but no surprise, people prefer the cheaper US meat.  


Protests are absolutely a part of Korean culture.  There is a warped idea, that I even had myself, that because Korean culture is eastern, confucian, it does not experience or allow for the questioning of authority.  The reality is that (Neo)confucian ethics encourage innovation, and Korean people have always resisted oppression.  Protests are very common here, like after the president Pak Gyeun Hye (whose father was a capitalist dictator) won in questionable circumstances, after the Sewol Ferry accident, in response to union busting.  

The history of Korea, being 5,000 years old and very far away from Western culture, is victim to many misconceptions.  Part of these stem from the very recent, lingering Cold War division that splits one people into two countries.  As I have said before, the division of Korea is not black and white.  "Democracy versus Communism" is an outmoded trope and it falls short in describing the abuse of human rights by both countries and the USA.  Korean people strive for unification, despite the obvious barricades to that fleeting goal.  Still, there is a shared sense of nationality that transcends the North-South division.  Here is another map, this one is from my classroom.  

What else can I say?  A lot, but I will never totally explain or even understand myself.  The best I can do is offer an alternative to the major narrative about Korea, which either doesn't exist in the main or is totally defined by the supposed threat of the North.

Did you know? Maybe you did.

Did you know Korea did not divide itself into North and South?  This was done by the US and Soviet sponsor states, a totally top-down foreign imposition.  

Did you know Korea was occupied and colonized by Japan?  By colonization I mean dehumanizing-exploitative-strip-you-of-your-culture exploitation, by imperialist Japan for 35 years (1910-1945)

Did you know Korea had metal movable type printing a few hundred years before Gutenberg?  

Did you know Korea went from being an international aid recipient to an international aid donor?

These are only a start.  There is a lot I still don't know.  There is a lot I am coming to love about the country that I never could have expected.  I have encountered so many heartwarming people, and had such a warm welcome in smaller acts of kindness.  I am trying to keep in touch and be lost in a new place, at once.  I am scatterbrained but I am trying.

Composition/Improvisation- for Charles Mingus

South Korea is my home now.  Although I heard before that the school I was hired to teach at is in a very rural area, 동송(Dongsong) is actually larger than my hometown in Ohio.  So, me n my girlfriend are in Dongsong, dang.  It's cool, let me tell you.  Dongsong is a city of 20,000 people in 철원(Cheorwon) country, on the westernmost point in the province of 강원도 (Gangwon-do), straddling the De-Militarized Zone (DMZ).  Plug it into your google.

 Now that you have a specific idea where I'm coming from, let me tell you more generally: Korea is amazing.  Korean people are incredibly welcoming, thoughtful and warmhearted.  So far I have experienced absolutely none of the cultural tension that Westerners report.

Which is not to say that the stories about being ostracized or stared down are true or untrue.  Negative stories tend to blossom online and in print, perhaps as a friendly precaution or when the person telling the story feels like the world is unfair because of a minor inconvenience.  I am not telling my dear readers and fellow travelers to "toughen up," in fact I am advocating the opposite.  Be gentle.  Americans tend to speak loudly and throw things.  Kindness, vulnerability, is a human universal.  Not being loud, pushy, or rude is a prerequisite for successful living anywhere, particularly abroad.

I have been in Korea for three weeks but I was surprised by how quickly it felt like home or a home.  I have studied Korean in earnest for 5 months and have been learning about the Korean political economy since I was in college.  I remember attending a Korean folk music performance at OSU with a Korean ESL conversation partner and having my mind blown that Eastern music could be so badass.  That's just the start man you don't even know.

That was then.  Now that I'm in the flesh in the land I read about for months, I have a lot of work to do.  Even with my studies I can understand less than 1% of spoken language, less than 2% of written language.  It's scary, it's tiring, mostly it's fun.  The tiniest of Korean phrases goes a long way in showing you care about the place and the people you live among.  There are stories I dread of Americans who have been here for three years and don't know how to speak any Korean.  I mean, it is possible to live like that, gesticulating goes a long way.  My thoughts I give, when we communicate I live.

Language is like acrobatic sonar jazz for your tongue.  Oh Yeah!  

The cusp of the void is right up there.  Every road running North-South in this town reaches end in a military base.  Really, I long for a long steeped tea discussion with my new Korean friends about the middle class, democracy and economic development, but so far there have only been glimpses into their perspective, which is more than I expected.  It seems many Koreans are very lighthearted about the potential for military conflict.  There are cartoon paintings on some of the walls of the military bases.

The story of division is a lot more complicated than Dictatorial Communism versus Democratic Capitalism.  I am still attempting to understand what it means.  I'm attempting to unpack my Western culture and undermine the racist stereotyping that persists in other seemingly sympathetic media.  I have no tolerance for intolerance.  Love is really all that matters.  

Cornel West says that justice is what love looks like in public.  People in public are hard to understand, especially if you're cynical.  So, let us expect the best and assume the best in others.  Narratives of the ignorant, the victim-blamers, and the conservative reactionaries are all bound by their anticipation of what other people are like: bad.  I utterly and completely reject such a mode of thinking.  I've found it helps me not only accept what facts I don't find immediately comfortable but it also forges unity.  I will be discussing reunification, democracy and domination at length in this blog, within the context of my own observations.  
I mistrust the capitalist world system's promise of happiness and development but I am more certain that individual people are good.  People are born good and slimy.  Smell me?  MF DOOM was 'born like this' forever longer ago than a GoGo problematic Gal who shall remain nameless.  DOOM is a prophet for all that is good.  He raps that if you don't get it then it's not for you.  Nothing critical, just different strokes for different folks so on and so on.

My blog will not be coherent, it will not be ordered or orthodox.  Pics may come later but I want the imagery to be literate for now.  Start with a deep grove; old fashioned boom bap out cruddy shacks.  Imagine if you will, a juke joint, Korea has that vibe.  Old pals shooting the shit over at a 노래방 (Noraebang; a karaoke place).  I have a hunch that privilege doesn't really have any idea what culture sounds like.  Culture has to be off key a little or at least off the cuff.  To a rich person music is like classical or popular, not the saved scrap and steamed stem and seeds that become an ersatz for high rise living.  Music is life.  There is signification space in this culture for improvisation and the unpredictable. 

Without essential, generalizing and fetish-driven admiration, I do want to express my deep respect and adulation for the Korean people.  I don't love explaining a person's character from her circumstances or race, but I have a tendency to love the common person.  Low wage workers, poor folks, marginalized people, fat people.  Love explains more than amusement does.  A cosmopolitan worldview advances all over the travel blogosphere like the word blogosphere itself; peppy, ugly and shat out of the double millennia for want of genuine context.  The travel blog is a uniformity of posture and content, while lacking any composure and contentment.  I am writing to make common ground.  With whomever.   That's all.

Geography, history, social sciences, math, and economics are all tools of conquest.  Orientalist scholars have endless explanations about the Other and they all share a common denominator: the other is other.  Travel blogging is an amateur version of this.  A dilettante version, but here's where it gets paradoxical- look up the word dilettante.  The word means both one who dabbles and one who is deeply devoted.  Enter jazz.  Enter me.

I have written before and still believe that all wars are civil wars.  Jazz came about in the American Civil War, when clashing souls rested over salvaged instruments to create complex simplicity.  Poly-rhythm: the hearts together.  Add more heat, it has to beat.

Jazz has a liking for a good dose of reality, which is always as weird as it gets.  Music had to become modern with the crossover.  White people had to give in and crossover because their European melodies had no ass.  Baroque bullshit, say something real.  Like Mingus' "Myself When I Am Real" I hope this blog will be true to myself and an honest reporting of one US citizen life on the DMZ.    

Jazz is irresistible, don't resist.  Affability makes life better.  Bigger the sore, bigger the laugh.  The first law passed in the New World was to ban the use of the African drum.  This way the people facing enslavement couldn't communicate.  They did anyway.  Resistance is not pretty but it generates an art.