Top 10 Surprises That Inspired Me To Love Korea More

I shared how Korea just took 5 simple steps to inspire me to start loving Korea. Now what inspired me to continue the love? Here are "Top 10 Surprises" I got to know, from people, by reading, and by observation, and it inspired some thoughts in me.

SURPRISE #1: EVERYTHING IS FAST

In Korea, a lot of things are fast. Many people take the subway because it is convenient. People walk very fast in the subway station, especially when changing stations, you have to walk fast in order not to miss the next train; some even run! Fast food are really fast too! Once you placed your order, the next second it's right in front of you! Even when you are sitting in a public bus, most of the time you have to stand up before you even reach your bus stop! Korea has a food delivery culture and the most surprising fact is at times, the delivery guy even came to collect the food before you even get to finish it! They are fast!

Inspiration - Time is precious!

SURPRISE #2: MIRROR MIRROR EVERYWHERE

If you are in Korea you'll notice there are mirrors at the subway stations. Take a lift, you'll find  mirrors at all four corners. On the way to the toilet, you'll see mirrors lining on your left and right. Enter the toilet cubicle, you'll be shocked with mirrors surrounding you, or at least in front of you there's one piece of mirror! I then learned that making sure you are looking clean and good is a type of manners in Korea. It can boost self-confidence too. So you'll always see people in Korea always checking themselves once a while if they pass by a mirror, or anything which is reflective.

Inspiration - Dress yourself up, look clean & confident in life!


SURPRISE #3: EXERCISE AT 10PM!

In Seoul there are a lot of parks. When the weather is good you get to see people exercising, running on tracks, or playing badminton. It happens at 6am, 5pm, 6pm. The shocking part is that when my friend pulled me to exercise at 10PM! What's even shocking is that the park is still filled with people running around at 10PM! I wonder is this part of the reason why they are slim!

Inspiration - Health is important!

SURPRISE #4: REFILL HEAVEN!

The best part about Korea is that there are always refills. Water or tea is free, and side dishes are always refillable without any extra cost! One day I asked whether can I refill "makkeoli" which is Korean rice wine, and the staff laughed. Yes, wine is not refillable though. 

Inspiration - Be generous on basic necessity!

SURPRISE #5: SHOP THE GREEN WAY!

Home Plus is a chain hypermarket in Korea. On and off you'll see people pulling a trolley bag to this hypermarket. Why? Because they charge on every plastic bag you take. So instead of plastic bag, people get to have their very own shopping trolley bag and place everything inside. Those who doesn't have, can do so by placing in card boxes provided by the hypermarket. Or else, get charged for plastic bags!

Inspiration - Go green! Take care of the environment!

SURPRISE #6: DRINK, DRANK, DRUNK!

Koreans can really drink liquors! They have a high level of tolerance with alcohol! You can see them drinking from one bar, to another, to another, until they get drunk. They have very awesome drinking games too, guess that's what make them drink more! Look out for Soju or Makkeoli (Korean rice wine).

Inspiration - Erm, drink till you are drunk? Joking. Drink if you can, it's part of the Korean culture. If you can't, get uksusucha which is Korean corn drink.

SURPRISE #7: TUITION TUITION TUITION!

Summer holidays in Korea is a great time for kids to learn new skills, pick up new hobbies, and also do more revisions. I realised Koreans are very hardworking, they read alot, and they do a lot of revision. Kids are always send for extra tuition classes during the holidays, or to swimming lessons or drawing classes to pick up a new skill. If they are lucky, they have a lot of books!

Inspiration - Use every opportunity to learn something!

SURPRISE #8: SOGAETING TO MEET NEW PEOPLE!

Some Koreans like to date on one-on-one date, it might be a blind date. This is called "Sogaeting"! Usually they'll either go for movies, or cafes, or perhaps some activities.  Many youngsters like to chill and bond at cafes and there are  alot of nice concept cafes at Sam Cheong Dong which is just across Insadong, an area which display a lot of traditional art crafts.

Inspiration - Meet new friends, why not?

SURPRISE #9: GO NAKED!

The best way to appreciate your own body is to go naked, or so my Korean friend said, haha! Public saunas are very common in Korea, which was a culture shock to me too when I first stepped in. The public bath is always separated according to genders (of course!), and everyone in the bath has to take off their clothes to enjoy the hot bath. When at the public mixed area, traveller's get to eat boiled eggs and also a cold rice juice called "sikye"!

Inspiration - Appreciate your body, and always bathe!

SURPRISE #10: HOT & SPICY!

I only thought Kim Chi was spicy. But I came to learn that Koreans cannot miss the sensation of not just a warm, but spicy at a level of 10 (rating from 1 to 10, 10 being the highest) soup! You have spicy food like fermented cabbage Kim Chi, spicy rice cake Dduk Buk Gi, Kim Chi soup which is welknown as Kim Chi Jigae. The spiciness usually comes from Go Chu Jang which is actually fermented red chili paste! If you are enjoying such food, make sure you'll breathe in "ssssssssssss" to express how spicy it is!

Inspiration - Hmm, stay hot and spicy! Like 2PM & MISS A!