things that make my apartment so Korean

The following are some pictures of things that make my apartment feel very “Korean” and some explanations for why things are that way. However, if anyone would like to correct me, explain something better, or tell me that I’m making generalizations, I’m totally open to comments! J

When you enter a Korean apartment, you absolutely have to take off your shoes and leave them by the front door. People do this to keep the floors in their apartments really clean, especially because some people eat their meals and sleep on the floor. So, you take off your shoes and slip on these little house shoes. They’re really comfy and actually do help keep the place cleaner!

It's a similar concept for bathroom shoes: you slip these on whenever you go into the bathroom. The reason for this is that many Korean bathrooms aren’t sectioned off at all, meaning that the shower head is on the wall but there’s no curtain or shower door to keep the water from getting on the floor and everything else. So you wear these shoes so your feet don’t get wet, and also to keep your feet from touching the bathroom floor!

I have no explanation for this, but these stickers are on the wall in my bathroom. The top one says "bathroom panda", and the next three say "Uhm...", "Love me?", "Like you..."

Again, no explanation, but the trash can that came with my apartment says “Red Rabbit: True love is so rare and precious. But a good friendship is even more so. You are my most valuable treasure!” TOO MUCH ADORABLE.

Korean people are accustomed to sleeping on the floor, so the “extra bed” in my spare bedroom is simply a mat on the floor with a comforter and pillow. (Again, anyone want to come visit?)

The first time I did a load of laundry here, I thought the washer was broken! When the load finished, there was water all over the floor! I asked my coworker about it, and he explained that the water is supposed to drain out at the end of the load. In America, the water from the washer is drained through pipes that run through the walls, but in Korea, the water just drains onto the through an open tube and runs into a drain in the floor on my porch. I’m just glad I learned this before calling in a repair person!

Speaking of doing laundry, I don’t have a dryer in my apartment, so I hang-dry my clothes on a drying rack!

And finally, I have to drink bottled water here because the tap water isn’t safe to drink. Even Korean people either drink bottled water or drink from hot/cold water dispenser machines that they have installed in their homes. But have no fear, Korea is very serious about recycling, so those bottles aren’t ending up in a landfill!

So, to my Korean friends: are these observations correct? If you have lived in America, did you notice any other differences when you lived in American apartments?

Saturday in Seoul

In my last post, I promised to write more about my job and how training is going so far, but there is nothing too interesting to share just yet. However, I had an amazing weekend in Seoul, and I think that would be much more interesting to hear about, so here we go! :)

On Saturday, I got to spend the day touring around Seoul with my friend Park! Park was one of my residents when I worked as a Community Advisor in Birnam Wood at Western, and we became friends because of that experience! I'm so happy that I got to meet up with him in Korea! He was a wonderful tour guide; I can tell that he loves his city!

We began the day in Jongno-gu, which is the area that I explored by myself when I stayed there for a couple of days last week. There was a singing competition happening on an outdoor stage just next to the Microsoft building, and we got to watch a few of the performances! The competition is called Jeonguk Norejabang, which means "National Singing Contest" in English. This is a very famous TV show in Korea, so we were lucky to get to see it!

I got a video of one of the performances (click here). My FAVORITE thing was that the audience had these inflatable sticks that they would hit together instead of clapping. In the video, you can see this sea of yellow sticks clapping together...it was the funniest thing!!

From there we walked through Samcheong-Dong, a shopping area, and up a hill toward Bukchon Hanok Village, which is a Korean traditional village. 

We stopped to have iced tea at the Tea Museum and enjoy the view from the top of the hill. It was incredible!!

This village is SO BEAUTIFUL, and we even had a view of Namsan Tower between the buildings!

When we walked back down to the street, we came across this jump rope performance that was going on at another street stage. These kids were so talented!

And on we went to Insa-dong! This area is a tourist street with lots of shops, booths, restaurants, and street performers.

We stopped to see a street performer who was doing magic tricks, and he called me out of the audience to help with his trick! There's no anonymity in being a tall white American in Korea. He had me pull cards out of his pocket to show to the audience. It was embarrassing to be pulling cards out of a complete stranger's pocket, but it was fun too and he really was a good magician!

Within Insa-dong is an area called Ssamziegil, which is like a small outdoor mall that sells lots of handmade crafts and other touristy items. 

On the top floor, there is an area where people can attach "love tags" with messages of dedication and affection for their significant others or family members. 

YOU GUYS, GET THIS. They sell "poo bread" in Ssamziegil, which is a little bread snack formed to look like poop. Korea will never cease to surprise and amaze me!

We decided to go sit at Cheonggye Stream to rest after all that walking. Park bought gyeran bbang (egg bread) and ho-bak yeot (pumpkin taffy) for us to share...sooooo good!

We decided it was time for dinner and ducked into a small Korean restaurant across from a blaring American bar. The food was DELICIOUS and so cheap!! I had je-youk bbok-um, stir-fried spicy pork. I'll have to remember that one!

It was starting to get dark, so we decided to head toward Namsan Tower to check out the night view!

On our way to find a taxi, we passed Bosingak, which is a beautiful monument containing a bell that is rung for the new year.

And finally, we ended this spectacular day with an incredible view of Seoul from Namsan Tower!

This was another place for couples to express their love and commitment to each other. They do this by placing padlocks on a fence that runs around the base of Namsan Tower. 

In addition to the fence, couples could also place locks on these "trees", metal structures that are covered in locks so densely that they look like Christmas trees!

I can't believe how many things we got to see and do in Seoul on my first full weekend here! I had a great time! Thank you for being my tour guide and friend, Park!

neighborhood tour

Now for some pictures and details about the area surrounding my apartment! I love on the 7^th floor of a 15-story apartment building, which is one of about twenty buildings in this complex. Needless to say, this is unlike anywhere I have ever lived!

My front door opens to an open-air hallway that overlooks a tennis court and the city beyond.

I have an incredible view of Seoul from my front door, and a view of other apartment buildings from my back window.

Throughout the complex, there are several little playsets for kids, sitting areas, a small garden, and even a kindergarten and a church!

The apartment complex runs along a park, which runs along Yangjae Stream. A one-minute walk from my building brings me here!

The park is accessible, too! This apparatus can carry someone in a wheelchair from the trail that runs along the apartment complex down to the lower trail that runs along the river. Amazing!

Along the trail, there are benches, chairs, and, get this: exercise machines! I guess “machines” isn’t the right word, because none of them are electronic, but I don’t know what else to call them. There are weight-lifting benches and several machines for stretching. My coworker told me that only older people use these, but I might try them sometime! I'm not above being laughed at!

Walking from my apartment to JLS takes about 15 minutes, and it is such a beautiful walk! I walk on the trail that runs by Yangjae Stream, cross the small river on some wide stones, and walk up hill to the street where JLS is. The next 13 pictures document my walk from home to school!

(The following two pictures were taken from the middle of the river when I was standing on the stones that I walk on to cross it!)

This is the street that JLS is on:

The JLS head office is the building on the right, and the brown building on the left is the Daechi branch, where I work!

And finally, here are some pictures of the night view from the front door and back window of my apartment. I don’t think this view will ever get old!

More on my job training in my next post! Thanks for reading!