Culture shock defined by Webster’s dictionary as “a feeling of confusion, doubt, or nervousness caused by being in a place (such as a foreign country) that is very different from what you are used to.” However, I think shock is a very strong word and in today’s interconnected society it’s hard to be shocked by anything; we can prep ourselves on the internet beforehand and easily talk to and connect to people who have already been through a particular experience. When moving to a new country you’re not shocked about different things rather you recognize them as differences and thing “hmmmm, that’s different or we don’t do that back home.” Living in Korea for three weeks now I have experienced and seen many differences, here are some of the ones I’ve noticed:
- Koreans will ask you super direct questions seconds upon meeting them, like: are you married? Do you have a girlfriend? How old are you?
- They hardly ever drink just water: I believe they have water storage capacities like camels
- They have no traffic laws and people in cars do what they want, they also don’t realize there is a device that signals which way you are going to turn
- When accepting things from other people, or if someone is pouring you a drink it you need to use two hands. For example, as a lefty my right hand would support my left hand receiving the money or if someone was pouring me a drink or a shot my right hand would be under the glass
- If you don’t eat rice for breakfast it’s not considered breakfast
- They use that playground Astro stuff for the sidewalk
- They don’t stop for pedestrians at crosswalks, I don’t know why they have them. I think it’s to signal to drivers that the pedestrians will be here if you want to hit them
- Every time I want to use hot water in the apartment, I have to turn it on, so I just started taking cold showers in the morning. Also my hot water pump ended up being broken, so I had to move apartments.
- They have different chalk board erasers, they’re like pillows for a new born baby
- They’re very self-conscious about their English, if you ask them “do you speak English?” They’ll answer “no” when from my experience they have no problem understanding it
- In my schools we wear slippers, but then sometimes have to walk outside with them and then go back in, so why not just wear shoes? Wearing slippers definitely makes it feel like you’re not working
- They have 7Elevens everywhere, something I would have never thought
- They have claw games everywhere
- On some seats they have bamboo seat covers over the cushions and they’re a lot more uncomfortable
- The students and teachers eat together, but hardly anyone speaks to each other. Luckily I have my co teacher to eat with 3/5 days of the week
- They have barber shop rotating blue and red signs everywhere, but the double ones give you something extra ; )
- They love banners and will make a new one for almost any situation
- The food is some of the spiciest food I have ever eaten. After only three weeks tobacco sauce tastes like water
- Taxi’s are extremely cheap, like very cheap, I don’t know how they pay for gas and make money
- They love volleyball at the schools, Wednesday is volleyball day and all the teachers play together
- Just like Costa Rica I’m back to throwing toilet paper in the trash
- It’s really hard to sit cross legged on the floor for a full meal
None of these things are “shocking” they’re just things you have to get used to and recognize when living here. This is only some of the differences that I’ve noticed since I’ve been here, the list could go on an on.
Very interesting information! Thanks, mate!
Glad you liked it!
I agree, shock is a weird word for it. When I first moved to Japan, the people who had arrived the year before gave us a presentation about how it’s more like “culture fatigue”, which wares you down and is at it’s worst by about 3 months in, rather than a sudden shock. That stuck with me as a much more accurate term for it.
I’m confused about the throwing the toilet paper in the trash part. I’m glad that you are doing well there so far though. If your Korean ever gets as good as your Spanish then you are a genius indeed.
Well, you see the pipes here can’t handle the flushing of toilet paper down them, so after you wipe you must throw them in the garbage next to the toilet instead of actually in it
Barbarians..!
Loves this post Joe, gave me a good laugh!. PS Tobacco sauce sounds awful..
Damn hahaha, think I may have to leave it now
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