Since my last post, which was only after my first on this trip to Korea, I've find some more unusual Korean things to tell you about.
Before I start talking about these interesting things, I'd like to talk about something that I'm fairly proud of. On the second day of this trip, I had a plan to visit LG's TV factory for some meetings. This factory is located in a town called 구미 (Gumi), around 3 hours train ride south of Seoul. The night before my trip, I learnt that I would have to make my way to Gumi from the guest house and back... alone. This involved getting the subway to 서울역 (Seoul Station), which was easy. But also involved buying a train ticket for the 새마울 train, selecting the right platform and then getting a taxi to the factory once I arrived. I had no problems, but I was a little worried about it as my Korean is still very weak.
As a slight side note, I've had to quit my Korean language course for this year, something that I'm really disappointed about. Unfortunately I am having so many business trips these days that I'm only able to attend half of the lessons on the course, and I'm falling behind. I do plan to re-take year 2 when it starts again in September, as I really do enjoy learning. This trip to Korea has left me with an even greater desire to continue, so I really hope I can.
Onto the unusual Korean things then... First up are Electronic Toilet Seats. I'd forgotten about these, probably because I'm staying in a Guest House rather than a hotel, but I do remember them being pretty popular on my previous visits. This particular toilet seat I found in a restaurant in Gumi, and it's typical of the electronic seats that I've seen.
Now, I'm all for heated toilet seats, there's nothing worse than sitting your butt down and doing the whole sit down, jump up, sit down, jump up routine until the seat's just about warm enough to bear. These toilet seats however take things a couple of steps further, just take a look at the control panel!
As a foreigner that can read a little Korean, I have an advantage over many, but playing with those buttons can cause one hell of a shock to the unsuspecting! The basic functions are simply a wash and blow dry, but you're also provided with adjustments for temperature, pressure, motion, pulsing actions, a whole manner of things. I've played with these toilet seats a couple of times, but always finished with a wet bum that is impossible to dry with toilet paper. It is a bit of fun for sure, but I find it hard to see how these have become so popular and successful.
Perhaps less unusual, but still very cultural is the popular Korean style of cooking that involves the use of a barbeque in the centre of the table. Marinated meat is brought out of the kitchen and simply cooked in front of you. It's a very friendly affair, and the food is also very tasty. This is very typical of a meal that I will be having after a day of meetings. Although these photos were not taken during my visit to Gumi, I did have a very similar meal there.
After a meal similar to this in 평택 (Pyoungtaek), where I had been meeting the AV products engineers, I went to a Karaoke bar. I'm not going to go into details about this, as I hate singing, but I will say that I did find out that I can sing Elton John songs better than I thought.
Following the Karaoke, it was suggested that we go to a more traditional establishment from song food and yet more drinking. I was warned before hand that this was not a quality establishment, but I wasn't expecting this...
Take a closer look at this, as it may not be obvious at first what you're looking at. It's called 닭발 (Dack-Bal). It's literal translation will give it away - Chicken Foot!
[this is good] Can't be as bad as a KFC!?....
Posted by: Hyperboy78 | 03/19/2008 at 11:13 AM