The national flag of South Korea is more complicated and symbolic than you may think. You might think that it is just a circle on white, surrounded by some strange Asian characters, but everything means something. White is for peace, the blue and red circle in the middle is for unity of Yin and Yang, while all around are the trigrams of the elements (fire, water, earth, Heaven). It surely seems to be a lot more interesting now, doesn't it?It is by all means a crowded place, with over 48 million citizens and a surface of about 38,000 sq. miles, thus having one of the highest population densities in the world. But South Korea also has the fastest internet speed in the world, almost all of the citizens are internet users, and the fascination and interest in all modern technologies make this country the place to be if you are passionate about the subject. No wonder that here you can become a professional video game player, and there are prizes and championships.
Eating in South Korea
When it comes to eating South Korean style you are in for a treat, especially if you want to try kimchi, the national dish. Familiar with the most popular kind, the cabbage kimchi, and even a fan? You will be happy to find out that there are over 250 kinds of kimchi in South Korean traditional cuisine, ranging from cucumber kimchi to raddish kimchi. If you like it most probably they have got it. And if you are invited somewhere for lunch or dinner be prepared for a feast, for the number and variety of side dishes will astonish you. You could also try some seaweed soup or, if you like fastfood, you should know that almost all of them deliver to your adress. Even McDonald's. And after you've eaten simply take the dishes and packets outside the door, and the deliverer will take care to throw out in the thrash. Complete service for a low price.
Make up and the White Day
You might be surprised to discover that in South Korea men are using and buying a lot of cosmetics, and male make-up is almost the norm for about a quarter of them. So appearance is very important, you might take that into account. Somewhat of a rivalry in the field between the girls and the boys.
If you don't like Valentine's Day you might try the White Day, on March 14th. It is the day when the man is being pampered, he receives gifts (including chocolate) and is the sole center of attention. Too bad it only lasts a day.
There are some little thing that you should know that will make your stay here even more pleasant:
- you don't have to tip anybody if you don't want to. Sure, if you are pleased with the services you can do it, but nobody will expect you to, and services will be the same.
- you can use your credit card almost everywhere, so no longer you will have the trouble of having exact change or paper money.
- whatever you do don't used the number 4, as it is considered highly unlucky, even deadly. And don't bring four gifts (or multiples of 4), it is rude towards the host.
- it is a little thing, but it might spare you some embarasment. In South Korea a child is one year old since the very day he was born, so when you come here you will be one year older. At least in social theory. If you want to blend in and be polite.
- take your shoes off when entering the house and don't worry about the cold. Almost all of the South Korean houses have under floor heating, a traditional technology that has been kept and developed over the centuries to be nowadays cheap, efficient and so very useful.
- not only the South Koreans are, on average, rather heavy drinkers (over 12 liters of alcohol a year) but you can enjoy your drink in public, virtually anywhere.
- do not take photos of anyone without asking permission, it is a rude gesture especially towards the elderly.
Photo: wikipedia.org, goodfreephotos.com,
