Korea – Seoul: I did not know what to expect when I landed at the Incheon international airport, as I had very little knowledge about the culture and living style of the people of Korea, excepting that it had successfully conducted the Olympics games and a leading player in automobile and electronic sectors.. A couple of websites browsed did not throw much insight save focusing on tourism. Having lived in Chennai all my life, where the temperature is hot and humid throughout the year, my only concern was about the Weather. Prior to my departure from Singapore, I was sufficiently warned that the temperature will go below sub zero during February and I was asked not venture without woolen clothing.
My first encounter with the Korean immigration officer was not really pleasant. I greeted him with a smile as I gave my passport and immigration papers. His response was cold and mechanical; He snatched my papers, looked at me with a frown. I thought that I might have committed some mistake while filling up the forms. I was keeping my fingers crossed. The officer started making changes even without explaining where I went wrong. The last thing that I wanted was to be hauled up by the Korean Immigration officials. If it were so, I was wondering and praying whether I would be able to communicate that I am a pure vegetarian. Eventually, I thanked my stars since the official did not create major problems and I was literally running towards the exit lest the official change his mind and call me again.
I breathed fresh air as I came out of the airport lounge and took a taxi to my hotel. I initially had problems communicating with the taxi driver and later I realized that I was talking at a fast pace and more importantly I was talking to him in English. I reduced my speed and tried to convey to him in broken English and found that the taxi driver not only understood what I said, he seemed to enjoy my conversation. I wondered that, how true it is to say that language is only a tool for effective communication and speaking it in a proper way on certain occasions makes it difficult for many to comprehend. What is more important is to get the message across and not bother about grammatically correct sentences. I suppose this holds good for everyone who is visiting countries where English is not the medium of communication.
It was a long drive of about ninety minutes from the airport. During the drive we were generally talking about the roads, the traffic around and to some extent about the people and their living style. Though I was engaged with the driver, half way I started worrying whether he was trying to act smart by driving down to a long and circuitous route to claim extra money (An Indian Mindset). I relied on my intelligence and started locating my whereabouts from the route map that I picked up in the airport. By the time I could figure out where I was, I realized that I was completely lost. It is not only women who could not read maps (A title of a popular book) there are a few men like me who cannot read them as well when the map is in Korean. I kept asking the driver how long would it take and he neither seemed to bother or understand. At last the taxi halted in front of the Jingua hotel.
I was gasping for breath, struggling to count the number of zeros when the driver presented the bill. He demanded payment of 2,600,000 WON, equivalent of 200 SGD or 6000 INR. I had no other option but to pay him, as I could not argue with him effectively (How I wish it was India). I later came to know that my colleague from Singapore paid only 65000 WON. The staggering difference, I realized later was due to the fact that I traveled in a car in the luxurious sedan.
After this ordeal it was time for lunch and I began to worry of the very thought. My colleague Gavin Luke Tan from Singapore assured me that I could have Bipin Bap without any trouble. I wondered Kiska Bap. Gavin told that Bipin Bap - rice served with vegetables is a traditional Korean dish, and served it with Kimchee. Kimchee is sort of a pickle and it is nothing but radish soaked in Vinegar, oil and traditional spices. After I heard my friend explain the ingredients I was a bit relieved, though sceptical about the oil that is used. The Koreans use a peculiar oil which gives their dishes a strong odour and taste. It was only then did I realize that vegetarian means rice served with vegetables, sometimes boiled and sometimes just raw. I gathered that in this part of the world i.e. in most of the south East Asian countries Vegetarian food includes both fish and chicken and only red meat is considered as nonvegetarian. While I was enjoying my dishes sitting on the floor in the traditional Korean way, my other friends ordered for Cow’s intestine, Octopus and some internal organs of a pig. I somehow chose to ignore the dishes being barbequed in front of me and busy engaged in trying to grab a few pieces of my dish using chopsticks. I was feeling awkward and uncomfortable with the chopsticks and wished if I could use my hands, instead I used fork and felt greatly relieved.
Next day at office I was introduced to a beautiful lady byname was Hwa Jin Kim. She had graduated in Bio technology and was comfortable in conversing in English. She was kind enough to explain more about the Korean culture and their living style.
Hwa Jin told me that the Koreans are more of a patriarchal society and the power and decision making authority rests with the head of the family. The Koreans still prefer a joint family system and they respect rank and power. They prefer to be addressed by their official designation followed by their first name. For example (Director Lee). She also taught me a couple of Korean words; Anion – How are you and Chink Goo – Friend. I tried using them in the market and none of them seem to understand because of my strong Korean accent!.
I found the Korean language quite interesting because the people tend to have more pauses between words and the last word in a sentence is normally stressed which make is quite musical to hear. My one week stay in a land where English is not the basic means of communication and where even ordinary vegetarian dishes are considered as delicacy was really memorable. I wanted to visit the countryside to see how it appeared, because I believe that a country’s true value and wealth remains only in the rural side and not in their cities. All the metros look alike, be it in Singapore or Mumbai or elsewhere, with skyscrapers, highways and shopping malls. I never found them to be anything exciting or interesting. It had never impacted me. I decided that next time if I happen to visit any country I would try to be far away from the cities, to experience the real value and the living style of the people at large.
My first encounter with the Korean immigration officer was not really pleasant. I greeted him with a smile as I gave my passport and immigration papers. His response was cold and mechanical; He snatched my papers, looked at me with a frown. I thought that I might have committed some mistake while filling up the forms. I was keeping my fingers crossed. The officer started making changes even without explaining where I went wrong. The last thing that I wanted was to be hauled up by the Korean Immigration officials. If it were so, I was wondering and praying whether I would be able to communicate that I am a pure vegetarian. Eventually, I thanked my stars since the official did not create major problems and I was literally running towards the exit lest the official change his mind and call me again.
I breathed fresh air as I came out of the airport lounge and took a taxi to my hotel. I initially had problems communicating with the taxi driver and later I realized that I was talking at a fast pace and more importantly I was talking to him in English. I reduced my speed and tried to convey to him in broken English and found that the taxi driver not only understood what I said, he seemed to enjoy my conversation. I wondered that, how true it is to say that language is only a tool for effective communication and speaking it in a proper way on certain occasions makes it difficult for many to comprehend. What is more important is to get the message across and not bother about grammatically correct sentences. I suppose this holds good for everyone who is visiting countries where English is not the medium of communication.
It was a long drive of about ninety minutes from the airport. During the drive we were generally talking about the roads, the traffic around and to some extent about the people and their living style. Though I was engaged with the driver, half way I started worrying whether he was trying to act smart by driving down to a long and circuitous route to claim extra money (An Indian Mindset). I relied on my intelligence and started locating my whereabouts from the route map that I picked up in the airport. By the time I could figure out where I was, I realized that I was completely lost. It is not only women who could not read maps (A title of a popular book) there are a few men like me who cannot read them as well when the map is in Korean. I kept asking the driver how long would it take and he neither seemed to bother or understand. At last the taxi halted in front of the Jingua hotel.
I was gasping for breath, struggling to count the number of zeros when the driver presented the bill. He demanded payment of 2,600,000 WON, equivalent of 200 SGD or 6000 INR. I had no other option but to pay him, as I could not argue with him effectively (How I wish it was India). I later came to know that my colleague from Singapore paid only 65000 WON. The staggering difference, I realized later was due to the fact that I traveled in a car in the luxurious sedan.
After this ordeal it was time for lunch and I began to worry of the very thought. My colleague Gavin Luke Tan from Singapore assured me that I could have Bipin Bap without any trouble. I wondered Kiska Bap. Gavin told that Bipin Bap - rice served with vegetables is a traditional Korean dish, and served it with Kimchee. Kimchee is sort of a pickle and it is nothing but radish soaked in Vinegar, oil and traditional spices. After I heard my friend explain the ingredients I was a bit relieved, though sceptical about the oil that is used. The Koreans use a peculiar oil which gives their dishes a strong odour and taste. It was only then did I realize that vegetarian means rice served with vegetables, sometimes boiled and sometimes just raw. I gathered that in this part of the world i.e. in most of the south East Asian countries Vegetarian food includes both fish and chicken and only red meat is considered as nonvegetarian. While I was enjoying my dishes sitting on the floor in the traditional Korean way, my other friends ordered for Cow’s intestine, Octopus and some internal organs of a pig. I somehow chose to ignore the dishes being barbequed in front of me and busy engaged in trying to grab a few pieces of my dish using chopsticks. I was feeling awkward and uncomfortable with the chopsticks and wished if I could use my hands, instead I used fork and felt greatly relieved.
Next day at office I was introduced to a beautiful lady byname was Hwa Jin Kim. She had graduated in Bio technology and was comfortable in conversing in English. She was kind enough to explain more about the Korean culture and their living style.
Hwa Jin told me that the Koreans are more of a patriarchal society and the power and decision making authority rests with the head of the family. The Koreans still prefer a joint family system and they respect rank and power. They prefer to be addressed by their official designation followed by their first name. For example (Director Lee). She also taught me a couple of Korean words; Anion – How are you and Chink Goo – Friend. I tried using them in the market and none of them seem to understand because of my strong Korean accent!.
I found the Korean language quite interesting because the people tend to have more pauses between words and the last word in a sentence is normally stressed which make is quite musical to hear. My one week stay in a land where English is not the basic means of communication and where even ordinary vegetarian dishes are considered as delicacy was really memorable. I wanted to visit the countryside to see how it appeared, because I believe that a country’s true value and wealth remains only in the rural side and not in their cities. All the metros look alike, be it in Singapore or Mumbai or elsewhere, with skyscrapers, highways and shopping malls. I never found them to be anything exciting or interesting. It had never impacted me. I decided that next time if I happen to visit any country I would try to be far away from the cities, to experience the real value and the living style of the people at large.
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