Zee and I recently took a much needed trip home to the US to visit family and friends. Winter had been a difficult time for us. We were no longer teaching, which meant our days were filled with listless "desk-warming"; no funny kids were there to make us laugh and feel like we had a purpose and our Korean is still novice, making interactions with coworkers arduous. Winter is also brutally cold in Korea, and we spent a large amount of our free time indoors, which made us feel claustrophobic and trapped. Omicron had just begun to sweep across the country, which brought about mass panic and stringent social distancing restrictions. Needless to say, we needed a breather. We suspected that this trip would give us a little prespective on our life in Korea and give us a clear head about our decisions moving forward. It did both of those things and seemed to hit the refresh buttons for our minds and spirits.
Coming back to the US after spending 6 months in South Korea was not surreal like I expected it would be. Rather, it was as if we stepped out of one world and into another. It felt like both our time in the US before Korea and the half-year we had spent abroad were two separate dreams, both strikingly different from one another. Coming back home made me appreciate things about the US I once had been skeptical of, while other things made me excited to get back to our life in Asia.
Below are just a few (highly biased) things I have noticed. Please read it all knowing these are simply my personal views and are likely skewed by my own feelings and experiences (isn't everything though?).
1. Crime. Ever feel scared walking out to your car in a parking garage at night? Do you break into a cold sweat if you forgot your phone in a restuarant in a bustling city? Do you hear noises in your home and worry someone is trying to break in? You must be from the US, because those fears have little validity in South Korea. I have never felt safer in my entire life than I have while living in Korea. You will almost never have anything stolen from you here. There are stores that have you leave your purse outside in a basket before you can enter, and no one worries. No one will take those bags. Our friend's highschool leaves all of the buildings' keys outside in the open for anyone to use, because no one is going to break in. I have heard of one murder that occured over the last year in our region, but while in Atlanta I heard gunshots nearby regularly. I don't know what they teach their children, what they put in the water, or how they implement their laws, but Korea is doing something right. I'm a girl in my 20's, and I would feel comfortable walking home alone at midnight in Seoul. I wouldn't, and don't read this and go do that, but that's how safe it feels.
2. Food Pricing. Groceries are expensive in S. Korea. It's a small country with very little farm land, so it makes sense, but ouch. I miss my $3 bag of Trader Joes orange chicken that would last us twp days for two people. I pay $6 here for the tiniest bag of (barely) orange chicken that lasts just me one meal. Even kimchi is expensive! I mean come on, people eat that stuff at every meal, why is a bag of it $10?! Eating out at restaurants is a lot cheaper in Korea, however. You don't tip anywhere which saves you 20% and prices are overall a bit lower for restaurant food.
3. Individualism. Man, did I miss being able to wear anything I wanted and know people wouldn't care. The US knows how to make you feel special and not at all special all at once, and it's a beautiful feeling. You're free to be as "different" as you want, knowing so many others around you are different too. In Korea, most people have the same style clothing, the same hair cuts, the same general aesthetics. There is a collective mindset, which is beautiful when it comes to community and trust. But when you're "different", even just a little different, it's usually not a good thing. The LGBTQ+ community is not widely accepted in any sense. It's not even openly hated, people just do their best not to talk about it. Mental health is similar. It's not blatantly bad, it's just ignored. Of course, not all of Korea is like this. Things are changing slowly, especially in bigger cities. And of course, America isn't anywhere close to being perfect, but I think it's trying.
4. Healthcare. We all saw this one coming, right? This is always a bit of a spicy topic, because of course healthcare is all wrapped up in politics, and politics are usually a dividing topic. So I will try and make this as unbiased as possible. I have limited knowledge on the ins and outs of the Korean healthcare system, but from what I understand, everyone in Korea pays into a national health insurance program. I am currently covered under this insurance and I pay a small percentage of my salary each month to have it. I can walk into any hospital and be covered for most things. Because of this, I am not hesitant to go to the doctor, dentist, dermatologist, you name it. I had a horrible case of norovirus a few weeks ago, went to the hospital, received two x-rays, four liters of fluid, three mystery shots, blood work, and even stayed overnight. I shudder to think of what that could've cost me in the US even with good insurance. I paid about $100 in Korea. $80 of those dollars where because of the mystery shots which were not covered under my insurance. It's not free, but it's cheap and high quality healthcare. I'm a big fan.
5. Overall Health. I use to look at the daily recommended number of veggie servings and wonder how anyone could ever manage to eat that much green in 24 hours. Koreans know how to pack their veggies in without you even noticing them. They're sneaky. A big part of Korean food culture is 반찬 (pronounced banchan), which is a series of small dishes served at most meals. The side dishes are mainly vegetable based, and they are all unique and incredibly delicious. You'll eat half a cup of kimchi, move onto muching on some spiced cucumbers, and gobble up a handful of fermented green onions before you've even tasted a sip of your seaweed soup.
Also, people walk a lot in Korea. Public transportation is excellent, which creates a lot more foot traffic, which creates healthier bodies. Only thing is, smoking is pretty big in Korea. The US did a decent job of disparaging the use of those nasty carcinogen wraps, and it's rare I see someone smoking an old-fashioned ciggarette in America. But in Korea, they're everywhere. And that doesn't help the overall air quality, which is worse on average than America's.
6. Covid. This is not a topic I think one country has a leg up on the other. There are pros and cons to both ways of handling a global pandemic, and I think only time will tell which country handled it better. Everyone in Korea wears masks all the time. If you're outside 50 feet away from other people, you need to be wearing a mask. I once took my mask down to take a sip of a drink I was holding and got yelled at. Masks are not jokes here. When we came back to Georgia to visit our family, I felt weird when I did wear a mask. I was the odd on out. It was a strange feeling to go from one extreme to the other. Practically everyone in Korea is vaccinated. Most Koreans trust their government, and therefore most did not hesitate to get the shots when it was recommended. The US is very divided on this, as people have varying views on the necessity and safety of the shots. Things are almost back to "normal" in the US, and things in Korea most certainly are not. Social groups are limited to 6 people at all times, shops close at 10 pm (it was 9 pm for the longest time), and any travel is strongly discouraged. When I flew from Korea to the US, I got off my flight, drove home with Zee's family, and we spent the majority of our two weeks home maskless. When I flew from the US to Korea, I had to take special "covid transportation", which included special buses to designated train carts and a ride home in a plastic wrap-covered ambulance. It's just different.
While my time here has highlighted contrasts between Korea and the US, it has illuminated their likenesses even more. People in both Korea and the US work, tell jokes with their coworkers, have picnics with their families, and count the days until their vacations. I can connect with people in Korea just like I could back in the US, even with cultural and language barriers. If this portion of my life abroad has taught me anything, it's this: the world isn't as foreign as you think.
Comments