Seoul to Soul

A song at the end of Sacha Baron Cohen’s Bruno movie has a line about South Koreans and North Koreans. In the movie the song maintains that both of these are basically Chinese. But that is Scaha, am sure you all remember him from the movie Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for the Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.  Even then, one is more inclined to believe him, after all Koreans like Chinese are on average shorter, have small eyes, walk with quick brisk steps and are Asians.

But Maybe that is where the similarities end. I have only been here in Seoul for two weeks but its not hard to see that most if not all of the stereotypical views I had nurtured about Koreans are off the mark. Suffice to say those opinions were hastily formulated while either watching a Chinese Kungfu Movie, or listening to some sickening tales of Chinese investors abusing Zambians on the news.

South Koreans are different. Inspite of the fact that their country at the moment is freezing with temperatures the last few weeks being counted in the negatives, Koreans are extremely warm people. You always find them ready to help, even when the only English words they know are ‘bye bye’. Illustrative of this was my first day in Korea. After getting of the plane, I nervously negotiated the Incheon airport procedures, before finally getting my luggage and proceeding to the lobby. It was snowing outside and coming from a country where we sometimes walk without shirts, my thickest woollen jersey felt like a vest as soon as I stepped outside.

One of the Korean airport officials upon noticing my discomfiture, helped me get on a bus, write down in Korean the directions to my school and explicitly instructed the driver that he made sure I got to my destination. I was really humbled by the gesture.

The one thing that English speakers will find challenging in Korea is the language. While most Koreans understand a word or two of English they are not as good when it comes to speaking. You really have to pay close attention to negotiate your way past the accent and get what they are saying. That is however not to say you can’t buy what you want, get on the right bus or train or get around. It has become my experience that transactions that require only one word, or in the case of trading exchange of money and goods can be performed even among total strangers who have no idea about each other’s language. I have often walked into a shop, pointed at an item and paid for it with the pomp and confidence of a local.

The music scene is probably one of the most interesting facets of modern Korean culture. Forget the sleepy tunes depicted in old movies. It is not surprising to walk around and hear music from the Black Eyed Peas or Britney Spears blaring out of different shop windows. Koreans enjoy western music. Local rap and R&B in Korean is also very common and quite good actually. Sometimes so good you would think you were listening to Usher or Enrique Iglesias.

The dressing is also typically western. With most ladies preferring short skirts with leggings that sometimes march the Jacket a very common form of dressing. Gents are more likely to be in jeans, scarf and some trendy heavy winter coats. They would also be wielding a Samsung galaxy tab or Galaxy note as blackberrys seems not to be too popular here, unsurprisingly as the headquarters of Samsung is in South Korea. In a staggering statistic, one out of three mobile phones being used anywhere in the world is Korean made.

The internet is superfast, the fastest in the world and getting faster.

Yet in spite all of this, Koreans remain very humble. They still hold to those principles propagated by their greatest King Sejong. It is a marvel to watch them talk so fondly about this king who sacrificed a lot for what they call ‘the Korean Spirit’. Just shows that basic tenets of humility, hardwork and honesty may not be as old fashioned as some people would like us to believe. They have built a beautiful country here and they are worth considering for anyone who wants to leave an everlasting legacy.

The Author is Reading for His Masters at KDI School in Seoul South Korea.