I've been in the States almost 2 weeks now, and here are a few things I've been missing:
Vibrant bustling streets everywhere. Sidewalks filled with pedestrians. Street vendors of all types - cooked food, fish, fruits and vegetables, clothes, accessories, magazines, phones,...
Subway stations everywhere, with subway lines going everywhere. Streets filled with buses going everywhere: green buses that go around the local sector, blue buses that go to other sectors in the city, red buses that go out of the city, abundant taxis everywhere.
No tipping - none! No sales tax. The price you see is the price you pay.
Ondol floor heating. Hot water goes through those pipes under the floor, and the floor gets toasty warm. It takes a long time to warm up a room this way, but once it's does, ooh, it's delightful to walk (or lie!) on the floor on a cold winter day.
No keys! My apartment door has a touch pad. There are no locks on our mailboxes. No need for car keys. Nothing else to lock up.
Take-a-number waiting system is all over - in banks, movie theaters, the post office, immigration office - instead of standing in line, you take a number from a machine and sit (!) in one of the seats provided while you wait for your number to be called.
Personal customer service; friendly people willing to help. Wow. Calm, polite, patient people everywhere, willing to talk, answer questions, take time. I don't use the phone much myself but have sometimes had Koreans make business calls for me - they always get a human on the line, never an automated menu with endless buttons to press; I have yet to see anyone put on hold.
Korea's unemployment rate is, I believe, 3.something % - compared to the US 10% rate. There are undoubtedly complicated economic and social factors, but I can't help but notice the huge number of people working at jobs that don't exist in the States. Every large store has workers posted throughout the store, at every display case, just standing there waiting to help customers. There are people riding little delivery motor scooters everywhere - almost anything can be delivered to your home with a phone call (you can order McDonald's delivered any time day or night!). With market vendors in stall after endless stall at the big markets, the huge number of very small businesses (tiny little restaurants by the score, small clothing shops, bedding shops, camera shops, etc.) on every street, street vendors, bus and taxi drivers, people actually answering phones, etc. - all these visible jobs surely add something to the economy and people's livelihood.
I will say, though, that these armies of customer service workers spend a lot of time seemingly doing nothing as they wait for customers. Are these folks getting paid much? Are they making it?
Anyway, I miss them!
