Restrooms

For the most part, restrooms in Korea are identical to restrooms in the U.S. There are a few differences, though.

Urinals

Just so that we're all on the same page, this is a urinal. In the U.S., it's pretty common for them to have automatic sensors. It is in Korea, also. The major difference is that in the U.S., they generally flush when you leave, although sometimes there are "water-free" urinals that don't flush, but instead have some super-scientific smell-reducing thing. In Korea, they flush both when you arrive and when you leave. While it may seem like a good way to keep them clean, actually they usually smell worse here than in America. So I'm not sure what's up with that.


Automatic but-washers

They're real. They're not common, but every once in a while you'll run into them. Yes, there is usually toilet paper there also, so you can choose to opt-out if water squirting at your butt isn't your thing.

I used one once. It was an experience. I'll leave the rest up to the imagination. Google is always there if you want to know more about them.






Toilet Paper

My female friend said that sometimes there' not toilet paper in the Women's restrooms in the subway. I've never had that problem, personally. But there is a rather shocking bit about toilet paper that I've still not really adjusted to.

Next to almost every single toilet that I've seen in Korea is a trash can. And for a while, I just ignored them. I didn't want to ask why they were there. But they're in Every. Single. Bathroom. And they're often filled with used toilet paper. I ended up asking a friend recently, and my suspicions were confirmed. Apparently, it's normal in Korea to throw away your toilet paper in a trash can rather than flushing it. I suppose Korean plumbing systems aren't all designed to handle toilet paper. I haven't been able to bring myself to do it. It seems so unsanitary. And some of these trash cans don't even have trash bags. I feel so bad for the old women (and they're always old women) who clean the bathrooms. I'm open to advice on this one. I sure hope that I haven't clogged any toilets yet.

Signs

Alright, this one is pretty funny. So in Korean, the word 화장실 (Hwa jang shir) means both the restroom and the actual toilet. So like 90% of the time, if you see a restroom sign with English written on it, it will say "Toilet." I suppose it's not allll that crazy, but it's just a bit off. A lot of signs here have small grammar mistakes. And some have bigger mistakes. I wonder if there are lots of signs in America with funny translations in other languages.


I've also noticed that Koreans are really creative with their bathrooms signs! Sure, the standard guy/girl sign is common, but a lot of signs have unique, well designed graphics. Here are some examples from the internet.

Soap

So I think that it's safe to say that the public hygiene standards in Korea just aren't what they are in the United States. In most restrooms, there just isn't soap. When there is, it's almost always bar soap. Which is very strange for me. I'm not sure whether it's more sanitary to use it or to avoid it. Sometimes, you'll even see bar soap on a bar! I had no idea that this was a thing. I can't say that I entirely understand the point. I will admit, though, that I have seen liquid soap in a restroom. Once. It really happens, though rarely. I have yet to see an automatic soap dispenser, though, like the ones that are so common in America.

Squatters

These are also not very common, but you might find them in older buildings or in the subway. I've yet to use one yet, but maybe I will before I leave. I think this is significantly less shocking to me than the toilet paper thing. Wow.











So there's a bit about restrooms in Korea. Here are some useful phrases about restrooms.

화장실 (Hwa jang shir) - restroom/toilet
여기에 화장실이 있어요?  (Yeogi-e hwajangshir-i isseoyo?) - Is there a restroom here?
화자실이 어디예요? (Hwajangshir-i eodie-yeyo?) - Where is the restroom?
화장식이 가고 싶어요. (Hwajangshir-i kago shipeoyo) - I want to go to the restroom.

As a note - The characterㅓ is generally transliterated as "eo" (As in Seoul). It's a bit misleading. It's not two sounds, but one. It's not a sound that we really have in English, but it's maybe similar to:
Maud
law
the sound you make when you yawn
"Oh lawd!" (Oh lord!)

I hope you feel like an expert in Korean restrooms.

Adios!

My Classes, Korean cultural ideas, and a bit about math

So after much deliberation, I chose five classes to take this semester: Beginning Korean Conversation, Medical Ultrasound, Division and Unification of Korea, Special Topics in Applied Physics: Semiconductors, and Korean Culture Experience,

We've only had one full week so far since we had no school on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday of the second week due to Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving). So these are just my first impressions.

Beginning Korean Conversation

I spent some time learning the Korean alphabet and a few simple phrases before I came, and since I arrived, I've been trying to learn as much as possible from all of the Koreans. So the first day of class was pretty boring for me personally since we're starting from square one. We basically were just learning the vowel sounds and how to write them. I think I'll probably know most of the material that we cover for at least the first few weeks. Hopefully after that, though, we'll be able to get into some more advanced concepts like grammar and sentence structure. I really want to learn Korean. Everything is easier when you can communicate with more than like 5% of the people around you.

Medical Ultrasound

So this class is all about the mathematical theories behind ultrasound imaging. I like math. Like a lot. I'm a math major if you didn't know. So on the first day of class when we went through like a semester of calculus in two hours, I felt comfortable and excited. I fully realize that not everyone has this experience with math. That's okay. So I'm really in to this class. I really like the idea of learning new mathematical concepts and then combining them to learn about a real technique that is widely used in modern medicine. That's so cool. My roommate Jihoon, though, told me that the professor has a reputation for being really hard and he recommended that I choose a different class. I thought about it. But none of the other classes taught in English had as much math, and I enjoy a challenge.

So I talked to the professor after class and asked if it would be okay if I took his class since I'm the only one who doesn't speak Korean. The first thing he asked me was "Didn't your friends warn you about this class?" He said that it would have the workload of three classes. I have no fear.  For our first assignment, he gave us like 70 calculus problems. The day after he assigned them, I sat in the library for about five hours and finished them all. Bring it on.

Division and Unification of Korea

This class is all about North and South Korea: the history, the cultural similarities and differences, and the prospect of reunification. The professor is really cool. He's an older guy, and he's pretty laid back and funny. He speaks English pretty slowly, but pretty well. I'm the only American in the class, and when he found out that I was from Ohio, he was really excited. He said that I will be his official Ohio English language assistant. I have no idea what that will entail.

Anyways, he wrote a paper recently entitled "Imagine One Korea" which he submitted to President Obama discussing the idea of lifting sanctions from North Korea and trying to make peace with them. I haven't read it yet, but I plan to do so in the next few days before our next class. He's been to North Korea several times and knows a whole lot about their culture.

On the first day, we watched a video about the North Korean Mass Games. Skip around in the video below. It's like the most elaborate, hugest marching band show ever. And I believe that those giant images you see are not screens, but rather thousands of people holding little books with different colored pages watching a guy with a flag telling them when to flip pages. Here's the link to part of the documentary that we watched if you're interested. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSrcLC6Zz54

This class is going to have a lot of hard topics to swallow, and a lot of really important issues to think about. I'm really interested and grateful for this chance to learn about a culture that is so radically different from my own and try to grapple with the question "Can we live together in peace?"

Special Topics in Applied Physics

This is a senior level class, mainly for physics majors, discussing semiconductors, how they work, and their applications. The prerequisite course listed was "General Physics." I took Physics I, but not Physics II. So I think I'm not really prepared. Buuuut oh well. I'll learn quick. And anyways, I think it's actually going to be a really easy class. It seems like a throwaway kind of class that seniors take because they don't want to take something hard.

The first day was just a class intro and the professor let us out like an hour early. But by the second class, we started getting into quantum physics and how semiconductors work. It's really complex stuff. Wow. Molecular Orbital Theory is kind of blowing my mind. BUT the professor goes really really slow. So first, he'll explain everything in English (Did I mention I'm the only native English speaker in the class?) really slowly and repeat himself a lot. Like to the point where I'm just doodling because he's already said this three times. And then, since most of the students probably didn't understand anyways, he'll explain the whole thing again in Korean. So I think there will be a weird kind of tension in which I'll be bored and confused at the same time. We'll see how that goes.

But regardless, I'm really excited for the class! We're going to get into some really interesting topics. The three that I'm most excited for are solar cells, energy cells, and artificial photosynthesis. How cool. I want to learn all about all of those things. And a significant portion of the class time is devoted to student presentations, so we'll learn about the topics and teach each other. I think the idea works best when everyone speaks the same language, but it's a cool concept.

The Korean students in my class are so shy! Oh my god. I'm not sure if it's just because they have to speak English or if it's because in Korean schools, participation usually is equated with attendance. On the first day, though, we had to get up and introduce ourselves. Like really basic stuff. Name, age, major, hobbies. And there were like two Korean students who could do it without speaking really quietly or giggling embarrassedly the whole time. We'll see. This is going to be an interesting class on a lot of different levels.

Korean Culture Experience

This class is going to be super cool. Based on the syllabus, it looks like we're going to be doing something different almost every week. It's the only class that we have on Fridays, so we'll take lots of field trips and do interesting things like make paper, climb mountains, and learn Taekwondo. I'm pretty excited. And it seems like it will be pretty easy, too. We only have one midterm essay and one final essay, 1500 words each. Not bad.

In our first class, we had a lecture from Professor Simone Kim who teaches classes on Christianity and preaches at the University Church. She's a Korean America who grew up in California but now lives in Korea. She has a really interesting perspective on Korea as kind of a native foreigner who has a deep understanding of both cultures. She taught us about two important ideas in Korea, 정 (Jeong) and 한 (Han). Although I only just began to learn about them, here's my understanding so far.

정 is a kind of deep familial connection for friends and family and for the country. It is developed over a long period of time and is a very strong attachment which is an integral part of Korean culture. It also seems to have to do with respectful interactions between people of different ages, which is incredibly important in Korea. It is always necessary to show deference to your elders and to bow when meeting them. On the other hand, it is common for Koreans to buy food for younger friends and family, or to care for them in other ways. Even one or two year age differences are significant in Korean culture, where they would be almost entirely overlooked in America. The importance of age and respect is so deeply ingrained that it plays a large role in Korean language. There are usually two or three ways to say any given phrase: One for speaking to a younger person, one for a peer, and one for an elder. It's really a big deal.

한 is a very different, yet somewhat related concept. It is the repressed feeling of hopelessness experienced specifically by Korean women as a result of long term cultural and interpersonal oppression and subservience. Although Korea is quickly becoming modernized and gender barriers are eroding as they are elsewhere in the world, thousands of years of very strict gender roles have a way of remaining a part of a culture. We read a case study today in which a woman was told by her husband shortly after their wedding "my parents are like my limbs, irreplaceable and with me forever. You are like my clothes, sheddable and easily replaced." Or something like that. I'm paraphrasing. In another example, a female professor But still. I can't even imagine being in that situation. I certainly have to say, though, that while those sentiments may still underlie Korean Culture, I have seen very few if any inter-gender interactions which have struck me as negative or unusual. I think that especially among the younger generation, respect and equality for women is rising. But my perspective is only that of a foreigner who has been her for three weeks, so I can't say that I really have too much insight into the matter.