I got it in my head to do another one while taking a shower today, which is when the best moments of inspiration come in any culture. Yet, I was doubly inspired because I thought of just how right Korean bathrooms are for me.
I've loved them ever since getting used to them in 1994 for the first time, when I was temporarily confused as to what to do in there – umm, where's the shower curtain? Sliding glass door? What's this scuba gear doing in here (my host father's)? Help! Help!
After I got over that, I accepted.
I thought this list was a bit harder to come up with – care to make any additions?
10. Korean bathrooms, in which the whole thing is made to get wet, no separate wet and dry spots – just a drain in the middle of the floor. Clean the walls, clean yourself, clean the toilet. Just spray, spray, SPRAY!
9. You hardly ever have to pay for software – especially Microsoft software.
8. Internet – everywhere – fast. Even grandmas have faster connections than most small businesses in the States.
7. In Korea, nothing is lukewarm. It's either gonna boil your tonsils or sear your taste buds off.
6. Quikservice. Guys on motorbikes who risk their necks (and the lives of others) to deliver you whatever you need for less than it would cost to take a taxi to pick it up yourself. Fucking cool.
5. The ajussi who can fix or make anything, and all for cheap. Almost every custom wire I paid out the nose for in the States (minijack to female XLR microphone adaptor, for example?) was made on the spot for me. That was $5.
4. Samgyupsal. The bacon part of the pig sliced raw into thin strips and eaten with garlic, leaves, and soju. It doesn't get any more pure instinct-in-the-cave than that. "Strength and honor!"
3. Korean banking. A checkbook that's always balanced and instantaneous wire transfers, to boot.
2. In Korea, it's always miniskirt weather. Even in winter. Even in church.
1. Corn dogs – everywhere.
