BonsaiK said:
1. What's the deal with traffic lights? I'm told that Koreans just ignore them, but why? And if they ignore them, and running red lights appears to not be policed, why do they bother putting up traffic lights in the first place? Wishful thinking? And why don't the autorities attach red light cameras and rake in the money? Or do they? After all it's surely a lot of money to install a traffic light that nobody uses...
Most people treat them as though they are stop signs. Very rarely will somebody outright blow through it. They will at minimum slow down. If the coast is very clear (no other cars in sight), they'll run it. If they're at a busy intersection, they'll obey it. Generally, red lights and parking violations are not policed though. They just hope that people are good-natured enough to abide by the law.
They do police speeding violations. They just let you know several hundred meters in advance before they do radar to catch speeders lol.
I haven't seen red light cameras. Maybe they have them in Seoul or something. Probably don't have them because so many damn people cut across the street and swerve from lane to lane that you wouldn't be able to get a good picture of a license plate.
2. I'm told that when people take photos they say "kim-chi" instead of "cheese". True? Any idea how kim-chi worked itself so deeply into the cuisine culture of Korea?
Sometimes they do. Sometimes they say "cheese".
Kimchi is Korea's national dish. Koreans as a whole appear to be very nationalistic when it comes to their cuisine. I have heard of many couples visiting other countries, but only eating Korean food rather than the country's cuisine. I'm not sure of the specific details, but I have heard of a museum dedicated to kimchi in Korea.
3. Is there anything approaching Starcraft in terms of popularity with Korean gamers? I know they also play CS quite a bit, but are newer games popular? Do you think that low system requirements were a large factor in Starcraft's popularity in Korea versus other countries (they were low even compared to other games at time of release) or they just liked it because it was a good game?
Other popular games among my students are Maple Story, Winning Eleven and Counterstrike. They are not as popular as Starcraft though. There are a few other popular FPS games, but they escape my mind at the moment.
I think the games were more accessible due to the system requirements as the computers in PC rooms (this is where the weirdo players play) tend to be pretty old. But their long-lasting popularity is definitely a testament to the quality of the game in their eyes.
4. Is there much of an underground or alternative music scene? My friend searched for one high and low last time she came to Korea and drew a complete blank, the only stuff she could find was traditional music and the K-pop stuff.
Yeah, there isn't much. As a matter of fact, live music in a club is extremely rare here. Maybe if you go to Itaewon or Hongdae in Seoul you will find something.
5. Why don't you watch Korean movies? They are awesome.
The countryside has shit TV stations. So, no movie channels. Seeing the options, I just outright decided against getting cable. Aside from video games, I don't use my TV for anything else.
Douk said:
once I met this cute Korean chick on chatroulette and she was so cute we high fived our screens and she wrote my name in Korean on a piece of paper but I got too nervous and clicked next because I didn't know what to do because she was sooo cute
my question is can you find this girl for me if I describe her. I'm pretty sure I can impress her if I got a second chance. She had black hair down to her shoulders and she was sooo cute, nice small nice smooth checks the works.
Narrows it down quite a bit. If I find a girl like it, I'm gonna fuck her.
