Kimchi and snacks, the opposite poles of Korean food

I wrote quite extensively about French food in Korea a few days ago. So  it's high time I wrote about Korean food too. But it's quite a vast topic, so I decided to start with THE most famous traditional food in Korea : Kimchi.

Kimchi is a spicy side dish made of fermented vegetables (cabbage, radish, or cucumber for instance) and it is served with virtually every Korean meal. There's fish extract in it, oyster sometimes, garlic, and it's fermented, which means it can be pretty strong sometimes, not to say pungent. Hence the distaste some foreigners have for it. But since there are probably hundreds of different kinds of Kimchi, as you'll see if you ever visit a kimchi store in Korea, it's difficult to say if you like it or not. 

I like some kinds of kimchi (the mildest ones by Korean standards) and can't eat others, at least for now. I also like it when it's cooked instead of being eaten as a side dish (fried kimchi and kimchi pancake are yummy!). 

Kimchi Pancake

Anyway, Kimchi is extremely popular (when we're not in Korea, Her sometimes tells me "I need Kimchi"), and the good news is that it's quite healthy (health.com even tells us that it may be one of the reasons why the obesity rate is so low in Korea ).
I talked about kimchi stores, but a lot of Koreans still make Kimchi at home (fewer and fewer people do, though). This year, we visited my in-laws for Gimjang (김장), which is a yearly event during which families prepare Kimchi for the year to come. The quantities can be huge! My mother-in-law usually uses about a hundred cabbages, but this year she "only" prepared sixty... 

Traditionally, kimchi used to be stored in big jars undeground, but today kimchi fridges are used, which can be a good way  to avoid kimchi smell in your main fridge (I wonder why we French people haven't invented the cheese fridge yet...).

In short, kimchi is at the heart of Korean cuisine and culture. When taking a picture, Koreans will say "Kimchi" instead of "cheese". Oh, and it can also be used as a weapon, as this famous scene from a Korean drama shows:

As I said, Kimchi is an acquired taste, so you may want to go for some Korean food with which you'll fall in love at first bite. If so, try Korean snacks. The main reason why they're so good, in my opinion, is that they're not too sweet (or salty), as is often the case in the US or Europe. I checked a few websites on the issue and I noticed that few are mentioning my favorites, so here we go. My all time favorite is Mat Dong San (맛동산) but Jolly Pong (which is not dissimilar to Honey Smacks and which I'm savoring as I'm writing these lines for the sake of accuracy) is a close second.  There are a lot of other varieties like Caramel Corn (카라멜 콘), which is to die for, Corn Chip (it's just puffed wheat, but not crazy salty as I'm sure it would be in France), or Sin Jjang (신짱). The list goes on and on. And the good news is that they keep inventing new ones. We recently discovered Caramel Pretzel (프레첼), which literally blew my tastebuds away!

The problem is once you open the pack you can't stop eating. And I'm not sure it's very healhty (surprisingly, health.com doesn't mention Korean snacks). So snack responsibly and don't forget to give kimchi a chance (or several chances).

The Joys of Living in Extremely Safe South Korea

France is not a particularly dangerous place, even though "insécurité" is one of the main isues discussed during election campaigns. (A few tips for travelers to France are available here). However, after a few months in South Korea, I have realized how crazy safe this country is. This was confirmed by a simple google search : 

Mind you, there is crime in South Korea. But I must say I'm always a little amused when I see that a shop-robbery or the arrest of a pickpocket are reported on the national 8 o'clock news. In France I guess such trivial events would hardly be mentioned in the local newspaper. When I met Her in the US several years ago, she told me that one thing she missed about Korea was being able to walk alone at night. And it's true that Korean streets seem to be very safe. CCTV is everywhere in Korea. I'm not a big fan of it, but I'm getting used to it, at least I'm paying less attention to it. 

There's kind of chicken-and-egg question that bugs me : is Korea safe thanks to CCTV or is there CCTV in order to remain safe? In any case I have seen people do things here that I would never do in France, not even in my wildest dreams. Here again, the subway is a telling example. Apart from the fact that it seems everybody pays for the ride here, while it's really not uncommon to see people jump the turnstile in France, I'm not sure I would take out my brand new state-of-the-art smartphone or my laptop on a French subway train, that would be a one-way ticket to disaster. I also noticed a lot of people leave their bags open, when paying attention to pickpockets is my main concern when I'm on public transportation in France. This may explain why Korean tourists, and Asian tourists in general, are some of the French pickpockets' favorite targets. They may simply not be used to paying so much attention to their belongings.
In the above-ground world, I have seen equally unbelievable behaviours. In cafés, it happens that some people leave their bags, wallets, laptops and/or phones and simply go away for a while (sometimes for hours). And when they're back they'll find everything untouched! Or the other day at the supermarket. I saw a man who went to the restroom after doing his shopping. So he left his shopping-cart full of freshly purchased goods, plus his bag and his phone, unattended in a crowded hall for a few minutes. And of course, when he came back nothing was missing. Why go to the supermarket anyways when online shopping is so big in Korea? One of the main e-commerce companies is called Coupang. Well, when Coupang delivery men come to our apartment complex, which has a dozen different buildings, they take all the parcels out of the truck, put them down on the sidewalk, and then deliver them one by one, therefore leaving the rest of the parcels unattended on the sidewalk. To illustrate this, I  looked outside our window five minutes ago and -bingo!-  a few lonely parcels are waiting to be delivered. It's usually many more than that, though.

Edit: Another one, one hour later

The icing on the cake was when Her and I were looking for an apartment. We dropped by a real estate agency (as explained here) and the lady (who was the only person there) took us a few blocks away to visit one. When we left the agency with her and we mentioned that she forgot to lock the door, she replied that "it's ok, there's nothing to steal." (apart from a few computers and phones, maybe?)
This gives me a strange but pleasant feeling. I just hope I won't forget to get back into my old habits when I visit my home country. It could cost me dearly.

Transportation in Korea (Subway, Bus, Ktx, Taxi, Intercity Bus)

To be honest, Korea is not the most pedestrian-friendly place I know. Cars come first and pedestrians come second. Unfortunately, I don't drive here. I probably will some day, when I have understood a few rules that so far are still quite obscure to me (needless to say that being able to read the signs would also help). I did drive when we visited Jeju island for a few days, but it was much easier than in congested cities like Seoul or Busan (where drivers are apparently considered to be the worst in the country). Long story short, I have to walk and use public transportation, which is not extremely complicated. True, subway maps may seem a little confusing at first, especially in Seoul, but it's pretty easy to find one's way around, and signs and announcements are usually in Korean and in English (sometimes in Chinese and Japanese too). Plus you get to enjoy the jingles that announce the arrival of a train, with different jingles at transfer stations or (in Busan) when there's a beach near the station. 

😰

Subways can be pretty crowded at rush hour, like many subways around the world. But I like it that people wait in line to get on the train, instead of rushing and fighting, as we do back home. It's also very pleasant that trains and platforms are extremely safe and clean (here again, Paris can't compare). Every time a train reaches its final stop, a crew of cleaning ladies get on to clean it before it departs again. 

Paris Metro : much older and far less clean.

Also, there are restrooms at every station, usually located before you go through the turnstile, which means that not only subway travelers can use them. If you've ever tried to find public toilets in Paris (in the metro or elsewhere) you'll understand why this is so amazing to me. On the trains, most passengers are glued to their smartphone, not least because of free wifi, which is another big difference with my home country. And it goes without saying that the cars are air-conditioned, which you shouldn't take for granted if you visit France. 

Taking the bus, on the other hand, can be a little less pleasant. There are a lot of buses, and they're pretty fast and cheap too. But I'm still not used to the way most drivers speed and then hit the brakes pretty hard. It makes the rides pretty shaky and bumpy. I don't dislike a bus ride if the bus isn't crowded and I can sit...but that's a big if... 

The third option to move around town is to take a cab. And this is very common here, since taxis are everywhere. And if you do have to call one, the chances are that it will show up within less than three minutes. And it's pretty cheap too (although the base fare has recently increased). Of course, you can't be sure the driver speaks English, but I have already taken a taxi by myself, and I made it to my destination, so there's nothing to worry about. Still, some taxi drivers tend to think they are race car drivers, so remember to always buckle up (it's the law now, but drivers usually don't care if you don't).

For longer trips, bullet-trains and intercity buses are the main means of transportation that I have tried so far. The Korean "KTX" (high speed train) is extremely convenient. For a Frenchman, it's also very familiar, since it's based on the same technology as the french TGV, so the trains almost look alike. 

French TGV

Korean KTX

Starting point of Korea railroad at Seoul Station

There are a few differences though. One is punctuality (I don't think I've ever seen a late KTX, when I can barely remember the last time my TGV was on time). And if you go from Seoul to Busan, there's a train every fifteen to thirty minutes. Also, I've never found anyone sitting on my seat, which is not uncommon in France, for some reason. Ticket inspectors don't check your ticket, according to what I've been told they only check empty seats. And they bow to passengers every single time they enter or exit the car. In short, I've never been a train enthusiast, but Korea could make me become one. However, I take the train less often now since the high-speed connexion between  Incheon International Airport and Busan (as well as other major cities) has unfortunately been discontinued for lack of profitability it seems. To reach the airport from another city than Seoul, you can either take a KTX to Seoul Station, then take the Incheon express train to ICN, or you can use intercity express buses, which are a common means of transportation in Korea. They're quite comfortable, safe, and cheaper than the train, but of course they're much slower (about five hours from Busan to ICN). It's also a good way to discover rest areas on Korean freeways, where you can discover all different kinds of Korean food.

All in all, there are a lot of alternatives to driving, but something tells me I'll soon be posting about my driving experience in Korea. Looks like fun!

Housing in Korea

Her and I lived in Yangsan for three months before settling down in Busan. Looking for an apartment was another interesting experience for me, and pretty different from what I was used to in France and in the USA. The first time I visited Korea, I was -like most foreign visitors, I suppose- struck by the countless clumps of apartment buildings, like these in Yangsan.

By French standards, these are not dream homes. Quite the opposite. They remind me of the French "banlieues", which are often (rightly or wrongly) associated with violence and crime.  But not in Korea,where living in such apartment buildings (aka, "아파트" or "apateu"  ) seems to be the norm (and in fact they are quite clean and very safe). So when in Rome, do as the Romans do! In each apartment complex, there are a couple of real estate agencies, so you just need to drop by and they'll show you what apartments are available, if any. Interestingly, all the apartments we visited, in different complexes and different neighborhoods were almost identical. The layout was the same, which in a way made it easier to choose, since  it all depended on location and the overall state of the apartment. Most apartments are renovated on a regular basis. The previous tenants in our apartment lived here for 15 years, which I was told is unusual. So after they left, the apartment was fully renovated, in about ten days. The building itself looks a little old (apparently twenty years is considered "old" here) but the apartment is squeaky clean, and on the 20th floor, so the view is not bad. We could even enjoy nice sunsets, if it wasn't for the clumps of apartment buildings mentioned earlier.

As for the rent, well, that was a little suprising too, as the Korean system, once again, is different from what I was used to. If you can afford it, you can choose to put down a huge security deposit, and then you'll have no monthly rent to pay. You can also put down a smaller but still hefty deposit (tens of thousand of dollars/euros) and pay a relatively low rent. Actually, you can negotiate with the owner of the apartment and ask them to lower the rent if you increase the deposit. The good thing is, the owner will return the deposit when we leave. In France the deposit is much lower and the rent is  higher, that's money you never get back.

The most amazing part for me was on the actual moving day. We (I mean Her) arranged everything with a moving company a few days before moving, and we didn't really have to pack our stuff since they would take care of everything. Still, we did "pre-pack" a little, which was not necessary, since the four movers did take care of everything. And they did it quickly... Within 45 minutes, our Yangsan apartment was empty . 

After a forty minute drive, they not only dropped off all the furniture and boxes in the new apartment (with the furniture in the right place), they also put the food back in the fridge and the clothes and shoes in the closets. When Her reminded them that this was not part of the deal, they replied that it was ok because they had time. In short, moving started at 8 a.m., and three and half hours later, the movers had left, air conditioning was installed and operational, and our internet connection was set up (the internet guy who was supposed to come at 3p.m. actually showed up at 11 a.m...). Fastest move ever!

This was the first time I moved house and I did not feel exhausted or stressed out at the end of the day! Her and I decided to have lunch out to celebrate, and we had plenty of time to finish unpacking and order more furniture, which of course was delivered in no time !

Discovering Korean swimming pools

Swimming is cool. I don't think I'm good at it, but I really do love it. So one of my concerns when I moved to Korea was to be able to keep going to the pool at least once a week. Would I be able to go there by myself, knowing the linguistic hurdles mentioned here? Would the pools be so crowded you can barely move? In my hometown in France, swimming pools can be really crowded sometimes. Fortunately there's a website that tells you how many people are in the pool in (almost) real time, so you can avoid heavy traffic. There's no such thing for the two swimming pools that I have been to so far in Korea (in Yangsan and Haeundae). There are specific open swim times, so you don't have much of a choice (however, another pool in Busan, Sajik indoor swimming pool, is open for free swim from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.). Open swim times are 8-9 a.m. and 12-3 p.m. in Yangsan , and 1 to 4 p.m. in Haeundae. In Yangsan, getting in is super easy, since they have ticket vending machines. So I just had to memorize which buttons to press and that was it. Her walked me through it when we went together for the first time and then I could go by myself, without talking to any human being, which may not have been so good for my Korean, though. 

Also, 3,500 won looks  pretty cheap to me. It's even cheaper in Haeundae (2,800 won), but you need to actually talk to humans to get in. Well, in fact, all I need is my credit card and a 10,000 won bill used as a refundable "deposit" for the  locker key and I barely need to talk to the people there. I just say "hello" and "thank you" in Korean (or as close to Korean as possible), which usually makes them smile.

Before going, Her had warned me that I would have to strip in front of strangers in the locker room and shower in my birthday suit (in France, you'd certainly get in trouble if you did that). I felt very uncomfortable the first time, and I still do but I'll finally get used to it I suppose. I was also surprised to see spas and saunas in the shower room, where Korean "ajoshis" relax and chew the fat. The pools I've been to are 25m long (but Sajik has 25 and 50m pools). They can be a little crowded, but not as much as I feared. Not all lanes are open for free swim. There are always noisy aqua fitness classes and/or private lessons, so there are only two to four lanes for lap swimming. In Yangsan there are signs that tell you which lane to use depending on your swimming abilities (beginner, intermediate, and advanced). Good that Her had explained that to me beforehand:

I found this pretty convenient. In Haeundae the signs only say "Free Swim" (in two different ways, 자유 수영 for "free swimming" and 자유 레인 for "free lane", which I found confusing at first), so you may end up swimming with people who are much slower or much faster than you. Yet, in Korea things seem to self regulate and everything goes pretty smoothly (not to say swimmingly), when I'm pretty sure that in France people would soon start yelling and fighting.  I was impressed by the numerous "halmeonis" who can actually swim very well. I often have to pull over to let them past. Still, in Haeundae, I find that the lanes are a little narrow, so it happens that I hit or kick someone or that I get hit or kicked, especially since I'm pretty tall and I swim breaststroke. Anyway, people are very kind and don't get mad at me (which I would expect in France) if I kick them accidentally (maybe 영어 마비 helps a little too 😉).

Just a side note, I'm always amused by the constant cacophony of ringtones and phones vibrating or chiming from inside the lockers. That's how you can tell you're living in a hyperconnected country, I guess. But I'll get to that some other time.

A la découverte des piscines coréennes

Nager, c'est cool. Je ne pense pas être doué pour ça, mais j'aime vraiment ça. L'une de mes préoccupations lorsque j'ai déménagé en Corée était donc de pouvoir continuer à aller à la piscine au moins une fois par semaine. Serais-je capable d'y aller tout seul, étant donné les obstacles linguistiques mentionnés ici ? Les piscines seraient-elles tellement surpeuplées qu'on peut à peine bouger ? Dans ma ville d'origine, en France, les piscines sont parfois très fréquentées. Heureusement, il y a un site Web qui vous indique combien de personnes sont dans la piscine (presque) en temps réel, ce qui vous permet d'éviter la cohue. Je n'ai rien vu de tel pour les deux piscines que j'ai visitées jusqu'ici en Corée (à Yangsan et Haeundae). Il y a des heures d'ouverture spécifiques, donc vous n'avez pas vraiment le choix (cependant, une autre piscine à Busan, la piscine couverte de Sajik, est ouverte pour tout le monde de 6h à 21h). Les heures d'ouverture sont de 8h00 à 9h00 et de 12h00 à 15h00 à Yangsan, et de 13h00 à 16h00 à Haeundae. A Yangsan, il est très facile d'entrer, car il y a des machines pour payer son entrée. Je n'ai eu qu'à mémoriser les boutons sur lesquels appuyer. Elle m'a montré tout cela quand nous y sommes allés ensemble pour la première fois et ensuite j'ai pu y aller seul, sans parler à aucun être humain, ce qui n'était toutefois pas très bon pour mon Coréen. 

De plus, 3 500 wons me semblent plutôt bon marché. C'est encore moins cher à Haeundae (2 800 wons), mais il faut parler à des humains pour y entrer. En fait, tout ce dont j'ai besoin, c'est de ma carte de crédit et d'un billet de 10 000 won utilisé comme "caution" pour la clé du casier et j'ai finalement à peine besoin de parler aux gens. Je dis juste "bonjour" et "merci" en coréen (ou dans une langue s'en rapprochant autant que possible), ce qui les fait généralement sourire.

Avant d'y aller la première fois, Elle m'avait prévenu que je devrais me déshabiller devant des étrangers dans les vestiaires et prendre une douche en costume d'Adam (en France, vous auriez certainement des ennuis si vous faisiez ça). Je me sentais très mal à l'aise la première fois, et je le suis toujours, mais j'imagine que je vais finir par m'y habituer. J'ai également été surpris de voir des spas et des saunas à côté des douches, où les "ajoshis" coréens se détendent et taillent le bout de gras. Les piscines que j'ai visitées font 25m de long (mais Sajik a des bassins de 25 et 50m). Il peut y avoir un peu de monde, mais pas autant que je ne le craignais. Les lignes ne sont pas toutes ouvertes à la nage libre. Il y a toujours de bruyants cours d'aquagym  et/ou des leçons privées, il n'y a donc que deux à quatre couloirs pour la natation. À Yangsan, il y a des panneaux qui vous indiquent la ligne à emprunter en fonction de vos capacités de nageur (débutant, intermédiaire et avancé). Heureusement, Elle me l'avait expliqué avant :

J'ai trouvé cela plutôt pratique. A Haeundae, les panneaux ne disent que "nage libre" (de deux façons différentes, 자유 수영 수영 pour "free swimming" et 자유 레인 pour "free lane", ce que j'ai trouvé déroutant au début), de sorte que vous pouvez vous retrouver à nager avec des gens qui sont beaucoup plus lents ou beaucoup plus rapides que vous. Cependantant, en Corée, les choses semblent s'autoréguler et tout se passe plutôt bien. J'ai été impressionné par les nombreuses "halmeonis" qui savent très bien nager. Je dois souvent m'arrêter pour les laisser passer. A Haeundae, je trouve que les lignes sont un peu étroites, de sorte qu'il m'arrive de heurter quelqu'un ou de me faire heurter, surtout que je suis assez grand et que je nage la brasse. Mais les gens sont très gentils et ne se fâchent si je les heurte accidentellement (peut-être que "영어 마비" aide un peu également😉).

Dernière chose, je suis toujours amusé par la mélodie incessante des téléphones qui sonennt, bippent, ou vibrent à l'intérieur des casiers. C'est comme ça qu'on voit qu'on vit dans un pays hyperconnecté, je suppose. Mais j'y reviendrai une autre fois.

Surmonter ses difficultés linguistiques en Corée

Ne nous mentons pas: je ne parle pas coréen. Il est vrai qu'au cours des cinq dernières années, j'ai appris quelques expressions grâce à  ma femme (elle s'appelle Elle, pour information), je peux "lire" -ou déchiffrer- le coréen (mais je ne comprends pas ce que je lis) et dire quelques choses fondamentales que seule Elle comprend . Les autres personnes ne semblent même pas se rendre compte que j'essaie de parler leur langue (pour paraphraser Mark Twain, il semble qu'ils ne comprennent même pas leur propre langue). Cinq mois après mon installation en Corée, je commence les cours de coréen, mais il faudra du temps, et beaucoup de temps, avant que je sois autonome sur le plan linguistique. Cela peut parfois être difficile ou problématique. L'autre jour, dans le métro, j'ai reçu un message d'avertissement sur mon téléphone. Les seuls mots que j'ai compris étaient "emergency alert". J'ai paniqué quelques secondes avant de remarquer que personne autour de moi ne semblait s'en soucier. Puis j'ai réussi à lire le mot important "masque" (마스크) et j'ai compris : ils nous avertissaient d'un pic de pollution, pas d'une guerre nucléaire ou d'un tsunami.

En dehors de cela, il y a beaucoup de choses dans ma vie quotidienne que je ne peux pas faire sans l'aide d'Elle (obtenir ma carte de résident, choisir un forfait téléphonique, ouvrir un compte bancaire, et ainsi de suite). Mais cela n'a pas vraiment d'importance, car je me suis rendu compte que l'on peut facilement survivre en Corée du Sud sans parler la langue. Beaucoup d'amis et de membres de ma famille me demandent comment je peux vivre ici quand je ne peux pas parler aux gens ou faire grand chose par moi-même.  Tout d'abord, l'anglais aide beaucoup, ne le nions pas. Deuxièmement, les Coréens sont très bienveillants envers les étrangers comme moi, et je ne me suis jamais retrouvé dans une situation où il n'y avait personne pour m'aider. Parfois, les gens m'offrent même leur aide avant que je demande. La première fois que je suis allé à la piscine de Yangsan (dont je parlerai plus tard), Elle a dû venir avec moi parce que je ne savais pas où aller ni quoi faire. Mais bien sûr, elle ne pouvait pas être avec moi dans les vestiaires. À un moment donné, alors que j'essayais de comprendre la signification d'un panneau, un homme est venu me voir et m'a demandé "Can I help you?" Ce n'est qu'un exemple parmi tant d'autres. De plus, beaucoup de Coréens me disent "Hello" ou "Hi" dans la rue, certains me demandent même d'où je viens (quand je réponds en mauvais coréen que je viens de France, on me répond habituellement par une référence à  Emmanuel Macron, Napoléon, ou Charles de Gaulle).

Pourtant, il arrive que certaines personnes m'ignorent parce que je ne parle manifestement pas coréen. Elle aime beaucoup quand quelqu'un qui distribue des tracts dans la rue nous évite pour éviter de me parler. Et il m'arrive très souvent de passer à la caisse du supermarché sans que la caissière ne dise un mot ou ne me regarde. C'est, semble-t-il, parce que beaucoup de Coréens ne peuvent pas, ou pensent qu'ils ne peuvent pas, parler anglais et la simple idée d'avoir à parler à un étranger en anglais les terrifie. Beaucoup de publicités télévisées pour les instituts anglais jouent sur cette peur, montrant des citoyens coréens transpirant à grosses gouttes quand ils doivent parler anglais. Jetez un coup d'œil à cette publicité :

La chanson (sur la mélodie de "Ring my Bell", par Anita Ward) dit "영어 마비". (yeong eo ma bi bi), qui signifie "paralysie anglaise". Et pourtant, si vous voulez mon avis, les Coréens ne sont pas aussi mauvais en anglais qu'ils ne le pensent, ou du moins pas pire que les Français, mais ça n'engage que moi. Bref, je ne parle pas coréen, tous les Coréens ne parlent pas anglais, mais j'ai Elle, les gens sont sympas, et on dirait que je vais me plaire ici !