North or South? - Questions you should avoid asking to an expat in Korea. Episode 5. "Strange food"?

When it comes to discovering or comparing the cultures and ways of life of different countries, food inevitably comes up. I have already addressed this issue HERE and HERE.

And there is no lack of irrelevant and prejudiced questions about that too:

"They eat strange stuff in Korea, right?"

 

If this video is to be believed, it's hard to say no, but it's something I'd like to qualify a bit. Of course it all depends on what you mean by "strange."

The covid crisis has showed that there are prejudices in the West about Chinese cuisine, and Asian cuisine in general, when it was assumed that the epidemic had started from a market in China where pangolins were sold.

And it is true that in Korea, you can actually see "strange" things at the market. Korea is a Peninsula, so you can find all kinds of fish, seafood, shellfish, not to mention seaweed. Just walk down the Jagalchi market, in Busan, and you'll see what I mean. I'm not a seafood lover, so I am not really comfortable there, but can we say that all this is "strange"?

 

Let's say that from a French point of view there are many unusual things to eat in Korea (like "penis fish" to name but one). Even Kimchi, a staple food in Korea along with rice, can be disconcerting when you try it for the first time. But in my view, a lot of Korean food can be called "different", "new", but certainly not "weird".

Wait. Let's take a closer look. If you walk through a market in Busan, it's likely that you'll see eels being skinned alive and still wriggling while they're being grilled... (Video available HERE, Graphic content advisory!) One may find this disturbing, but I'd like to stress that Koreans are not the only ones who mistreat animals to cook them. In Korea, I have been asked about the way the French cook ortolans (more information HERE). Even if this dish is (fortunately) not one of the most popular in France (it may even be forbidden now), we have to admit that this is weird too, not to say creepy.

And what about foie gras?

Let's not forget that for Koreans, we are the ones who eat strange, even disgusting foods. Snails, of course, frogs (even if I saw some on a market in Busan, as I mentioned here), but also rabbit meat (which is quite rare in Korea. In France, Her is always horrified to see whole rabbits on the butchers' stalls), liver, offal of all kinds, not to mention our smelly cheeses (some of which, like Roquefort, are even covered with mold!)

The other day, I prepared a simple grated carrot salad with a little oil, lemon juice and parsley. My mother-in-law found it very "weird"...when she eats shrimp heads!

In short, there are quite a lot of culinary differences between France and Korea, to say the least, but the expression "strange stuff" bothers me because it sounds too pejorative.

This being said, I'd like to talk about a sensitive subject that sometimes comes up too.

"Have you tried dog meat?"

To put it simply: yes, it is possible to eat dog meat in Korea (and no, I haven't tried it). But you should also know that it's something that is less and less common (especially among the younger generations). I've visited Korea regularly since 2015 and I've been living here for three years, and I've seen a restaurant serving dog meat on only one occasion. So don't imagine that all Koreans, or even a majority of them, eat dog meat. According to Wikipedia, about 4% of Koreans consume dog meat. In a way, it's a bit like Ortolan back home. The dish does exist, but it is not common.  Recently, President Moon Jae-In even raised the issue of a possible ban on dog meat consumption. I don't know if he will be able to pass this before his term ends in spring 2022, but it shows that there is progress on this issue.

Long story short, forget your prejudices and try Korean food, there are so many delicious dishes to discover!

Hiking in Korea : Sinbulsan and Jangsan

Hiking is very popular in Korea. I mean VERY popular. This shouldn't be surprising given that South Korea is mostly mountainous, and lowlands make up only 30% of the total land area (thanks Wikipedia!). But I didn't expect hiking to be such a big thing. A few years ago, the Washington Post even ran an article about hiking as a national identity. Every day, our apartment being not far from the starting point of a hiking trail, I can see many groups of hikers in brand new flashy hiking gear ready to conquer the mountain. It seems to be both about exercising and socializing. Of course, you do want to make it to the top, but  being in a group, enjoying noodles or gimbap and rice wine at the top (and playing music from your phone on the way, too) are apparently as important. 

A group of Korean hikers in Jangsan

Since I moved to Korea, we have hiked two mountains : Sinbulsan in the Yangsan area, and Jangsan, near Haeundae (Busan). The trails were reasonably crowded, but I've heard they can get very busy sometimes. And, of course,  hiking is safe, too...as I have already mentioned on this blog, CCTV is everywhere in Korea!

CCTV in the mountains

Sinbulsan is located in what Koreans call the Yeongnam Alps, which I must confess made me smile, because the highest point is at about 1,200m, not even remotely comparable to Mont Blanc... 

 

Several different hiking trails in Sinbulsan

Sinbulsan

Anyways, for a novice like me that was already pretty steep at times, especially near the top. I was surprised that there were not a lot of signs and it wasn't always easy to find our way. But you can always ask (or follow) somebody, so there's no risk you'll get lost in the mountains after dark. We went to Sinbulsan in October because it's famous for the numerous reed fields near the top and that's when they're most beautiful. Once at the top, as I said before, a lot of people eat and drink, without forgetting to take a picture next to the summit sign (waiting in line patiently, as you would expect from Koreans).

Sinbulsan reed fields

Waiting in line to take pictures of the summit sign

View from Sinbulsan peak

Another ritual on Korean hiking trails is rock stacking. Apparently it's about making a wish, which should come true if the stack doesn't collapse (and if no evil wizard casts some kind of spell on you ;-) )

Rock stacking

Rock stacking and evil wizard

Jangsan was a much easier hike (about 600m, with few steep inclines), but it offers a unique vantage point on the city of Busan. Going in early spring was a good choice, as the trees are in full bloom, and it's not too hot. Just make sure you pick a sunny day and there isn't too much fine dust pollution so you can have a clear view of the city (fine dust pollution can get pretty bad here, I'll post about that some day I guess). The nearest peak is about 4 km from Daecheon Park in Haeundae, but there are a lot of different trails for those who want more. 

There are a multitude of different trails starting from Haeundae

You can also exercise at one of the many "physical parks" (with public workout machines, like in a lot of public spaces all around Korea). It's pretty easy to find one's way, at least at the beginning. Signs are in Korean and in English, and the trail is paved, but this doesn't last and then, like in Sinbulsan, it can get a little tricky. The signs are often in Korean only, and the maps are not very clear, even to Her, who's a native Korean speaker. 

A map that doesn't help much...

Sometimes there are even signs that don't mention the peak at all...That was a little confusing. And there are signs that you'd rather not come across, like this one (you'll understand that we didn't really want to walk off the beaten tracks).

Actually the area was cleared of landmines a long time ago, but you can never be 100% sure that all of them have been removed. Anyways, thanks to KakaoMap, which I think works much better than other smartphone apps in Korea, we could find our way when we weren't sure where to go. To make it simple, my advice is to cross this bridge after the biggest physical park (which seems to be the actual starting point of the trail). This route is not very steep, not too long, and quite beautiful. There are stairs when you get near the top. So you can  choose another trail if you're a die-hard hiker and you don't like stairs.

I still haven't figured out what the signs on this post mean...

Don't worry about the signs  and just go up the stairs.

Once at the top, you get to enjoy a magnificent view of the city. I heard that sometimes, on very clear days, you can make out the Japanese islands of Tsushima, but I guess it wasn't clear enough when we went.

Haeundae from Jangsan

View of Busan from Jangsan

The evil wizard is keeping a watchful eye on the town

In short, as always, I didn't know much about hiking, let alone hiking in Korea, and I think I like it, so I'll just need to drop by the nearest hiking gear store in order to comply with the dress code, and I'll be good to go again.

Introduction to Korean Beach Culture

Haeundae Beach

It looks like springtime  in Busan today. Not so surprising given that this is March 15, but the weather forecast had announced cold temperatures, so I'm glad they were wrong. And since we're living not far from the beach I was starting to think about how soon it would be possible to go take a dip. That was until I asked Her, and she said there is a  "swimming season" in Busan, basically from June to August, and outside this period you simply can't swim. Bummer...

 

[Edit : things have changed a little since I wrote this post. It looks like swimming is now tolerated before or after the official "swimming season", only there will be no swimming area (with boats and jetskis getting dangerously close to the shore), and no lifeguards. But you won't get fined. At least that's what I saw in Haeundae Beach]

  

 Apart from that slight inconvenience, the Korean beaches that I have visited in Busan and Jeju Island are pleasant places, with a few specificities when it comes the Korean "beach culture", even if at the end of the day the principle remains the same : soaking up the sun, swimming, playing, and relaxing.


The first time I was at Haeundae Beach in Busan, I was struck to see that things seem much more organized than in Europe or America. Rows of colorful parasols are installed and the vast majority of people rent one, although you don't have to. Koreans like them. Foreigners less so.  So a few years back the city came up with the idea of a "foreigner zone" without parasols, but it was heavily criticized as a form of segregation and I'm not sure it still exists.  Also, It's apparently customary to rent a rubber ring (for kids and grown-ups), so there are quite a few of them as you can see below.

Haeundae Beach

Jeju Island

Songjeong Beach

Beaches like Haeundae Beach can get very crowded in the Summer (I've read scary things about a million visitors a day, so you cannot even see the sand, but I haven't seen any such thing with my own eyes). However, let's not deny it,  there are a lot of people there, which does not make it  the best place to swim. But it's quite OK to take a dip and float on your back, or drift on your rubber ring.

 

The safety of beach goers is taken very seriously, so the designated swimming area is not super big, and you can't really go far from the shore. I was surprised to see that lifeguards are actually in the water, treading water near the buoys that mark the swimming area and they will whistle or even yell at you if you happen to go further out.

Beaches are also places where you can observe some of the Korean specificities or idiosyncrasies that I have already mentioned in other posts. Korean beaches look pretty safe to me, like the rest of the country. You can leave your stuff unattended on the beach (which I would never ever consider in France) without worrying that it might get stolen. Also, I remember that one time when there was a rip tide warning. Before I knew it, everybody was out of the water,  when I've seen lifeguards have an impossible time trying to get people to comply in similar situations in France.

Beach goers out of the water after a rip tide warning

I also mentioned the efficiency and expeditiousness of Koreans. I was once shocked to see that at the end of the day (Haeundae Beach, for instance, "closes" at 6 pm) the beach was littered with cans, food wrappers and plastic containers. Not surprising since there are virtually no trash cans, but that is no excuse. The good news, however, is that it  was all cleaned up in no time. But still, I'd rather people got used to taking their trash with them.

Which brings me to a sad thing I saw in Jeju. As we were visiting a nice place with a cute beach, I noticed that it was actually covered in plastic bottles. This was probably not due to tourists or locals, they simply washed up on the shore there.  But that's a sad reminder of how bad the problem of plastic pollution is.

 

Look closely and you'll see dozens of plastic bottles.

I still have two and a half months to wait before I can enjoy Korean beaches again. No biggie,  I'll keep going to the swimming pool. And there are so many other things to do or see here, I think I'll survive.

Settling down in Korea : Spouse Visa (F-6) and Alien Registration Card

After discovering the joys of the French-Korean marriage process (which involves twice as much paperwork, a lot of translation, and a few visits to embassies), Her and I decided I would be moving to Korea. This was really exciting, but we also knew we were in for a lot of administrative hassle, even though in the end things went on pretty smoothly.

Being married to a Korean national, I had to apply for an F6 visa (spouse visa), which made a few things easier for me (for instance, I didn't need to prove that I can speak Korean -I can't-  we simply had to prove that we can communicate in English). However, when I went to the Korean embassy in Paris to apply for my visa, it took me quite a while compared with the many young people who were applying for a student visa and usually went through the application process in five minutes.
 

Korean embassy in Paris

 There was no "interview", as you would expect at the US embassy for instance, but I had many more documents to produce than other applicants (about myself, Her, our parents and families, our jobs, our sources of income, and so on). Fortunately, Her had prepared everything for me, and she had done it perfectly (which is good since I had no idea what some of the documents were about) and I finally  left the embassy after 45 minutes knowing that I would get my passport back, with a visa in it, in the mail within ten days. And it actually took about five days, as far as I can remember.

Needless to say Her was delighted that her name appeared under "Remarks"

However, this visa was only valid for 90 days. Which means that within 90 days following my arrival in Korea, I had to visit an Immigration Office to get an Alien Registration Card (a.k.a. ARC, a residence permit, if you will). This was all the more important since I needed that card to be able to open a bank account, get a phone plan, and enroll in the Korean Health Care system. So, a few days after I landed in Korea, we visited the Immigration Office in Busan. 

First, we shouldn't have gone there without making an appointment beforehand. This is explained on the sign below.

The problem is, Her didn't have that information (the website they mention is for foreigners, and she got her information directly from Korean services, and no one mentioned the appointment to her). Also, you will have noticed that the sign is written in Korean only. That was a big surprise to me, and a little bit of a disappointment too, to be honest,  because most of the time in Korean cities you can find signs in Korean and in English. And I certainly would have expected that in a place which by definition is full of foreigners. And yet, there was hardly a sign or document in English there, and I  believe that if it hadn't been for Her, I would still be there trying to figure out what I have to do or where I have to go. There are a few Chinese-Korean interpreters, and that's it. Anyway, foreigners  who start by visiting the hikorea website may have an easier time than me. I also found two sites that provide useful information :  

https://www.korvia.com/how-to-apply-for-your-arc-in-korea/

https://10mag.com/your-complete-guide-to-the-alien-registration-card/
 

I'm only writing about my personal experience here. But I must say it was a little more complicated for me than these sites suggest (maybe it's easier in Seoul than in Busan, too).

Long story short, we made an appointment for the next week.  Again, I applied for an F6/spouse visa, so things may be a little different if you're on a work visa. For instance, one of the above sites mentions medical tests results, which is not something I was asked to produce. The following week, we showed up for the appointment, with all the forms and documents and KRW 30,000 (the processing fee). We learnt that we actually had to pay KRW 30,000 more for the card itself. Once again I was happy I wasn't there by myself when they explained that, because I had no idea what was happening. Then they told Her that the "family record document" we had brought was not the one they wanted and we had to get a more detailed one at the nearby "Dong" office ( "dong" is the smallest administrative division in Korea). When we finally got everything sorted out, we were told to come back and pick up the card in exactly three weeks (it is possible to have the ARC delivered by mail with an additional charge). So we waited for three weeks, went back and got the card (I saw that it had actually been issued the next day, but I guess three weeks is the standard waiting period for all applicants). 

This is not me...

With Her's help, I then could get a phone number, open a bank account, and enroll in the National Health Insurance program. And the coverage was effective immediately. Very simple,  probably because I'm on a spouse visa, so I was simply added to Her's insurance. Now, I will have to renew my ARC every year (maybe at longer intervals of time after a few years). Also, it's required that you let them know if you have a new address. After we moved house this year, we just dropped by our new Dong office so they could update my information and add my new address on my ARC.

So now I'm a legal resident in Korea. And the cool thing is I can sail through immigration at the airport! I have experienced endless lines at immigration at Incheon (like in most major airports), so last time when I just cleared it in five minutes, I was  thrilled! Originally you needed to register for that Smart Entry Service. But no longer. (At least I didn't do it, and it worked). All I needed to do was follow the signs to the kiosk, scan my passport and Korea opened its gates to me!

Smart Entry System

Bbali bbali ! - Speed, efficiency and expeditiousness in Korea.

Recently on the local TV news in Busan, they announced that a new road or freeway which is currently under construction and slated to open in December 2019 would actually be completed in July this year, that is five months ahead of time. My jaw dropped, as this would be unthinkable in my country where delays in construction are more than common. And this isn't an isolated case.  Before settling down in South Korea, every time I was here, I was amazed at the number of new buildings, and at the changes and improvements that had been made since my previous visit. In Yangsan,  about two years ago, we even discovered an entirely new neighborhood, with apartment complexes, countless shops, schools, and what have you, all of which didn't exist the first time I was there, about four years ago. Long story short, everything seems to be moving much faster here than back home.
I recently found an article by a famous Korean scholar who wrote: "Today, (...) foreigners are quite impressed by Koreans’ diligence and cleanliness. Foreigners who came to Korea in the early 20th century also complained about the intolerably slow tempo of the Korean people, who always seemed to be leisurely strolling, smoking a long bamboo pipe." Today, however, Koreans are astoundingly fast and dynamic." And  Guus Hiddink, the much revered former coach of the Korean national football team is said to have declared that the first Korean words he learned were 'bbali bbali.' (which means somthing like "hurry-hurry"). Some even talk about a "bbali-bbali culture" (sometimes shortened into "8282", eight being "bbal" and two being "ee"  in Korean). This may be a cliché or caricature, but there are actually quite a few examples of this in my everyday life. Let's start with delivery services. Online shopping is huge in Korea. And when you order goods online, you can expect extremely quick delivery (with no extra charge), I mean overnight delivery is very common, and in big cities you can also expect same-day delivery. No wonder Her was a little puzzled when she saw that in France we sometimes had to wait for up to a week or more for an order to be delivered. In Korea, I recently ordered a book online, and I soon received an unexpected text message: not only did the company let me know that the book would be shipped earlier than initially stated, they did it in an almost apologetic tone! 

I mentioned several other instances in my previous posts : the apartment renovated in less than ten days, how efficient the moving company and the internet company were, how easy it is to find a taxi. I could also mention that time when we were having lunch in a small restaurant in a very remote village somewhere on Jeju island (it wasn't much to look at but the food was excellent). 

When we arrived, the owner apologized because the air-conditioner was down and she had just called a repairman. Less than fifteen minutes later, before our order was even served, a man showed up and fixed the AC! I'm still wondering how long this would have taken in France... Also, one day, in Yangsan, some construction workers accidentally caused the outer wall of our residence to collapse. Bummer...But, it was rebuilt within one week, and it was even better than before! Again my experience of similar situations in France suggests that it would have taken over a year there.

Before

After

All this makes life in Korea quite pleasant. This expeditiousness is not without its downsides though. For example, a lot of foreigners living here say they have had to learn how to deal with last minute changes in their personal and professional lives. I remember that one time when three members of Her's family called to say they would visit us an hour later and they finally showed up twenty minutes later and there were five of them (one of whom we're not even sure who he was). I was not only surprised by the change of plans, but also by the fact that Her didn't seem to mind at all. And she was right, because there was no problem. I was simply caught off guard because I'm not used to that. Likewise, when we're checking out at the supermarket, the clerk usually scans our items at light speed while the customers behind can be a little pushy, which can make it a little stressful. 
More seriously, in Korean cities there are thousands of  delivery motorcyclists who disregard traffic rules (running red lights and driving on the sidewalks for instance) to deliver their orders as fast as possible for a pittance, so that  people like me can enjoy the quickness and efficiency of delivery in Korea. I also mentioned driving in Korea recently. Korean drivers (or is it only in Busan?) are not paragons of patience, as the constant honking suggests, and this can be dangerous sometimes. And what I said about bus drivers may also be explained by what the BBC calls a "taste for haste" (not sure it's an actual "taste" though).
All in all, I'm getting used to it, and I actually like that efficiency, now I'm even confused when I'm asked to wait for something. Fortunately, I still have some paperwork to do for France, things that go back to before I left six months ago and that still haven't been smoothed out...That will help me remember what things are like in the real world.

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.