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 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.
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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.
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.
