Customs & Oddities, Seoul

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Unlike other chopstick loving nations such as china, taiwan, japan, singapore, etc that uses mostly wooden, plastic, lacquer chopsticks, South Koreans prefer the metal kind since it is more practical (you don't dispose it everyday like the wooden kind and is less expensive than the plastic or lacquer kind). They also use long spoons for rice and soup (as compares to the short but stubby soup spoon of other east asian countries.

in Korea, they say that 30% of women undergo cosmetic surgery (nose lift, eyebrow lift, chin lift, etc) since most koreans want their eyes to be rounded face to be more beautiful hance cosmetic and plastic surgeons are making a killing here and are very wealthy!

There are gas mask available at subways for a Biological/chemical warfare type of terrorist attack since north korea and south korea are still technically at war and the north is known to send infiltrators to sabotage south korean facilities.

South Koreans Are Known as enthusiastic Rallyists and in Seoul, almost everyday of the year there are rallies that have causes as diverser as anti-us beef, presidential resignation, anti-globalisation, anti-north korea, etc. hence the signature rally capital of the world!

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LPG Gas Station are becoming popular in South Korea for the Simple fact that Gasoline Prices are sky high (it's $4.20 a gallon in California) and 1950 won a liter in South Korea while a liter of LPG Gas is only 950 won ( $.92) hence the shift!

The Seoul Metropolitan Government has a program that names the city's most outstanding toilets of the year. As you sightsee in the city, look for these bronze plaques reading "Seoul Best Toilet." You'll be glad you peed in one of these magnificent urinary attractions!

And you thought your government wasted taxpayers money!!!

This photo was taken in a public restroom at the southwestern base of Achesan, a small mountain on the eastern edge of Seoul.

One thing strange about Korea is that there are no self-serve gas stations.
Even stranger, is that they hire local cute girls to dance at the entrance to get customer's attention.

I'm not complaining.

Driving a motorcycle in summer is nice. Even nicer when you have to get gas.

Sadly the only pics I have of this are recent, just after Fall hit. They are all wearing jackets...
I'll be sure to get many pics when Spring hits.

Koreans have great respect for their deceased ancestors. Cemeteries are typically on a hillside overlooking the fields or village where the person spent their life. Grave markers are typically black slabs of granite with words in Korean or Chinese. The grave itself is a one-meter high mound rising above the ground. When I was there, people often claimed the mound was because Koreans are buried in a sitting position. I later discovered this has not even a hint of truth (like many other stupid American stories about Korea which I discovered were mostly fabricated).

A Korean funeral consists of three days of viewing the deceased in the hospital, then a trip to the cemetery. At the grave site, the deceased's clothes are burned, then they are laid in the ground in a coffin. The hole is filled and the mound is created. On top of the mound, the family will place fruit and wine.