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Old January 21, 2003, 08:30   #1
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Little Differences In Korea
1.Steep stairs. The stairs are at at 10 o or higher angle.

2. Everything is those 220 V two pins, even big appliances.

3. Nobody rents, most do 'key money' system.

4. Nobody bats an eye at bathrooms with no stall doors, but be seen brushing your (gasp) TEETH in PUBLIC....

5. The constant hawking and spitting of phlegm, with gusto, in public, in a land where Middle Schoolers smoke, and High Schoolers smoke Marlboroughs.

6. Finally being able to detect the difference between the 200 varieties of kimchi beyond 'that tastes like peppery old socks' or 'that tastes like PEPPERY, OLD socks'

7. The squat toilet.

8. The 'efficiency' appartment.

9. The street vendors everywhere.

10. The blade runner-esque trucks with recorded commercials all hours of the day.

11. Words for sexual intercourse, human bodily functions, and blasphemy are considered mild and amusing, or are non-insults, but call someone 'crazy' or 'stupid' Michi, mong chong ee, etc, or question their parentage 'ge se ri' and it's ON. There is no real equivalent to 'silly' or a friendly way to say 'you're silly/crazy' in Korea. The closest is 'babo' which is really the English stupid, there is no 'nice' stupid in Korean, only going from stupid (babo) up to you ****in' retard equivalant (Michin).

12. EVERYONE still lives with their mother, and grandmother.

13. (for women) you don't have any children? You're 25!!

14. 'Coffee and a Blow' as one of our teachers calls some of these anma parlours. It seems like virtually every business in Korea has a seedy backroom. Learn to tell the difference between the barber poles, some mean 'special massage' is a bonus service. At some clubs and restaurants the drink that costs hundreds of dollars 'includes woman' (you can order by number from a picture book if you want). Hotels, 'Love Hotels' are everywhere, Coffee and a Blow, etc. The explanation 'Korean man has a lotta stress' according to our female Korean boss.

15. The 'handphone' Koreans get them attached at birth it seems, even the little velcro shoe wearing girls have handphones....with colour and tetris.

NOTE: My two month campaign against the evil Roach Empire has entered the final phase. Tonight, I clench the Fist of Iron. I have used a can of RAID. Their winter offensive ignored that weapon, with a new stronger breed of smaller, yellowish roach. I retaliated with roach traps (they bring the bait back to the nest and poison all), but that only slowed them down. I dumped bleach down the cracks they emerged from, but this fiasco led to the court-martialling of half the General Staff. I was reduced again to guerilla tactics and black operations, killing by hand and then dissappearing back into the bush, hitting their supply lines (kept no food in the cupboards) until finally my intel paid off: A Traditional Korean Preperation from the druggist seems to be turning the tide!!

The Empire had its chance for peace. Now there will be no prisoners short of final victory. Tonight I combine this herbal cure with a new batch of roach traps with a different active chemical, and I'm gonna cover the corners with the traps. Innocent women and children? Bah.

CRY HAVOC AND LET SLIP THE PESTICIDES OF WAR!!

If I fail I can only hope to cash in my foreign reserves and flee to Uruguay....
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Old January 21, 2003, 08:33   #2
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I won't know for a few days if my lipids, toxins and enzymes in the trenches were successful.
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Old January 21, 2003, 08:37   #3
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Quote:
1.Steep stairs. The stairs are at at 10 o or higher angle.
Do the Koreans have a different degree system, because 10-degree inclination is not much...
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Old January 21, 2003, 08:49   #4
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Sorry, whatever it is they are steeper than NA style.
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Old January 21, 2003, 08:55   #5
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I can guess why they are steeper.

A staircase allways takes space from living/office quarters. The steeper stairs, the less space it needs -> reasonable savings in available space.
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Old January 21, 2003, 09:12   #6
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Intersting differences.

About your roach problem: my parents had the same problem for about 18 years. Nothing worked. When confronted with a very strong poison, the roaches just moved next door and returned when it was gone. Then my parents bought a cat. For the first year they kept him on minimal catfood rations, but he still grew very fat and with a shiny, beautiful fur. The reason? It appears that roaches make an excellent diet supplement for cats. Plus, he must have hunted down and killed the roaches one by one, as he's in an excellent physical shape even though he doesn't get out very much. My parents have recently celebrated their second year without roaches.
In case chemical warfare fails, you can always use biological weapons.
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Old January 21, 2003, 09:16   #7
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Can't.

Damn Geneva Rental Convention explicitly forbids the development of biological feline or canine weapons platforms.
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Old January 21, 2003, 09:29   #8
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The do have some damn big roachs in Asia. I don't remember seeing anythingthat big in Korea but Thailand had some absolute MONSTER cockroaches. I sware they could bite your head off while you sleep.
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Old January 21, 2003, 09:47   #9
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Seeker: Damn. My parents own their apartment and I'm getting ready to buy my own, so I didn't see that as a porblem.

Oerdin: All the more reason to hire the services of a domestic predator. Very efficient and the toxic waste they produce is musch less dangerous than the chemical weapons you'd otherwise have to use. Not to mention easier to get rid of.
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Old January 21, 2003, 10:31   #10
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Quote:
Words for sexual intercourse, human bodily functions, and blasphemy are considered mild and amusing, or are non-insults, but call someone 'crazy' or 'stupid' Michi, mong chong ee, etc, or question their parentage 'ge se ri' and it's ON. There is no real equivalent to 'silly' or a friendly way to say 'you're silly/crazy' in Korea. The closest is 'babo' which is really the English stupid, there is no 'nice' stupid in Korean, only going from stupid (babo) up to you ****in' retard equivalant (Michin).
Interesting. That fits in with my sense of an Asian (or is this specific to Korea?) mindset, now that I think about it. Thanks for sharing.

Good luck in your struggle against the Evil Insectoid Empire. May your Raid be true!

-Arrian
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Old January 21, 2003, 10:33   #11
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Re: Little Differences In Korea
Quote:
Originally posted by Seeker
2. Everything is those 220 V two pins, even big appliances.
Sounds like the same,
we have everywhere here in Germany
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Old January 21, 2003, 11:22   #12
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That was terrific, thanks! I love discovering cultural differences in those little day-to-day details.

Written from China, where no one ever steps out onto their balconey, no matter how fine the weather.
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Old January 21, 2003, 11:56   #13
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Re: Little Differences In Korea
Quote:
Originally posted by Seeker
3. Nobody rents, most do 'key money' system.
What's that?

Quote:
Originally posted by Seeker
7. The squat toilet.
They are supposedly more hygenic.

Quote:
Originally posted by Seeker
9. The street vendors everywhere.
It's an Asian thing.

10. The blade runner-esque trucks with recorded commercials all hours of the day.

Quote:
Originally posted by Seeker
12. EVERYONE still lives with their mother, and grandmother.
Same with the Chinese. It's a very different view on family.
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Old January 21, 2003, 11:57   #14
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Quote:
Originally posted by mindseye
Written from China, where no one ever steps out onto their balconey, no matter how fine the weather.
Not this part of China. Must be something about the Shanghaineses.
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Old January 21, 2003, 12:00   #15
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Quote:
Originally posted by Oerdin
The do have some damn big roachs in Asia. I don't remember seeing anythingthat big in Korea but Thailand had some absolute MONSTER cockroaches. I sware they could bite your head off while you sleep.
Must be the basis for Godzilla.
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Old January 21, 2003, 12:07   #16
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Yeah they import the Komodo Dragons to keep the cockcroaches off.
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