First Week and Impressions

Well, come and gone is the first week of stay in South Korea. And I must admit, it has been a large amount of things happening in only a week!

I've found Seoul to be a very lively and welcoming city, especially so to those who dare and take the first step to experience what it has to offer. In a matter of days, I've been able to move from adjusting to the daily elements of living in a foreign country to start enjoying the city and focusing on my classes. Though I must admit, it has not been difficult at all. South Korea made a significant investment in making its capital city english-friendly since the soccer World Cup in 2002, and most every public sign (including the underground) is translated into English. Moving around is almost a pleasure with the highly-efficient subway system that connects to Incheon Int'l and the high-speed rail system, though once every so often you'll get the dreaded "Error-44" on your pass card (which means you'll either have to wait for one of the friendly guards to clear you off, or jump the turnstile clear. Right, Daniel?)

One of the most striking aspects of South Korea is the all-pervasiveness of technology into everyday life. Since a comparatively large amount of the population use public transportation rather than cars for transportation, this leaves a good portion of free time in commuting, a fact that resident tech companies were quick to realize. As a result, every transportation method is full to the brim with tv's, on-demand internet and information services, and any other conceivable useful gadget for navigation. Particularly, it seems that every person of every age wields a tv-frequency-enabled cell phone, a fact I am extremely jealous of.

Another interesting thing that caught my attention is the importance that South Koreans devote to education. In particular, first and second degree education. I had already known that they have astronomically high rates of educational efficiency and they rank top in the UNESCO's ratings. But it is very interesting to see how they achieve these enviable results (note that United States rank at a spuriously shameful 15 out of 30 countries recorded by the OECD, see www.pisa.oecd.org). I am sure I only know a tiny portion of the whole of Korea's educational plan, but it certainly seems something like No Child Left Behind on steroids. Help is available in every possible outlet; math assistance books are on sale from vending machines in subway stations and professors offer tutoring from two open TV channels. Even more surprising is that the typical teenager will put more than 10 hours a day into school-related activities, depending on how proactive the parents are for after-school programs. However, it is also true that studying is regarded as the most essential aspect of one's future in Korean society, and a lot can be said about the negative emphasis and stress that is placed on young kids for achieving good grades. Jin, one of my classmates for my BPM class, mentioned to me the severe social issues that Korea is now facing due to the combination between educational fanaticism and tough economic times. It seems that Koreans, having devoted one quarter of their whole lives to education, will not easily settle for lower-paying jobs and instead of filling in the cracks in the workforce pan, opt to stay in their parents' care and wait until their "dream job" comes about. Thus, there is a widening gap of unemployed young people who live through their parent's household and negatively impact the economy as a whole. Hm.

Well, this is just a tidbit of some thoughts on my first couple of days. I'm looking forward to getting into the full routine of university classes, and I'll be posting as more time allows. By the way, it's snowing here. Everyone seems really surprised and some say we are seeing the first effects of global weather change. Interesting stuff!