VENDORS--There are small businesses everywhere, many in movable or permanent carts, selling a variety of things (lots of food items). I am amazed that they all are able to earn a living and wonder if they do. In the immediate vicinity of my lodging, in the middle of an office building area, were these folk, among a number of others.
This fellow had a shoe repair and shoe sale (men's business shoes) operation -- in front of the office building housing the Korean equivalent of the Wall Street Journal.
With a less permanent structure, but set up at the same place every business day and some Saturdays, this man sold ties and plastic, slip-on, shoes. How much of a market could there be?
Around the corner, almost on a main street, was this food seller. I'm not sure what items he sold, but they required lots of eggs, as shown by the large supply sitting on the right-hand side of the cart. He was open six, sometimes seven, days a week.
And then there was the woman, probably in her 30's, who every morning stood halfway down the first flight of stairs to the subway with a tray of what looked to be homemade sandwiches. I saw her daily as I took the subway to class; finally on one of my last days of school I saw someone buying a sandwich. I assume she must have sold others, but that was the only purchase I saw made. Did she make them at home? work for a nearby sandwich shop?LEFT/RIGHT -- Koreans drive on the right. Pedestrian crosswalks, when they were marked, indicate one should walk on the right. Going up and down subway stairs and walking from one line to the other, the predominant approach seemed to be keeping left. However, generally chaos and each person for him/herself was the rule. When trying to avoid someone in the U.S. people tend to move to the right; in the U.K. they tend to move to the left. In Korea there doesn't seem to be an accepted pattern. It was very frustrating, particularly because. . . .
PUBLIC MANNERS -- Seem to be missing in Korea. For a country whose culture and language are built on respect and politeness, where knowing one's place in the hierarchy is critical to behavior, there is no recognition of others in the public environment. In the U.S. and in European countries I have visited, accidentally running into someone, trodding on their feet, catching them with a back pack or umbrella would elicit "I'm sorry," "Pardon me," "Excuse me," etc., etc. Not so in Korea where there seems to be no recognition of, or language for, the casual encounter. Silently, determinedly, pushing ahead is the norm.
ELEVATOR BUTTONS -- In many Korean elevators one can "unpush" a button. Push a floor number, and the button lights up; push the same number a second time, and the light goes out and no stop is made. This is convenient when an incorrect button is accidentally pushed; an unnecessary stop can be prevented. This is inconvenient when someone else accidentally unpushes the button for the floor you want. I learned to pay close attention when others got into the elevator and began pushing buttons; several times I had to push the button for my floor again because someone had unpushed it. I have never seen this feature in elevators anywhere else. Wonder why. . . .
THE HOMELESS -- They seem to be largely tolerated, if ignored. A large number of homeless, primarily men, live in the vicinity of Seoul Station (the old building is closed and unused). No one, including the police who have a substation next door, seems to be very concerned. Yet the large encampment living in the pedestrian underpass near City Hall vanished almost overnight. Were they rousted or did they leave because the weather had warmed up and the outside was preferable?
POLICE PRESENCE -- I wonder what the ratio of police to residents is in Seoul. Any event seems to command a huge police presence, including a demonstration in my neighborhood which never seemed to exceed 10 demonstrators, all quite peaceful. There are the regular police, who wear gray uniforms, and the "storm troopers" (my term) who wear black and always seems to have riot equipment. These are the folk who are "policing" rather than being in the army for their required military service. Both are typically deployed in large numbers.
These police are sitting and waiting (they seem to spend a lot of time just waiting) across from Deoksugung where a memorial shrine for the former president had been set up. They are well equipped for long waits as there are always a cadre of police buses lining the streets. The buses are used for eating (food seems to be delivered), resting, and bathroom facilities.
SUBWAY PAPER COLLECTIONS -- And I never did figure out where the old folk who so diligently collected the used newspapers on the subway took them or how they received money for them. Indeed, I'm just guessing that they received money but can't figure out why else they would so single-mindedly pursue every last paper.
I'm not sure a return visit to Korea would actually result in the answers to any of these questions, but seeking knowledge would present an excuse to go back. . . .
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