You've got to get up to get down!

SO I had my first experience with the subway. It’s a work of modern genius in public transportation. You quite literally could eat of the floors of the train cars. A meal off the platforms might take some convincing but certainly isn’t out of the question. The cleanliness is unmatched by any subway system or public transit system I have ever seen in the States and being a coast to coaster I’ve run the gamete. It’s geographically expansive, it handles 8 million people going in and out of the city daily and the price is unbeatable. Needless to say I was impressed. It’s one and only draw back would be the smell of Kim Chi, which emanates from most passengers. The pungent odor is only exacerbated when they sweat. I have smelled a lot of displeasing things in my time but Kim chi is indescribably repulsive to me. I think it’s really a personal thing. Not all hold such distain for the smell of fermented vegetable. I don’t completely hate eating it but the smell! Kim Chi permeating from someone’s pores when their armpits are in close proximity to your face is (I will euphemize)…unpleasant. Nonetheless I’ve got high hopes for desensitization.

The destination and the reason for my ride on the modern marvel was a night on the town. A place called Iteawon. It was apocalyptic. Not to make cultural generalization, well actually I think the cultural sensitivity ship sailed right the time I decided to embark upon a kim chi rant. So here I go. Korean girls are generally very composed and poised but you get booze in them and next thing you know, you’re front and center for the shit show that is sure to ensue. And these are some first class performances. Genuine quality. I’ve seen a lot of drunk people in my time and just any drunken debauchery wouldn’t be noteworthy. But, what makes it particularly noteworthy is the juxtaposition of Korean girls from their sober states to their sloppy states.

All drugs are illegal here and strictly prohibited.  The one exception, alcohol. I suppose the mentality is that if you’re going, go big. The Koreans went big with booze and basically non existent with regulation. You can buy alcohol anywhere, everywhere and no one judges, least of all the government. My language barrier prevents me from determining if a cultural taboo exists but if there is one out there I have yet to see any evidence. Open Container laws are non-existent; age is certainly not a factor and if you go out on a weekend public intoxication is basically welcomed. And what bottle of Soju, the national drink of Korea (which tastes like cheap vodka diluted with water) is complete with out a good session of chain smoking? Smoke in any public building seriously, go for it! In stairwells, sure. On the bus, why not! People here smoke like it’s the 1950s and they had the premonition it was going out of style. News flash for those coveting their lungs in the states, in the southern half of this peninsula, smoking is still totally acceptable and to boot very in vogue. And if the regulatory climate wasn’t ripe for nicotine addiction and alcohol dependency why not throw in some economic incentives. A bottle of 40 proof Soju costs about a dollar and cigarettes cost two dollars a pack.  

Speaking of bad habits. Coffee anyone? Ask anyone is this country and the answer is undoubtedly yes. Caffeine in a variety of forms and very large doses is accessible and encouraged. Some of my co-workers drink a concoction with 5 grams in a serving. Which really begs the question why not crack? Really let’s stop beating around the bush here, what Koreans really want is crack. If you ask me what they need is a fat blunt. But I have yet to be asked what Koreans are missing in their lives and I don’t see the question being posed anytime soon. Anyways, I digress.

The night was wildly successful. I rendezvoused with an old friend, met several other foreign teachers and if only for an evening made a plethora of new friends. An experience not to be repeated with much frequency but the nightlife in Seoul will certainly provided moments for inebriation and later even nostalgia.