Reverse Culture Shock from Being an Expat in South Korea

When I go home to Southern California for vacation after living for so many years in South Korea, I always get a dose of reverse culture shock when I stay there for 1-2 weeks. This time was no different and I would like to share some of them with you and see if you experienced the same things!

1. Small talk. Americans are friendly and when you go shopping, store clerks will always ask if you have their store card so you can get discounts or get on their mailing list. When I tell them I'm not living in the country at the moment, they ask me where I live. Once I tell them I live in South Korea, they get interested. My wife and I were in a clothing store and she decided to buy a couple of shirts. When I told the teenage girl that I lived in Korea, she got excited. Apparently, she had a fascination of Korean culture and actually tried to learn Korean due to her being a major fan of K-Pop. Then she said that she wanted to teach in Korea like I was and live in Gangnam (of course I told her that it was extremely expensive to live there). She must have talked about this dream for 10 minutes!

2. Huge food portions. Whether it be an American breakfast or a burrito, with rice beans, and salad, the portions are out of this world. I love food, so yes it was enjoyable for awhile. But after awhile, when you hang out with family or friends on vacation, and the meals pile up, you can gain weight and feel stuffed on a consistent basis. If you're hungry after eating at a restaurant in California, then it's your fault!

3. Driving is a breeze in L.A. compared to Seoul. I don't drive in Korea and I will avoid it as long as possible. What's the main reason? People are so impatient in Seoul. As a pedestrian, I see it all of the time. Drivers block intersections, honk if someone isn't moving 2 seconds after the light turns green, or drive through red lights because they're constantly in a hurry. While I was in L.A. I think I heard three or four honks in the two weeks I was there. In Seoul, you'll hear someone honk their horn every other minute. On top of that, people will wait for you to cross the street even before you get to the curb. It was nice to see people being polite on the road and I definitely miss that!

4. People in Seoul live a very busy lifestyle. For some reason, if you're not keeping busy doing something, you always feel like you're wasting your time. In Seoul, I always feel guilty if I haven't read my Bible, studied Korean, exercised, and read a book all in one day. When I get to L.A., I feel very relaxed. I tend to go to bed earlier, watch TV a lot more, and things just happen at a much slower pace than in Seoul. But that's the danger of it. You can easily get lazy and not do any of the important things that I mentioned above.

5. My wife noticed that the cost of fruit, vegetables, canned goods, and other groceries in general were much cheaper in Southern California than in Seoul. She commented that she could easily cook if she lived in America. One of my favorite snacks is nuts. Nuts are still very costly in Seoul because they have to import them to Korea. My aunt used to send me a box filled with 4-5 bags of nuts in my first year of Korea as care packages. I miss that.

Overall, both places are great and have their pros and cons. I will always be a California guy and I definitely plan to retire there if possible, but Seoul has been good to me. It's definitely my second home! If you have anything you would like to share about "reverse culture shock", feel free to leave a comment! I'd love to hear your experiences!

Scott Worden (The L.A./Seoul Guy)

Instagram: l.a.seoulguy