6 Things I Don't Miss About South Korea after Moving Back to the U.S.

 

Since moving back to the United States, I have to say that there are certain things that I don't miss about my life back in South Korea. I do miss some aspects of South Korea and I will mention them in my next blog. Today, I will list things that I enjoy more in the United States compared to South Korea:

1. I love being able to drive anywhere I need to go. I could not go to Costco in Seoul unless I had a car. But because of the traffic, lack of parking available, good public transportation, and crazy drivers, I never bought a car in Seoul. Not having a car also prevented me from seeing more of South Korea.

2. I love the multicultural aspect of Southern California. You have Caucasians, Hispanics, African-Americans, Asians, and people who interact well with each other here. The media may make America out to be a racist country (yes, there are times where racism is a problem here), but in Southern California, no one sticks out because everyone is different.

3. The convenience stores have much better stuff than in Korea. You can get 100% juice, salty snacks, a huge selection of chocolate bars, and a huge assortment of gum. 

4. The laidback life has been missed. It's not a rat race here except during rush hour on the freeways. You don't feel guilty for not being busy. Sometimes that can tend to make you a bit lazy here, but it's nice not to feel like your competing as you're walking fast in a subway station on your way to work.

5. The food is outstanding! You can get great Italian food, Mexican food, Middle Eastern food, and great hamburgers. My wife would totally disagree about the food though. She thinks the food isn't spicy enough here, except a burrito containing especially hot sauce.

6. People are friendlier. You never feel shy to speak to strangers at a store, people say "excuse me" and "thank you", and you will probably get a "hi" as you pass a stranger on the street.

Scott Worden

Instagram: l.a.seoulguy

Two "Only in Korea" Situations Happened to My Friends This Week that I Won't Miss about Korea

Situation #1:

My church friend was riding his bike in the Gangnam area. While on a side road, his light was green but all of the sudden he saw a car running through a red light, so he slammed on his brake and he flew over the handlebars and landed on his right arm. To make matters worse, the middle-aged woman (affectionately known as an "ajumma" in Korea) look back and saw him lying on the street, but kept driving any way. If that wasn't bad enough, 10 different people saw him, but did nothing to help him out.

Situation #2:

My coworker is a young American guy from L.A. like me. He was smoking outside an office building where many other Korean middle-aged men were smoking. A woman approaches him and drills him by asking "Where are you from?", "Where do you work?", and "How long have you been in Korea?" He said that he thought it was okay to smoke there since every other business man was there and there were two Korean males smoking next to him, but they weren't approached. So he asked, "What about them? They're smoking too." The woman's response: "Well, that's just how we do things in Korea." Then she fined him W40,000 while the other two men got away without receiving a fine. My coworker was annoyed to say the least.

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

Instagram: l.a.seoulguy