Things that haven't caught on in Korea

I have seen Korean teachers clipping their fingernails in the classroom.

It makes toilet paper on the desk and toothbrushes in pencil holders tame in comparison.

Cultural differences can be shocking.
Usually they are funny! (Better to laugh than frown, reflecting on one's expectations.)

That reminds me of my reaction to one of my first dining experiences in Korea and seeing one of these fixed to the wall alongside the table at which I was eating. 
 



That said the notion of 'culture bumps' does make for interesting subject matter in an language classroom. It's a feature in the first week of our ELICOS programs.  Perhaps I should share some the reading material used. Some of it was developed with a mind for rookie NESTs working in China specifically as the target audience but it would be equally appropriate for Korea.

Abstract
Ever since English became one of the main languages of international communication, native-speaking EFL teachers have played an important role in English language education in many countries. When they teach abroad they often immerse themselves in cultures that are very different from their own, so what might be called 'culture bumps' are inevitable. In order for the teachers to carry out their work successfully, the ability to develop an appropriate perception of these cultural differences, and so learn how to cope with them, is extremely important. This paper reviews Archer's and Thorp's ideas about the most frequently encountered culture bumps, or 'confused encounters', and offers alternative ways of perceiving and handling them. It also stresses that the fundamental values of a nation should be considered in dealing with these cultural variations, and suggests six principles for perceiving and handling them.

https://academic.oup.com/eltj/article-abstract/55/4/382/401805?redirectedFrom=fulltext

 

Sounds like the kind of arsehole that takes off his shoes on a plane and makes everyone smell their filthy feet.

Pretty sure most people, not just Koreans would be irked by someone walking around barefoot all over the office.

You know, people who have basic manners, consideration, respect and decorum. But that isn't to be expected in the kind of person who deliberately tracks grime into their house, then laughs at the person who cleans up after them.

https://outbacktourist.com/barefoot-in-public-australia/
If you are newly visiting Australia, you might be surprised to see a lot of people walking barefoot in public places. For people in the US, going public without shoes might be a bit weird. But Australia is different. It is pretty common for people to go barefoot in public Australia. In this article, I will explain this odd case of barefoot culture in brief.

https://academic.oup.com/eltj/article-abstract/55/4/382/401805?redirectedFrom=fulltext&login=false
I'm honestly surprised why your obnoxious bigotry is tolerated by the moderators. 
Nonetheless, you'd be wise to read this article and try to get over your issues.
Good luck with it. I've attached it as a PDF down below.

Step 1 is Adopt an Impartial Attitude.

So good...savs in a bun with sauce. Joining Costco is now on my bucket list.

You haven't lived till you've tried that free onion ketchup and mustard salad!
That said you don't actually eat it. You just pile as much as you can onto to a plate and leave it there because that shows how classy you are by not actually having to eat it. 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=pW0x3TGQzt0

I'm honestly surprised why your obnoxious bigotry is tolerated by the moderators. 

Because it is NOT bigotry.  I didn't say anything derogatory about a specific culture, unlike you. Bigotry is thinking everyone must adapt to YOUR customs but YOU don't have to adopt to others. It's also things like making homophobic remarks based on music taste.

As for your article, the person you talked about was English, not Australian.

From YOUR article

What You Should Do:
Ask the host
If you are visiting someone’s house and confused if you should take your shoes off or not, simply ask them.

Some people may allow you to walk barefoot in their home and some will not. Don’t hesitate to ask your host before walking right into his/her house.

You...you mean walking barefoot exposes you to filth and disease? I'm shocked!

If you are living in a densely populated area, consider wearing shoes in public. More people mean more lack of hygiene, and you don’t want to get sick just for walking barefoot.

You should not go to university barefoot in Australia. Your faculty and friends might not accept it and it is not professional behavior.

Seems to stress the need for consideration,  i.e. if it is not appropriate or unwelcome, you should not do it. YOU are the one imposing, not the person asking for whatever standards they have in their home/business, whether that is shoes on or off.

Avoid taking barefoot culture acceptable for everywhere

Unless you are visiting a beach, do not get barefoot where you need to be in a professional outlook.

Finally, for someone who loves to dish it out at Koreans, you sure do have a tough time taking it. Nothing I've said is anywhere near as bad as the stuff YOU have said about Koreans, but you can't take it and want it banned. You are being judged as you judged others.

Finally, for someone who loves to dish it out at Koreans, you sure do have a tough time taking it. Nothing I've said is anywhere near as bad as the stuff YOU have said about Koreans, but you can't take it and want it banned. You are being judged as you judged others.[/b]

Sorry you're losing the plot again Marti. When I wrote about going barefoot it was in reference to my own home. It really is quite common as the article explained and Rye has attested too.

As for that English chap, he was clearly taking it too far but he was quite amusing nonetheless and nothing to get all frothy about.

I can understand how you might find it strange coming from a culture that eats off the floor but we've been eating from tables for hundreds of years.

Perhaps you could post some of the evidence you have of me 'dishing it out to Koreans ', but please refrain from making sh*t up like you usually do though.  I hope that Costco kimchi video and toilet paper post hasn't upset you. Is that what you were referring too?  Do you think it isn't true? It's nothing to be ashamed of Marti. 

That reminds me of my reaction to one of my first dining experiences in Korea and seeing one of these fixed to the wall alongside the table at which I was eating. 
 

Indeed. I'd never seen a toilet paper (bathroom tissue) roll installed tableside at a restaurant before. My initial thoughts on Day 2 in South Korea in 2002:

1. Surely this restaurant has a toilet, doesn't it?

2. Is this rationing? Do we unroll some and take it to the restroom? (20 years later, some new buildings here in 2022 have no toilet paper dispensers, one of which I work in part time in Innovation City Jinju - InnoCity, the ultra modern designed part of the city - and we have to haul bathroom tissue from the academy down the hall to the bathroom every time like back home at the summer cabin toilet by the lake.)

3. Has dining tissue technology not been adopted here yet?

The 3rd take appears to be it as within a few years wet naps were introduced and only old-style restaurants continued the tableside toilet rolls.

My boss still plunks down a toilet roll on the dinner table without a moment's hesitation, he pushing retirement age, hasn't caught on to closing the windows when the a/c is at full blast or that parking his always shiny washed new car on the sidewalk isn't cool.

Yeah, my first reaction was also one of shock/horror, and quite frankly a little disgust. Couldn't believe that toilet paper was on restaurant tables or used in the home outside of the bathroom as a napkin, and sometimes multi usage 
You get over it quickly though. Just wasn't used to it, and my wife never told about things that might take time getting used to, coming from NZ...shrug, it's all good after awhile. But some things take time.

Edit:

Just a thought, do squat toilets still exist? I can't remember the last time I came across one...well not since about the late 2000s. Man, they were difficult to manoeuvre around.

Regarding the toilet paper thing, it would've been within my first couple of weeks in Korea back in 1999. I didn't find it disgusting it was more a WTF type moment. Then I  thought, fair enough, it really is quite practical. I was more annoyed about my hogwon director insisting that I shouldn't have any gochujang on my bibimbop as foreigners cannot handle spicy food, as everybody knows.

I'm considering attaching one of those toilet roll holders to the wall next to my dining room table just to freak out house guests. I could always play the Korean culture card to explain it. :)

You're right Adel. Once I got over my initial WTF period, I also saw how practical it was. Same with using scissors for meat...WTF...oh, that's pretty good. A bit of a heads up before landing here would of been good.

Yeah, that foreigners can't do spicy used to be annoying. A real blanket statement. Although for some reason, I can't do hot so much anymore.

   I was more annoyed about my hogwon director insisting that I shouldn't have any gochujang on my bibimbop as foreigners cannot handle spicy food, as everybody knows 

I got that from my uni students just yesterday. I guess they get it from all the hilarious foreigner tries hot chili and makes amusing noises videos on youtube.

I got that from my uni students just yesterday. I guess they get it from all the hilarious foreigner tries hot chili and makes amusing noises videos on youtube.

I throw the Brits unfairly under the bus (Indian curry being a top dish in London these days): i tell them about my mom's mom who was born and raised in England thinking salt and black pepper were spices, and the only spices she could have. The low to intermediate classes I simply point out that hot pepper comes from South America (point at the map) and Mexico has a lot of hot food (hence the local "Mexicana" spicy chicken, us Canadians and American being neighbors, Texas closest and most famous for spicy food in America (don't mention Tex-Mex by name). Plus India and Thailand (point at "Bangkok" on the map, well known here). The higher level classes learn about Szechuan province (i bring in the spice) in China and the hottest wasabi from Japan I could find, still pointing out that MOST popular food in most countries is not spicy, so maybe that is why they have "learned" at home that Korean food is too spicy for foreigners, contrary to the hundreds I've met here, except two (i having met one man from Liverpool in 20 years here who was part of our Thursday-night 4-man poker night at my place on Jeju - he thinking garlic too spicy; he ate ramen and gave me the spicy powder packs), and one woman, Israeli-raised with Aussie citizenship who thought kimchi was spicy (i dated her way back over a decade ago, her nine-year-old daughter and i  laughing at her reaction to basic kimchi stew - us handing her a Cheongyang hot pepper multiple times then consuming them ourselves). That is 99% of foreigners met thinking Korean food is "not very spicy" and about 1% thinking it is.

I can understand how you might find it strange coming from a culture that eats off the floor but we've been eating from tables for hundreds of years.

You seem to be confused, I come from American culture. My parents and grandparents were all American, beyond that they all have ancestry throughout Europe.

As for Koreans, they have always used tables, at least if they weren't impoverished, but that's the same with many people of the world. Also, if you were aware, you'd know that many cultures sit on the floor. Finally, I don't get the not-so-subtle shade being thrown at people for eating while sitting on the floor.

Seems you aren't as familiar with other cultures, nor as open-minded as you claim to be.

Regardless, one can be of any culture and recognize the value in keeping clean and respecting others in not making them clean up after you and laughing at them for doing it.

Perhaps you could post some of the evidence you have of me 'dishing it out to Koreans ', but please refrain from making sh*t up like you usually do though.  I hope that Costco kimchi video and toilet paper post hasn't upset you. Is that what you were referring too?  Do you think it isn't true? It's nothing to be ashamed of Marti. 

Dude, you're literally throwing shade in this paragraph and the one before it, but don't even have the guts to admit you're throwing shade.


MOD EDIT: Inflammatory responses based on 2015 posts is best dealt with by PMing a mod. Get along or avoid each other or punch above the belt. The 6-year-old tangential equivalent: https://youtu.be/5wFyxihwQiI

Just a thought, do squat toilets still exist? I can't remember the last time I came across one...well not since about the late 2000s. Man, they were difficult to manoeuvre around.

Those sit down dunneys really have taken off. In a way, it's a shame though. There was something to be said, in terms of glute development, by using those squat loos. 
In the future though, please take care not to mention anything that might damage Marti's delicate sensibilities. I mean, you might end up occupying some rental space in his mind like so many others have. 

MOD EDIT: Inflammatory responses based on 2015 posts is best dealt with by PMing a mod. Get along or avoid each other or punch above the belt.

While, I understand the editing based on it being inflammatory and the talking to to punch above the belt, I do think the person accusing fans of a certain kind of music of being pedophiles should be fair game as part of their record and people should be able to hold them accountable, even if from years ago.

That's a really explosive statement. If they're going to make it, people should be able to respond, especially if they're going to talk about one's character.

That being said, maybe it should be reserved for the musical discussion threads?

If only Marti didn't have extensive form for attributing hypothetical viewpoints and hyper-exaggeration to actual posters his claims might be taken seriously. Even then going back to 2015 is getting to Li levels of creepiness, good grief!
#R.U.OK?