The Kimchi-ite: 10 More Differences Between South Korea And The Rest Of The World

In the U.S., there is the art of tipping. In Finland, there is no such thing as college tuition; it’s almost completely subsidized by tax Euros. And in Ethiopia, food is eaten only with the bare right hand. Given South Korea‘s unique history and culture within Asia, there is no shortage of comparisons that can be made between it and the rest of the world. Even though I already reported on “10 Differences Between South Korea And The Rest Of The World,” more and more unique cultural curiosities are revealed to me everyday – things I couldn’t have possibly conceived of back in Florida.

1. Fan Death
Possibly the most internationally notorious Korean cultural quirk is the belief that if you fall asleep in a closed room with a fan on you will die. Theories include the fans causing hypothermia or even that the fan is removing all the oxygen from the room. Today, the myth is largely dying out with the new generation, none of my Korean friends believe it whatsoever, but they mention that they heard about it all the time when they were younger.

2. Koreans work more
On average, Koreans work 2,057 hours per year, 14% more than Americans, who on average work 1,797 hours per year. That’s an additional six workweeks per year. But that doesn’t really show the whole story and is probably only the officially reported and paid hours. It isn’t entirely uncommon for people to work 6 days a week, clocking in over 10 hours each day for a typical office job, with little or no overtime pay.3. Conscription
All South Korean males between the ages of 18 and 35 are required to serve in the military for between 21 and 24 months. This two-year commitment is a matter of much pride, controversy and angst amongst Korean men.

4. Don’t whistle after dark
Whistling at night is considered bad luck; it’s thought that it will beckon snakes and spirits.

5. Free and amazing delivery
Delivery is gold is Seoul. You can order virtually anything, at anytime, anywhere you are. Usually there are no delivery fees and you will often get full-blown, non-disposable plates and metal utensils. All you have to do, is leave it all out front of your apartment and the delivery guy will come by and pick it up later. Many restaurants that are not known for delivering in the U.S. have fleets of delivery scooters in Seoul – even McDonald’s.

6. Please eat. Don’t let it get cold
If you eat dinner at a restaurant with others, you will almost definitely not receive your food at the same time as each other. Your food just comes as it is finished in the kitchen.

7. No falling or springing
When my Facebook feed was recently flooded with status updates from my American friends groaning over an hour of lost sleep due to daylight savings time, I just laughed and savored the fact that my sleep schedule was not affected. Like most of the rest of the Eastern world, Korea does not observe daylight savings time. I personally love it. It allows me to get a better feel on the passage of time over each year.

8. Rice for breakfast, lunch and dinner
Within Korean cuisine, there is no such thing as breakfast food or even specific lunch or dinner food. Most meals can be had during any time of the day, and all meals are accompanied by a helping of kimchi. McDonald’s does serve a typical Western breakfast menu, but the Korean restaurant next door does not.

9. No waiting on hold
Customer service is seen as essential, and business hotline wait times are kept to an extreme minimum, with people getting angry if they are left on hold for more than three or four minutes. When I tell people that it isn’t uncommon in the States for you to be on hold for an hour or more when calling the cable company on the weekend, they simply cannot believe it. One Korean friend who used to live in New York City once called the Metro Transit Authority and hung up after being on hold for 20 minutes, thinking that it was impossible to be left unattended to for so long and so her phone must be broken.

10. Limited travel patience
Earlier today, my Korean girlfriend asked me how far Disney World is from where I grew up in Miami. I replied, “Oh, not that far … less than a four-hour drive.” She simply could not believe that I would call four hours away “not that far.” South Korea is a relatively small country, about the size of Indiana. Driving from one extreme end of the country to the other takes five hours. Even then, there’s still the option of high-speed rail, which will cut down your travel time to just three hours.

Be sure to check out the first list of Korean eccentricities here. As always, you can find more on Korean culture, food and eccentricities from previous Kimchi-ite posts here.

[Photo credit: Jonathan Kramer]

Plane Answers: Whistling airplanes and heavy passengers that cost airlines more in fuel?

Welcome to Gadling’s feature, Plane Answers, where our resident airline pilot, Kent Wien, answers your questions about everything from takeoff to touchdown and beyond. Have a question of your own? Ask away!

Julie asks:

Hi Kent!

Last week on a flight out of ATL on a CRJ during takeoff there was a high pitched sound that got higher and higher until it eventually stopped as we climbed up near the clouds. There was a thunderstorm passing through Atlanta so the plane was wet, I was wondering if the noise had to do with the moisture on the outside of the plane? It was noticeable enough to make me look up for a second, but it disappeared pretty quickly.

Do you know what it could have been? I think every time I fly (although not that often) I come up with a new question for you! I love reading this feature every week, thanks!

Thanks Julie,

I’m pretty sure what you were hearing was a door seal that had just enough of an air leak to cause it to whistle. As you climbed the cabin fully pressurized, which must have stopped the noise.

We occasionally see this in the cockpit around the windows. If it’s too annoying, maintenance will pressurize the aircraft on the ground to find the source of the leak. This leak isn’t really a safety issue, but if it’s annoying enough to the passengers or crew, then it really needs to be fixed.
Diana asks:

Hi Kent,

My question has probably been asked a thousand times but I’ve only had to ask this of myself recently because of an argumentative essay I’m writing on overweight people being charged extra for airfares.

I saw your comments on a plane’s fuel plan which talked about the factors needing to be considered when designing the fuel plan. These included the forecasted winds of an aircraft’s journey, the altitude the aircraft will be flying at and the weight of the aircraft.

Do you think that it would be correct to assume that the heavier the plane is, the more fuel the plane will need to be operational?

Also, if the weight of the plane was too heavy, could that cause a safety risk? Yes it may sound ‘obvious’ to some (if in fact the answer is ‘yes’) but I just thought I’d ask for confirmation.

Thanks a lot.

The answer is a definite yes.

Let me give you an example:

We’re encouraged to NOT take unnecessary amounts of extra fuel. We’re told that it takes an extra 10% of the weight of the added fuel just to carry it along on average.

So our airline has also reduced the amount of water carried on board for the lav sinks to the bare minimum. That has saved about 40 gallons of water on the 757, or 240 pounds per flight.

As for safety, that’d be a hard one to argue. The FAA doesn’t require airlines to weigh each passenger, but uses a system of average weights for each passenger of 190 pounds in the summer and 195 in the winter.

Thanks for the great question, Diana.

Do you have a question about something related to the pointy end of an airplane? Ask Kent and he’ll try to use it for next Monday’s Plane Answers. Check out his other blog, Cockpit Chronicles and travel along with him at work.