We Live in Korea

We’ve been in Korea for a little more than six months already. While I’m grateful for the opportunity to experience a new culture and explore cities and wilderness that I wouldn’t have the chance to see if we weren’t living here, there are a lot of things about Korea that I don’t love and didn’t expect:

#1. Dangerous Air

I had heard about the Yellow Dust in the spring. I was prepared for that. I had heard some kids develop respiratory problems and families were requesting compassionate reassignments because their kid’s health was worsening. I assumed it was kids who had previous conditions that made them susceptible to respiratory issues.

I did NOT know that South Korea has a huge air pollution problem. Year-round. Most of the studies I read attributed 30-50% of the pollution to China, with 50-70% coming from industrial pollution inside of South Korea.

I did NOT know that there would be many days we would need to wear masks if we were going outside, and some days we would have to stay inside entirely.

I have had a hard time finding masks that fit my 3 year old and 18 month old, not to mention trying to keep the masks on the kids.

#2. High Cost of Living

I guess I should have known that things would be more expensive here…South Korea is essentially an island, since it is a peninsula cut off from mainland China by North Korea. I just wasn’t prepared for pears  costing $3-$5 A PIECE. Or milk costing $8 a gallon. (Fruit, dairy, and beef are $$$, and don’t even get me started on avocados…)

I definitely didn’t expect to spend $12-$15 on meals at average restaurants. Or that no matter what size of apartment or house we rented, it would take all of our Housing Allowance because they know how much you’re getting and that’s how things work here.

I guess that’s why we get a COLA (Cost of Living Allowance). We’re fine. We have more than enough. It’s just culture shock. News Flash: Korea doesn’t do thrift stores (insert screaming horror face emoji), which brings me to point number three…

#3. Waste

After living in eco-conscious Washington for four years, where you get a large recycling bin and a very small trash can, I started really making efforts to reduce our family’s waste. Especially after seeing how much trash was ending up in the ocean. (I think I missed my calling as a marine biologist.)

Going from a town with a plastic-bag ban to one where everything is shrink-wrapped and THEN put in a plastic bag was enough to give me hives. (Plastic does not go away, people. Think of the sea turtles!)

Seriously though, if we ever get takeout, we can almost fill a trashbag with the plastic containers from all the sides that come with your entree (don’t get excited, they’re sides like sweet pickles, pickled radish and kimchi).

They actually have a good plan (in theory) to reduce waste here: you have to buy specific trash bags for your city. So you pay for the amount of trash you create. However, the execution is horrible: The trash sites where you are supposed to take your trash and recyclables don’t have large enough receptacles so they end up a mess with trash piling up everywhere.

In addition, I haven’t seen any evidence of reducing waste– convenience is king and there’s not a whole lot of Eco-friendly options.

#4. The Food (insert crying face)

I never wanted to live in an Asian country for basically one reason: seafood. I’m the person that orders chicken at a seafood restaurant. Obviously, seafood is not the only thing they eat here, but the second most popular is pork. Which I also do not eat.

I’ve found a few Korean dishes here that I like but not once have I thought to myself, “this is so good!” or “I’m really craving some _________”. And if you want American food, your choices are pizza and fried chicken.

I totally get why, traditionally, Koreans are thin. Every time I walk out of a Korean restaurant I still feel hungry. They usually have some sort of meat or stew or soup with rice and a ton of vegetable sides.

Fortunately, there’s a great Thai restaurant not too far from us so I will survive. Unfortunately, my husband doesn’t want to eat there every time we go out for dinner (Why can’t we be stationed in Thailand?).

#5. Wifi woes

South Korea is touted as having the fastest internet in the world. But apparently only if by South Korea you mean Seoul. I mean, Seoul is huge and it is estimated that half the population of South Korea lives in the Seoul metropolis area (about 20% live inside Seoul city limits), but I was really looking forward to experiencing the fastest internet in the world, and instead, we just have communication problems with our internet company because our wifi is so lame and inconsistent.

*Edit: Even in Seoul the internet isn’t all it’s cracked up to be…

#6 Information Frustration

It is so hard to find information here. There are a ton of different apps and Facebook groups, but actually finding the information you need when you need it is maddening. The Korean map apps don’t always have the English names of things and the American/English apps have incomplete or outdated information a lot of the time.

And Facebook groups are a great way to ask questions but God forbid you ask the same question as someone else when you have spent half an hour trying to find the post with the new gate hours you saw two days ago but forgot to save.

#7 Transportation

America could really take some notes on public transportation from Korea (I’m looking at you Seattle/Tacoma/I-5 Corridor DISASTER). HOWEVER, it is one thing to take a cab to the subway or walk to a bus station when you’re living in the city and an entirely different thing when you live 20 minutes (drive time) from the nearest station and you have a three-year old and a (heavy) one-year-old.

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So now that we have gotten over all of the reasons that I wouldn’t choose to live in Korea again, here’s some of the pros to living here:

#1 Life Lessons

I’m in a season of life where God is teaching me hard lessons and Korea is helping me learn them. I feel like a toddler who has been placed within the confines of a baby gate because I didn’t listen when God gave me boundaries.

After Malachi was born, I had to take a step back from activities and volunteering, but my focus was still “out there” and I needed to learn how to be content at home. I’m still learning, but being in Korea has really accelerated the process. It’s easier to stay home when they’re aren’t as many “things” pulling me out. There’s no YMCA for infant swim lessons, no Target to escape to, no gym with childcare, etc. 

I’m 100% not complaining because it’s easier to obey when there’s no temptation, and right now God is specifically teaching me to stay home and become more disciplined in my daily life.* I’m super adaptable and flexible, which are great attributes to have as a military spouse, but I have no discipline. 

I’m learning how to get up at 5am every day and exercise and spend time with God before my children wake up. I’m learning how to have a morning routine so that my children learn to be disciplined as well. I’m learning that doing one load of laundry and a couple household cleaning tasks every day blesses my family and myself because I am much more content in a clean (& clutter-free) house.

I’m not there yet. Whenever something throws off our schedule, I feel like I’m back to square one again, but I am better than I was last year and that’s all that counts. 

*You can read more about my journey in saying “no” to everything and staying home here.

#2 Getting Stronger as A Family

The stress of moving to a foreign country with small children was nothing compared to the stress of Michael’s first few months in his new unit. He was working 14-15 hour days, getting home just in time to help put the kids to bed and had about six weeks in a row without a single day off.  

We started celebrating Shabbat as a family and it has been the greatest thing we have ever done. It’s hard to stay home when adventure is calling, but focusing on our family and taking a much-needed break each week has saved our family from breaking under the pressure, and has made us so much stronger.

#3 New Experiences and Korean Culture

I love adventuring and experiencing new things, and learning about Korean history and culture has been fascinating. We’ve done a lot of sight-seeing already and I’m looking forward to doing more during our time here.

After living here for half a year (already??), there are some things I’ve noticed about Korean culture that I love. 

I love that they respect and cherish life here. The elderly are taken care of and honored. Children are cherished as gifts and blessings. Women are treated with respect. Fashion and advertisements are modest. Crime is low and people are friendly and helpful. 

Korea is also full of amusing signs, novelties, and mistranslations that provide endless entertainment. 

#4 Our House

We were very fortunate to be able to get an American-style house (which translates to large bedrooms and a lot of bathrooms, for some reason) in the “country”.

We have a beautiful view of rice fields from our large living room window and when the weather is nice we take walks through the pear orchards. It makes such a difference to be surrounded by nature. 

Our house has a nice big kitchen with an island and has more counter space than I had in all of our previous homes combined. The kitchen is open to the living area and we have enough bedrooms to have a designated guest room, so it’s perfect for us. 

#5 Community

Since everyone stationed here experiences the frustrations, stresses and benefits of living in a foreign country, there is a built-in camaraderie and everyone pitches in when someone needs help. 

There are about nine other American families in our neighborhood and everyone knows everyone’s names. We get together for neighborhood BBQ’s and birthday parties. I’ve never experienced such a close-knit neighborhood in my life.

#6 Kid Cafes

They have really nice indoor playgrounds here called Kid Cafes. Most of them are really reasonably priced (about $3/kid for two hours) and it is the best thing ever. They’re usually themed and have a variety of play areas, trampolines and toys. They’re really clean and a total life-saver when the air is bad, or it’s too cold or too hot to be outside. 

#7 Frozen Mango Bars and Daily Bread

I love mangos, and they have these delicious frozen mango bars at the Korean supermarket that taste like a fresh, perfectly ripe mango frozen on a stick. 

There’s also a little corner bread store called “Daily Bread” that bakes little loaves with different fillings rolled up inside. Our favorites are the blueberry bread and the chocolate bread. I’m not even a flavored bread type of person. I can’t even describe how amazing they are. They rarely last more than a day in our house and many times they don’t even make it home before we’ve eaten them all.

I keep meaning to get a picture but we eat it too fast. 

So there it is. And here we are. I wonder what experiences the next eighteen months will bring.