Here is a list of funny things I’ve heard Koreans say that from my perspective is shocking or hilarious. I attribute my reaction to being brought up in a different culture with a completely different education and set of experiences. I don’t want to pass judgment here, or even suggest that all Korean people share these opinions. They are just some comments that I have often heard during my almost 3 years living in this country that in my opinion would sound strange or silly to people from a western country. None of these are sarcastic jokes or inventions of my own. They are all commonly accepted notions in Korea. So, without further ado...
Number 1: “If you can use chopsticks you are smart.”
The conversation usually starts like this: “Can you use chopsticks?” After three years of living here I am still shocked to hear people ask me this question. I usually answer “Of course. It isn’t that hard to learn. And, we do have chopsticks in my home country”. The reaction I often get is disbelief followed by “Koreans are smart because we use chopsticks made of metal which are more difficult to use that other countries.”
There is something to be said about someone who has good co-ordination, but I have no idea how intelligence and the ability to use utensils became so intertwined. I can use a pencil and spoon, as well as scissors, and yes even chopsticks. I must be getting smart here in Korea!
2: “Kimchi can cure SARS and prevents cancer”
The Korean staple kimchi, a fermented vegetable dish, has often been described to me as health food with amazing healing properties. The most amazing of which is the ability to cure SARS. I guess that means Koreans can’t get SARS. However, This has never been scientifically proven.
Fun bonus fact: most Korean households have two refrigerators. One for regular food, and one specifically designed to cool and ferment kimchi. Nifty.
3: “Don’t sleep with the fan on, or it will kill you.”
Fan death is an urban myth that is widely accepted by most people here. In Korea, most electric fans come equipped with timers so that a fan can automatically turn off after you fall asleep. They even come equipped with warning labels telling you about the dangers of sleeping with a fan on. Several fan related deaths are reported on the news every summer. The Korea Consumer Protection Board (KCPB), a South Korean government-funded public agency, issued a consumer safety alert in 2006 warning that "asphyxiation from electric fans and air conditioners" was among South Korea's five most common seasonal summer accidents or injuries, according to data they collected.
4: “Eating dog soup can improve men’s stamina”
I don’t think it is a secret to most that eating dog is not considered crewel or unusual in Korea. There is a whole debate about it of course, which I won’t discuss now. But, what I find strange it that eating dog I considered good for men’s sexual endurance, like a natural form of Viagra. It is also said to be good for cooling down during the hot summer months. Several other Korean dishes are considered to hold this amazing male enhancing property as well, which leads me to ask, why to Korean men need so many enhancers?
5: “Foreigners can’t eat spicy food. Korean food is too spicy for you”
This is another question I often get asked: “Can you eat this? Isn’t it spicy?” The belief is that foreigners don’t have any spicy food in their own countries. Since red pepper paste is a popular ingredient in Korean food, the dishes here can be a bit spicy, but nothing that I wouldn’t recommend trying. In fact, Korean food can be healthy and very delicious!
6: “Your blood type determines your personality”
Blood types are used here in a similar fashion as astrological signs are used back home. People will often ask you your blood type, which can be a bit surprising especially if you don’t know it. Here is a break down of blood type personality traits:
Type A: creative, calm, overearnest
B: wild, cheerful, selfish, arrogant
AB: cool, rational, critical
O: sociable, optimist, careless, vain
These days its main use is to determine compatibility between men and women. What’s even stranger is, the idea of blood types determining personality is said to stem from Nazi Germany ideology and popularized in Japan during the 1930s in order to breed better soldiers. Weird!
I hope this list helps illustrate a bit of how I feel about the strange things I hear coming out of the mouths of many Koreans. Although I do not agree that using chopsticks make you smart, or that kimchi is a miracle food, or that a fan can kill you, I try to respect the differences in opinion. However, some might suggest these beliefs are a result of misinformation, and the inability to use linear rational thought. I am often left speechless when I hear someone tell me something like “don’t sleep with the fan on”. But logic like we know it doesn’t exist here. That is Korea!
