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Can you smelll-l-l-l-l-l- what the ROK is cookin'?

Man, Korea stinks...and when I say stink, I mean funky. Since I stepped off the plane my olfactory senses have been assaulted with no mercy. Apparently a hot commodity in Korea is feces. When I did my initial site recon where my company will be, I noted that on the port-o-lets there was a sign that said, "Do not waste waste." No, they were not being redundant, they were simply letting us know that feces of all sorts, human, cow, pig, dog, or whatever is used as fertilizer.

Anybody that knows me, knows what a keen sense of smell I have, consequently it makes me particularly sensitive to lets say....umm...pungent odors. I was taken to a restaurant by a gentleman by the name of Young Gap You who is a DOD contractor. Young was raised in the states, is an American Citizen, but has been living back in Korea for the last 5 years for work reasons. Anyway, we went to a restaurant, which was really cool by the way. It was just like you would imagine, or like you have seen on TV. You take off your shoes at the door and sit on the floor on cushions to eat. The food was beef, rice, broth, gravy, and Kimchi. The food was good, but for some reason there was an odd smell to the place. Actually, it wasn't the place, as everything in the building was immaculate, but it was the smell of "manure" outside that seemed to permeate every square inch of the restaurant. After we ate, I learned that it is not customary to tip people in Korea after they serve you.

Well, that is all I have time to write right now, but I will try and find a net connection when we get to the training site. Ten more days before I prepare to head home..... TDY Blues.

Comments

JMS said…
You sure the smell was manure? In several foreign countries the poeple don't wear deodorant. Their body respond normally to elements.
Anonymous said…
Koreans are very clean, a lot of people where expensive italian clothes. It's the most wired country in the world and in the past 20 years the GDP has grown tremendously.

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