Well, I guess it's time to discuss the differences I saw in China vs Korea. For the past 2 months or so I've been trying to decide what to do when I'm finished here in Korea. I've thought about staying in Korea. I would move to Seoul and study the Korean language at a university, another option would be to move to Taiwan. Another, move to China, or I could just stay in America. I didn't really consider moving to Japan I'm afraid it will be too similar to Korea.
Right now the option I'm leaning towards the most is going to China. I've always been interested in Chinese history and it would be a good opportunity to learn a useful language.
Now, let's talk about the differences between Korea and China.
I find living in Korea to be extremely suffocating. By that I mean I can't be myself without feeling more like an alien than I already do. If I try to conform and act like a local I can't be myself and I feel very unhappy. To put it simply I don't like living here.
I'm struggling to write this because if I'm going to be totally honest I'm going to sound like I'm stereotyping an entire culture. So, let me put in the obligatory disclaimer:
Not all Koreans act this way, there are some who act completely different from what I'm about to say. (There done).
You can see it when you turn on the TV, it's all the same. The mannerisms, the body language, the facial expressions. There seems to be a very limited range of accepted ways to express yourself. While I do find it cute at times, it's really not something I can adapt into. No matter how much I want too, I could never really act like a Korean. And that means I will always be an alien. Being an alien is fine for a while, I lasted about 6 months before it really started to bug me. After some time it really starts to wear you down. For example, the accepted way to express embarrassment in public is to laugh. Now, while people in the west will sometimes deal with embarrassment in this manner, not everyone does it, and not all the time. Another example, do not show anger in public, especially at work. This is a big no no, do not get angry at work, ever. So, as you can see the range of acceptable self-expression is shrinking example by example. I will stop here.
I spent less than a week in China, but I spent almost the entire time with local Chinese and I spent a great deal of time studying my surroundings. I noticed the difference immediately upon my arrival in China. China is more like the west, you need to be careful. Korea is like a safe little fantasy land where nothing bad outside of work ever happens. In China people will do whatever they can to get your money.
Socially all you need to do is visit a restaurant to see the differences. My first night there I went to a restaurant and looking around I see people smiling and laughing but in ways that Koreans never would. It's hard to explain because I can't really describe the body language. But they weren't robots or statues, they didn't care what people thought about them, they were themselves. You don't need to wait for the eldest to start eating first, or if you are the youngest you don't need to hand chopsticks to your elders, none of that crap. I didn't feel like I was under a microscope all the time, I could actually be myself. I did get my share of hostile stares but thats common anywhere you travel.
I also found that in many ways living in China would be much more challenging. There are poor people everywhere, street kids (who will pick your pocket), and I found the general feel of the people to be more sad than here in Korea. I think thats one of the main reasons I want to live there, for the challenge. It feels like a real place, not a fantasy land.
To summarize in Korea I cannot be myself, in China I can. Living in China is a challenge, living in Korea is a break from reality.
I think I will move to China next.
