versione italiana

May - June 2003 - Seoul, Korea (Horse racing, tango and garlic)

(At the racing and dance lessons) – May started off with a trip to Seoul Horse racing track. There's a stigma in Korean about going to the track because many Asians are big gamblers. (This stigma exist even though many many who say it is a bad place to go, quene up on weekends to buy their lottery tickets in the local corner store. The setting for the track is great with the mountains in the background and with large family areas and tree's etc - a refreshing change from the hussle and bussle of other areas.

In the picture below (left), a picture of the horse stalls as the horses prepare for the next race. Below (right), two Korean children try to entertain themselves by swinging and on the bars. Spring time in Korea can be a very very pleasant time of the year. At the race track it was sunny and about 25 celcuis - as good as it would get in Britain in a normal summer.The entry fee was only Won 850 (which is about 40p English or 50 cents in Euro money).

The month of May also marked the beginning of Valeria's dance lessons in Korea. In May she started jazz dance, Tango lessons and on Saturday nights with the Irish contingent in Seoul, belly dancing classes. I don't like dancing myself. Below you can see Valeria is the middle of one of her Tango classes, as she is taught the step called “el final”. It might seem strange to take tango lessons in Korea, but actually Koreans love this kind of dance. Valeria herself is a great dancer, even though she is too modest to say so.

Below you can see two pictures taken in a local fruit and vegetables market, with an ajumma (old lady) on the left and an ajossi (mr) on the right. Typical of Korean markets are huge heaps of garlic and chilly peppers, which abound in Korean cuisine.

Culture in Korea update: Not sure what you know about Chinese and Korean business culture, but it's a little different to most western countries. Business deals are rarely signed until the two sides have drunk heavily together. The idea is that once you have been drunk with someone you will know much better their true character and intentions. This causes many problems for many people working in business whether it be accountants working with clients or business owners or simple business professionals. My students often come in with hangovers. They cannot go home say at 11 or midnight, as it would lose them face - face being respect. Bars don't close up the early hours so they must continue drinking until the client is ready to finish. In China big companies hire people with the sole intention of using them to entertain clients. These workers are given great job titles but are basically professional drinkers. In the last photo below you can see Valeria and our friends Ide and Cher, during a belly dance lesson.

Main site - www.paulsymonds.com - Thank you for visting Paul's Travel photos and journal.