We have been visiting Sue's family in Seoul, and have had a terrific time. We spent most of the time so far kicking back and staying close to home, and only venturing out when the reason suits us. Otherwise, It's just go slow, have some great food, and visit with the family here. Even though I have some strong things to say in the following paragraphs, I still like it here and would move back if I had the opportunity.
We have made some observations though that indicate changes in the life here, since we lived here in 2004.
• Gas over here is about $5.36 per gallon (based on 1200 won per dollar). In Arizona, we are paying about $2.50 per gallon, so the cost of fuel is about double here.
• Traffic has increased significantly here. This is the number one problem here in my mind, and like the gun issue in the USA, there will never ever be an equitable solution.
There is always a line of traffic wherever you go, and sometimes it is fairly bad. As a result, getting around here involves sitting in your car and creeping along with the rest of the crowd. This induces many people to become impatient and do things unacceptable and risky in the state of the heavy traffic and narrow streets. I've seen several times where people drove around a waiting line to turn right by entering the empty left turn lane and cutting in front of the line of cars waiting for the lane change. The tactic is common, and there are few cops to catch the overwhelming abundance of traffic violations. I have even seen city busses do this. It is basically, do what you want, because the odds of getting caught... and then pursued for it and slim to none.
From what I've seen Koreans are some of the better drivers around, but I also think they are the worst, with more emphasis on the worst. They regularly drive the way they want... (see above), and basically ignore any sort of reasonable courtesy. Like I said, the police here do not have the presence we have in the states, and with 11 million people here, it's no surprise indifference is pretty much the norm. On the other hand, I see very few accidents here. Don't ask me why. It's amazing there aren't more.
There are speed traps all over the place, and over here, there is no warning like in the states. We tell you two or three times that one is coming, and people whine and complain. They wouldn't like it here, that's for sure.
• Milk is about $5.96 per gallon (with the same won/dollar calculation). Depending on where you shop in the states, we typically pay about $1.95 a gallon for milk, making the mark-up for it, considerably higher than for gas. Maybe the cows are more costly to raise and maintain than in the states. One thing I will tell you though is that the milk here has a surprisingly better taste, making anything you use it for, taste better as well. I can't say what it is, but I like it much better than the milk at home, which doesn't have much if any of it's own flavor. I never thought I'd see milk cost more than gas.
The cost of transportation (subway, bus, taxi) has also increased slightly. We do a lot more walking here than we ever did at home. I feel about 1000% safer here on the streets than I do in the states, at any hour of the day, and the feeling seems to generally be the same with everyone you see, making the desire to just take a walk a lot more pleasurable... even for longer distances.
I had some strong things to say, but it's because I like it here very much.
America has plenty of problems that make South Korea's problems seem like a bug on a windshield, so don't get me started.
