I got the feeling of familiar when I set foot in Korea. Actually it has no difference from Beijing except for the Korean words on the buildings and the strange accent. Of course, that’s just the first impression.

Then the topography of Korea surprised me a lot. As is known to all, Korea is a mountainous country, but I had never thought it would be so oblique. And the structure of the buildings, especially the dormitories, really scared me. There are basements in most buildings, including of course the dormitories, so many of us are supposed to live under the ground. It’s unusual, and completely different from China. Some of my companions were even shocked. But meanwhile, I saw the Korean’s intelligence. The buildings are designed according to the landscape and every square inch of land has been made good use of.

Next is the Korean food. I like Korean food, most of it. Mainly because I like spicy food, so it’s just to my taste. I like eating very much, thinking it to be one of the happiest things in the world. So I like being here and eating the food I like. It’s fantastic. But I don’t like kimchi. I can take it but I don’t like it. And I don’t know why Korean like it so much. It seems that Korean people can’t live without it. It’s really strange, and I really can’t understand it.

After that, let’s talk about Korean people. I am surprised again because of their friendliness. We all know that Chinese are very friendly and warm-hearted. When I began to have contacts with Koreans, I found that Koreans are also very friendly. Some Koreans are usually very shy when you meet for the first time, so they usually won’t offer to help you, but when you ask for it, they will always try their best to do it. Take my roommate for example. She gave me the impression of being demure and quiet. Also, because I couldn’t speak Korean, we didn’t have much communication. Then gradually we began to know each other and I found her actually to be very lovely, lively and sometimes even crazy. She’s really a good person. As I’ve mentioned that I can’t speak Korean, I always meet with some problems, but she’s always ready to help, tries her best, and is never impatient.

Talking about friendliness, there’s another thing that I want to mention. Koreans really like asking people about their age, relationship and marriage. I can understand their curiosity about age because they have to know someone’s age in order to decide the way and manner to treat them. But why ask about relationship and marriage? I still haven’t figured it out. It’s awkward sometimes. Actually, I’ve asked some of my Korean friends, but even they themselves can’t explain it. Maybe it’s a thing that can just be felt but not explained in words. And thinking it over, maybe it’s just their way to show their friendliness.

Here’s a thing about Korean males. Before I came here, like most Chinese girls, I thought that most or even all Korean boys are male chauvinists, and that it would be very uncomfortable and hard to socialize with them. After being here, however, I find most Korean boys are very easy to get along with, and some are even very shy during the first meeting. It’s out of my expectation.

Koreans are also good at fashion. They can always put some little, ordinary things together, and then come up with a fantastic new thing. It’s really amazing. And Korea is a country which advocates makeup. Everyone does makeup, even males. It’s totally different from China. In China, it would kill a man if you asked him to put on make up, because we Chinese admire masculinity. So here comes another distinction between us.

What impresses me most is the seniority in Korea. The younger generation should totally respect and obey the older generation. Of course we should respect and love the older generation, that’s a kind of moral obligation which we should uphold, like and even enjoy. But sometimes it makes me feel that it’s too absolute. What if the older generation is doing wrong? Should we connive at it or even connive with them? Sure we should still have good manners, but we should also say no to them. Overall, though, it’s a good tradition.

All in all, I feel good living in Korea, at least up to now. And I do hope that I can have more good memories here.

Du Xiaoxia Student(KMU Korean Language Center)