Korea

I am in a better mood today. I am in Korea now.

I like Korea for many reasons; to name a few: everything works, clean toilets, fast internet (only Japan is faster), they don't block websites; nice people; relatively clean, amazing technology, perfectly safe, etc.

I almost tried to rent a Wi-Bro phone at the airport but since I am planning to go to Japan, too, it seemed a waste of money.

Most of all I like South Korea because it seems like a giant middle class paradise. Koreans themselves are aware of class and status differences, but to an outsider it seems an incredibly egalitarian country. People all drive the same type of car, all live in the same type of high-rise apartment, all use the same type of phone, all dress in that neat, modest "smart causal" style, etc. There is honor in every profession, even the toilet-cleaners are respected. After all, they have a very important job. The only profession that is not respected is the Chief of some Big Industrial Group. Every time I visit, a big chief is on trial, usually for corruption, and the citizenry is delighted at the prospect of sending him to jail.

This time, a big chief is being tried for kidnapping the staff at a karaoke bar and instructing his bodyguards to beat them with a pipe.