Ruminations in Korea

Why Socrates wouldn’t have done well in Korea:

Socrates: Mr. Kim, is something good because it is Korean, or is something Korean because it is good?

Kim: Yes.

Socrates:

Kim:

Socrates: *sigh* (walks away)

Feast your eyes upon the $65 fishing package! After a nearly 16-year absence, Saturday will mark my return to the world of fishing. As I am notorious for starting things and giving up on them fairly quickly, I decided to start small and, if I stick with it, move up from there.

One country’s standard operating procedure is another country’s reason to shut down a nursing home.

In Korea, literally EVERY public toilet has a small wastebasket next to it. The wastebasket is there for you to put your used toilet paper in. In many places, there is a sign somewhere near the toilet imploring you NOT to flush your toilet paper down the toilet and instructing you to place your feces-smeared toilet paper in the open air wastebasket next to the toilet so that it can mix and mingle with other people’s soiled toilet paper to be enjoyed by other people throughout the day.

THE REASON: Apparently ancient, inadequate plumbing, and largely non-existant sewage system.
THE SOLUTION: Keep throwing filthy toilet paper into an even filthier wastebasket and let it all bake in the summer heat all day.

In Oklahoma, a nursing home was shut down for several violations such as spiders, rodents and cockroaches “too numerous to count.” It was also noted that in one bathroom, the window sill “was covered with dust, dead bugs and empty bottles.” Amongst the violations, one stood out in my mind.

Because one toilet regularly clogged, residents were told not to flush toilet paper. Because of that, inspectors found a bathroom waste basket “filled with toilet paper smeared with feces.”

They make it sounds like a bad thing….

THE REASON: Apparently inadequate plumbing and maintenance.
THE SOLUTION: One of mean reason to shut down the entire facility.

I have always been uncomfortable with this one aspect of society here. It is hard to comprehend how unsanitary an open wastebasket full of used toilet paper is. This is not a cultural “love it or leave it” thing. This is a basic medieval sanitation issue. Come one…This country has hosted the Olympics, East-Asian Games, the World Cup, and many other international events and conferences. It will be hosting the APEC council later this year. It touts itself and markets itself as an international country, yet basic sanitation issues remain in the undeveloped, dark age, unindustrialized world.

It is a 15 minute motorcycle ride from my home to my office.

About 30 seconds into my ride, my eyes started to itch and burn. A minute or two later a coughed a few times and rubbed my eyes. My eyes hurt.

I rode around a bend in the road and came out from under the canopy of trees. I looked at the horizon and noticed a yellow-grayish haze rising from the ocean to about 1/3 of way to zenith.

Yellow Sand. Sand from the Mongolian desert via China.

This was the first day I have noticed the yellow sand in Pusan this year.

I now sit in my office cursing the yellow sand. my eyes are red, itchy, and watering. My throat is dry and scratchy, and I now have a cough that appears to be here to stay for a while.

Curse you, yellow sand! Curse you! Go back to the godless, communist wasteland from whence you came! No.. not Cathartidae’s blog. (Just kidding Brian…..sort of) I meant China. I’m sure Mongolia doesn’t really mourn your loss, but please just stay in China.