Hi everyone! I haven’t written in a while- this post will be the first since I got back to Seoul and started work. 

Work!

Three days after I got back I started my job as a Corporate Social Responsibility Analyst at Medidata’s Seoul office. My main job is creating a free educational workshop for the new hirees of some of our smaller customers in order to improve our sales relationships with them (at least that’s my understanding). The software they’ll teach at this workshop, Rave EDC, is used for virtual clinical trials, and I’m kinda hoping they’ll let me sit in and learn how to use it too. 

I have about 20 coworkers and one direct superior, and everyone has been incredibly kind to me so far! The office culture is less severe than in other Korean offices (or so I’m told), so people wear slippers, leave early if they want to, and can play fantasy football during work hours. Because I’m the youngest, my coworkers insist on treating me to lunch and coffee fairly often, which is really sweet.

The only thing I’ve been struggling to adapt to is the constant talk about body weight. The U.S. definitely has its own neuroses about physical appearance, but I’m not used to people being so brazen about it. Every conversation I’ve had with my coworkers to date has started with some mention of their diet. One middle-aged coworker told me that he’s eating only one meal a day in order to lose 3kg (7lbs). Another coworker, an unmarried man, is teased a lot for being the only bachelor in the office, and I’ve heard people tell him that he should try to lose weight so he can get a girlfriend. The worst was when a woman showed me a picture of her at her last job and insisted that I tell her she looks like a different person now. I feel a little icky condoning any of it, so I’ve just been treading lightly and diverting the conversation for now. At some point, I might gently suggest they chill out. 

I also take a Korean class at night at Yonsei University, where I studied abroad last year. It’s a bit of a slog after work, but the class is well-taught and pretty fun. It got cancelled this week because people got worried about the coronavirus. 

International Drama

As I’ve talked a little bit about in the past, Korea isn’t on super friendly terms with any of its three neighbors in East Asia. Recently, the outbreak of the coronavirus has given people an excuse to toe the line of abject racism against Chinese people, whether they’re from Wuhan or not. Some of the resentment definitely stems from the air pollution in Seoul, which is said to come from China (though I have my doubts). There are very few clear, sunny days here, and I realized yesterday was the first day I’ve seen blue in weeks. Before I came, I always assumed the medical face masks that people wear here were a fashion statement, but apparently they have grades that filter different kinds of particulate. 

Since the imperial rule that ended after WWII, Koreans have also been hostile towards the Japanese. I struggle with this topic a lot- on one hand I think the source of the anger is rational. Japan hasn’t apologized formally for the Korean women that were forced into sex slavery (called Comfort Women) during WWII. There is also a dispute over the ownership of the Dokdo Islands, located right in between Japan and Korea, which Japan annexed in 1904. With that said, Koreans are quick to say violent or racist things about Japanese people, and expect me to agree. One guy at my Toastmasters club said that climate change wouldn’t be a problem if it drowned Japan. I’ve been asked a couple of times if I’m also boycotting Japanese products, and I have a hard time explaining why I don’t have a dog in the fight. 

Chinese New Year/Seollal

Last weekend was Chinese New Year (called Seollal in Korea), so I had a five day weekend. One day I went to a festival being held at a traditional village on the foothills of Namsan Mountain in central Seoul. I toured a little bit, and got a calligraphy poster made for free with an excerpt from a poem by Yoon Dong-Ju. I also watched a folk dance performance, similar to the Chinese dragon dance. 

One of my coworkers invited me to his house to join his family for Seollal. Together we made dumpling soup (a traditional meal), and I talked to his son about NYU, his dream school. His family sent me home with two bags of food, an act of kindness that cured the slight cynicism I’ve been feeling due to cultural differences lately. 

Sheep Cafe

Self explanatory! Their names were Tom and Jerry, and they were very woolly. 

Pengsoo

Pengsoo is a large penguin mascot who has become a hero among working millennials in Korea. It (yes, Pengsoo is genderless) was originally intended for a much younger target demographic, but got popular for its cocky personality, and flagrant disregard for authority and traditional hierarchical rules. Pengsoo is known for referring to its CEO by name instead of formal title, which is a big taboo. 

Behold, Pengsoo, the most popular “celebrity” in Korea: