I know it has been really long since I last wrote a blog, and I think it is about time for a new one.
We have been asked (already some time ago, but I am still going to write about it) to write about how we feel about our host country now. There were 4 phases an exchange student was said to go through: the honeymoon phase; the negotiation phase; the adjustment phase; the mastery phase.
On the one hand, I feel like I might still be in the honeymoon phase, if you look at my attitude towards South-Korea. I am still excited about all the new things I find out about my host country, I feel very, very at home here already. Which brings me to why I think I might have skipped some phases and ended up in the mastery phase faster then expected.
Before I came to South-Korea, I was already very interested in the country. I followed news updates, the entertainment scene, politics.. etcetera. Most of the things I experienced here, were not completely new to me. I had heard or read about them before, either on some Korean TV show, or on some website somewhere. Most experiences here were more 'recognition' than newly encountered facts. "So they really do that!" instead of "Huh? that confuses me."
There is however still something that I need more time to adjust to, and might never really adjust to.
Every male in Korea has to go to the army. Unless you are seriously injured, handicapped, or have a very large tattoo (due to Yakuza-like gangs) you have to serve in the army for approximately 2 years.
You can enlist from around the moment you graduate high-school until you are almost 30. However, you have to go at some point.
Many men choose to go as early as possible, or during their college period, meaning that we have many guys here who are a lot older than regular students, and especially girls. Some will take the university entrance test twice or three times, then take a break for army service, and end up graduating from their bachelor program at the age of 27/28 or even older.
Sometimes we will see a group of guys drinking by themselves in a bar, wearing army uniforms. They are on official leave usually, or celebrating someone's birthday. They get a couple of days per year to go out, allowing them to leave the barracks.
The stories I have heard about the army were pretty intense. A friend of mine went to the navy, and he told me they made him swim until he almost drowned because he got cramps in his leg because of the ice cold water.
However, even though everyone knows it is a very harsh period of time for them to face, all the men want to go to the army. It is a matter of pride. As soon as you finish your service time, you are officially a man. Or at least, that is how they perceive it.
It makes me slightly uncomfortable knowing that this country still needs a very well trained and large army at the ready because of the threats coming from across the border, but all the Koreans seem to be completely adjusted to it.
Of course, I am not often confronted with this aspect of Korean culture. It is still weird to me though, every time I meet a regular, skinny Korean guy, often shorter than me, maybe weighs 50kg max, and he tells me he already served his time in the army. It creeps me out, and it sounds completely unimaginable to me.
Overall though, I think I can conclude that I adapted to many Korean conformities, and I think that I could very well live here. I am considering to come back here as soon as possible. I am going over several possibilities already.
Thank you for reading, and hopefully I will post another video blog soon ^^
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