I remembered one more thing about Korea that I love, and that is their lack of “manners”.  Koreans are pushy and I love nothing more than hearing some old ajumma yelling at someone or giving out dirty looks to strangers.  In Japan, we had to stop ourselves from rushing onto the buses because they believe in something called “lines” and “personal space” over there.  Here, you stand right up on everyone all the time because if you don’t, someone will snake in front of you.

Somewhat related, it also weirded me out that in big cities they have women-only subway cars.  I can understand that in Mexico City, and in places where you can’t wear shorts because men will more or less jump you.  But North-East Asia??  The worst that a male stranger has ever done to me here is perhaps whistle maybe one time, and it was probably just some old drunk ajushi.  I can’t imagine anyone trying to get away with groping on the subway here, even though they are usually packed, so it seemed strange that a country so close and similar in many ways would have that problem.  It must come down to their rigid cultural codes of behavior.  While Korea is far from perfect when it comes to gender differences and the societal view of sex, Japan seems to be way off.

I guess the cool thing about traveling is not just seeing amazing places, but also giving yourself a new perspective on your own culture and the world in general.