South Korea

August 2016

Many things are impressive given their fairly tumultuous history; here are ones that stood out.

People

Very civilized and peaceful. Respectful and usually don’t engage you unless you take the initiative.

Most younger (under 30) people speak English but they are timid and say they “speak very little”. However when needed they are helpful in finding directions and translating things. Hierarchical society puts a burden on people to not take risks unless the expectation of failure is extremely low.

Technology

This picture isn’t quite “high tech” I’m referring to but it perfectly illustrates my point: innovation can be used for rethinking some of the most taken-for-granted everyday things and in Korea you actually see that. These aren’t always innovations that create unicorn startup opportunities but small steps in improving our everyday life. I haven’t been to Japan but from what I expect, it’s a similar culture. Electronic locks everywhere. Some are probably also smart, internet connected, locks. I haven’t seen a single person without a smart phone. Android seems dominant.

Cleanliness

This was the dirtiest street I encountered. Everything is clean. Reminds me of Singapore. Yet trash bins are hard to come by in public. There’s an assumed responsibility to take out your own trash, which reduces the need for public trash bins and people seem to honor that rule. This was especially evident in Suwon where I had to carry around snack wrapper for hours until I came across a trash bin.