China

With a passive whir the escalators in the Seoul Airport welcomed us back. After five days in China, I think it should be noted the differences we all noted between the Chinese and the Korean people – and as noted earlier, one of the starkest examples is the noise. China was loud, vibrant and piercing. South Korea is quiet, colorful and sympathetic. So, it is relatively nice to be back in Seoul, so that your ears aren’t so full.

Dealing with the salesman at the Pearl Market also presented another change. The Chinese there, like in many markets, were pushy and moderately obnoxious. The Koreans, even the ones attempting to sell something to a trapped tourist on Jeju Island or at a Korean Folk Village, were accepting and polite about the haggling and bargaining process. Enjoying the bargaining process myself, I better understood what the Chinese were after, but I felt better about my purchases in Korea. The adjective most used on this trip to describe the Chinese has been aggressive, and the salespeople were no different.

Finally, with a wink and a nod to Cecilia, Beijing is quite dirty and the air cannot possibly be healthy. In fact, as this blogger notes : http://www.pyongyangsquare.com/beijingair/, the air quality in Beijing is in fact the worst in the world – by a landslide. We experienced the poor air and physically we could tell the difference in our lungs when we arrived back in Seoul. There was also a real grit to everything in China, which was moderately disconcerting. On the other hand, the Koreans seem to be very clean – despite never being able to find a trash can, the streets are free from litter and on the whole highly pleasant to walk on.

Chris Gilfillan

6.29.2009