April 14th- Black Day

Today is Black Day. Today also happens to be my birthday. But, it's not a black day because it's my birthday. It's actually a bright and sunny spring afternoon. Very representative of my sunny disposition. Haha!

In Asia, the fourteenth of every month is a special day. In Korea three of those days are primarily celebrated. February 14th is Valentine's Day, as we all know. On that day in Korea women give their significant others chocolate. The 14th of March is known as White Day. It's on that day that men reciprocate by giving their significant other candy. And April 14th, that's Black Day. This day is for everyone else.

Black Day is the day that single people commemorate their singleness. Single parties are held today. There's a speed dating party that I heard about that's happening today. There are 20 guys and 20 girls and you have 3 minutes to talk to each person. Every three minutes you switch. Apparently it's the new rage. I wouldn't know though, I've never been. The most famous way single people commemorate Black Day, however, is by by eating ja-jang-myeon.

Ja-jang-myeon is noodles with black been sauce, and it's eaten today because of it's color. It came to Korea about 100 years ago from China, and is now more popular here than there. It is the most popular home delivery food- much more so than pizza, chicken, and traditional Korean food. It also happens to be one of my personal favorite dishes in Korea. I know the photo may not look appetizing to a Westerner, but take my word for it, black bean sauce and noodles is so delicious! Although I am celebrating today, I won't be eating ja-jang-myeon. I don't need to and besides, it's my birthday. Tonight I am planning on having a night on the town with my friends and we will kick it off by eating some excellent Western fare: brick oven baked pizza at the new restaurant that opened down the road.

And what do all the people who are spoken for do on Black Day? Not much. Either thank God they're not single, or conspire about how they can be.

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things...

I've been meaning to write for awhile about what I like about Korea. Instead of making a list, I'll just highlight them one by one as I see fit. They will be in no particular order, but if I had to choose the best thing about Korea, it would probably be the dirt cheap and easily accessible health care. But that's for another day...

Today's thing that I love about Korea:

#1 SEO-BI-SUH

Last night I went grocery shopping and was reminded of the freebies that come with almost everything in Korea. They're called "service". The way a Korean would say it is "seo-bi-suh". It's one of those many English words that the Koreans have adopted into their vocabulary but changed the meaning slightly.

Often times a product like cereal or laundry detergent will have another "service" product attached to it. By attached I mean wrapped with clear box tape. Sometimes they're related, sometimes not. I've seen bowls taped to cereal boxes. That makes sense. The paper towels attached to my cereal, on the other hand, not so much sense. Nor does the Tony the Tiger visor a friend of mine received. Last night I had to choose between just a carton of milk and a carton of milk with pineapple juice taped to it. And what would you choose? Hell's yeah I chose the one with pineapple juice freebie.

If you buy a kilo of strawberries from the market after reaching the correct weight the vendor will throw in an extra handful, service. Or maybe you're paying for six apples, she'll give you a seventh, service. Seo-bi-suh permeates throughout all Korean businesses though, not just in the grocery store. I had the dry cleaner sew a button back onto my shirt, in addition to the blanket I had given her to dry-clean. How much did she want for the button? "Seo-bi-suh."

This week I went to the cellphone service center to get a new charger for my phone. Again. Seems like I need a new one every few months and I was pissed. The girl working there recognized me and serviced it. Guess who's not pissed anymore but in fact delighted that he got a free phone charger? Oh, and she offered me a bag of freshly popped popcorn from their popcorn machine. How random is that? I've also seen cellphone stores offering a 6-pack of ramen noodles to those who signed new plans. Sometimes if you have a long cross-country trip the bus company will provide a bottle of water for riders. Self serve coffee or ice cream is standard at nicer Korean restaurants. Health and beauty stores often give you free samples just for walking through the door.

Even at the sporting goods store: "Oh, you bought a hundred dollar backpack? Here's a menu of free stuff. What would you like?" "I'll take the pair of nice hiking socks, thanks!" Who can't use more socks?

Or how about this one: "Hey lady at the fried chicken restaurant. We just bought three chickens and a bunch of beers. You think you can service our dessert?"
"Sure, I'd be happy to."

It seems that food home delivery rewards with the most interesting freebies. The most exciting thing I got with my fried chicken was a Super Junior calendar. (Super Junior is a popular Korean boy band.) But my friends have scored much better. One friend got a badminton set with her pizza. Another, and I think is this the best, received a pet snail in a plastic cage with her pizza order.

Yes I do love seo-bi-suh. I know. It's just a marketing ploy to make customers come back. But you know what? It works. If I have to choose between giving my business to the phone center with popcorn and the one without, I'll choose the popcorn bribe every time.