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PinnedEmpathy: The Remnant PiecesLife is an experiment. The worst things are constants. Roderick Butler is a very intelligent young man — that’s what everyone says. Very sensible. Accomplished beyond his years. Awkward around others, but not hurtful. Experienced at coping with all of the damage. But the bad times are in the past now. He has a new life, in a new…1 min read1 min read
Published in Globetrotters·Just nowMember-onlyThree Helping Hands in KoreaThere are times when you need someone to help you. I had that in spades — 26 pounds of water is too much to carry back from the store. That’s just math. But math can be countered very easily by math, or more specifically by economics. When you’ve counted your life by the water jug for years, any chance to save some money (and maybe a…Travel3 min readTravel3 min read
Published in The Expat Chronicles·18 hours agoMember-onlyForeign Spirits Aren’t So Exotic in KoreaLooking to toast your success with Jameson? You’re in luck — Alcohol culture is an interesting thing, but not just on the consumer side. Intoxicating beverages are closely regulated, and differences in regulations across varied countries can change how people view a particular product or service. It can also speak to how — and how much — that product is consumed. …Travel3 min readTravel3 min read
Published in Counter Arts·5 days agoThe Korean Ice Cup and the Cultural Distinction it HidesSometimes, “culture” comes down to a quiet personal preference — In late 2020, I encountered an unusual product in a Chinese convenience store. It was simply called the “ice cup,” and it was just that — a plastic cup filled with ice into which one would pour a soda or other cold beverage to keep it cold. The ice cups…Korea3 min readKorea3 min read
Published in Everything Shortform·5 days agoMember-onlySome American buildings don’t have a thirteenth floor.Some American buildings don’t have a thirteenth floor. By the same token, some Korean buildings don’t have a fourth floor. These buildings are more than four stories in height, of course, it’s just that the fourth floor isn’t designated with the numeral four. Rather, the fourth floor is designated by…Korea1 min readKorea1 min read
Published in The Expat Chronicles·6 days agoMember-onlyKorean Subway Maps Aren’t Oriented to NorthAm I the weirdo, or does this not make a lot of sense? — The above picture is a map of the area immediately surrounding a subway stop. It is a completely mundane navigational feature that one expects to see in a mass transit stop. On first glance, there is nothing unusual about it. Look closer, though, and you’ll see that there is an…Korea3 min readKorea3 min read
Published in Everything Shortform·Mar 9Member-onlyYou never really understand how inefficient North American cities really are until you’ve seen…You never really understand how inefficient North American cities really are until you’ve seen their East Asian counterparts. There’s a logic to it. We have this gigantic interior, we have tons of cars, so of course our cities are laid out so that everything is really far apart. But the…Travel1 min readTravel1 min read
Published in The Expat Chronicles·Mar 6Member-onlySoju: The Little Magic Green Korean BottleCurious about that new Korean spirit you’ve been seeing? Here’s what you should know — Over the past few months, Americans may have noticed something new in their local liquor stores — an unfamiliar imported spirit. It might come in one of a few different brands, but all of them share a distinctive green bottle that’s just a hair larger than a typical beer bottle…Korea3 min readKorea3 min read
Published in The Expat Chronicles·Feb 23Member-onlyFive Stages of Bureaucratic Grief for Those Living AbroadDeath has nothing on the East Asian administrative state. — Moving to certain countries is a protracted administrative nightmare. East Asia is worse than most in this regard. It is a region characterized by historical isolationism, ruled over by empires that viewed foreigners as a threat. Those barriers are long gone (other than the DPRK, of course), but traces of…Travel4 min readTravel4 min read
