HUMANS OF KOREA

KOREA DANGEROUSLY AMAZING!

The Koreans smile after third bottle of vodka. But ...what a great smile they perform ??! 

Soju – the Korean vodka is not strong. Only 20% of alcohol. So are their lives. The Korean lives are  ....unhappy. Why? Why the Koreans are so different from my Indonesian friends? What is the reason? Happy Indonesians vs Unhappy Koreans?

But I love the Koreans too! They are simply different. But marvellous! My great Koreans friends! You are also Awesome!

And that's my Korean story. 

Very similar to many of my stories in Indonesia. The story about: How to find friends in the new country? New place, where, when you arrive for the first time, you know - no one. No family. No friends. No - one.

And there is a very simple rule to follow:

First: Just put you in an extremely “shitty position”. Then you ask for help. And you wait. Just wait. Wait! Friends would come. They always come. They would find you! And you will find them, too ??.

So. What happened? 

My first week in Korea. And my first weekend in Seoul. I took my bike and without any preparation I wanted attack the nearby mountains!

They are really incredible these Koreans! Very different from Indonesians. Indonesians are always happy. They do not need more in their lives. It's lovely to live among them, but they don't need to struggle. Because they are happy. 

Koreans. The opposite. Always stressed. Never satisfied. Work like crazy. But they are very efficient. They do not waste time in endless meetings (like French). They do not loose energy in fratricidal battles (like Polish). Koreans are almost perfect.

One Korean can do more in one day that one French (not too damaged) in a week ??!

The result is amazing. A country without natural resources (not like Indonesia), small size (not like China, US ...). Very, very poor 50 years ago (not like rich Occident, ....). Today, Korea is one of the most advanced and powerful countries in the world. And its economy is still growing faster than others!

Yesterday, so this is my first weekend. I went to attack on my bike the closest mountain to Seoul. Bukhansan. 1000 m. Not much compared to my volcanoes in Indonesia. Weather was beautiful. Saturday morning. Many Koreans arrive. They apparently love hiking. Hundreds enter with me in to the forest. Complete families. Diverse generations: young, old, children .... Nobody with a bicycle. But it can’t be difficult. Women and children can do. So I can also do it. Should be easy challenge!

Big Mistake! Very big!

At first all goes well. I put my bike on my back (as usual) and I walk without a problem. But a few miles later it's getting worse. Hiking path becomes a climbing track. A true one! Now I need both hands and both feet. So I attach the bike to my backpack.

Almost vertical slope! My (cycling) shoes are not suitable! They slide. I grind the teeth. I continue. Things get complicated. The slope is too steep. The path is too narrow. Bike too big. I get stuck. I'm sliding with my shoes. A nightmare! I can't move forward. I'm already tired. It's a very hot weather (30 degrees). I have not taken water. I stop. Dozens of Koreans pass by me. All greeting me. Apparently they are surprised by my performance (or by my stupidity).

I decided to return. But already too tired. I can't move. I'm afraid. Really stuck. I'll stay forever on this fucking Korean mountain!

And a miracle occurs. Do you still remember my rule? How to find friends? Put you in a shitty position! And I am now, exactly in a perfectly shitty position. Stupid Polish idiot stuck on the mountain, 20 km from Seoul!

Koreans still are passing by me. They see that I'm stuck, and they decide to help me. An old Korean, with an approximate English tells me: "Stills some hundred meters to the summit, sir. Better go up. Not down. Reach the summit first, sir. And on the other side the slope is not as steep. Would be easier to go down."

And they help me. My bike is rapidly dismantled (frame, 2 wheels separately). Each Korean takes a piece. Two other assist me. Show the easiest path. Give advice how to climb. Fortunately half un hour later we reach the mountain top. Without any difficulties. Then we take the rest. They give me to drink and eat (I did not take anything with me). And then they accompany me until I can continue alone. 

What a great lesson of solidarity!!! And what Idiot I was? Go for climbing with bicycle and without equipment (shoes, water, food…). Without preparation. Without knowing the path. Without knowing my own limits!

Thank you my new Korean friends. You saved my life! And you gave me a lesson. In a such amazing way!??

I think I have so much to learn from your country! And bring back one day this lesson of SOLIDARITY to my own country. To Poland. 

This is indeed the big difference between our mentalities. Polish and Korean. The ability or not to cooperate. Work together. Act together. Jointly. For a common purpose or benefit. In order to achieve fantastic targets, great challenges, …. 

Seoul, July 2012