Monday, May 30, 2011

Guidelines on how to be a true Seoulite

Over at the Los Angeles Times, writer Hector Tobar lists some rules that designate a true Angeleno* (defined, I guess, as someone who would never do those things "a real Angeleno would never do").

And that got to wondering: what would a similar list look like in regards to Seoul. That is, what are the guidelines on how to be a true Seoulite?

I guess it might include separating your garbage as second nature. Perhaps also turning on your hazard lights when traffic stops up ahead or someone let you into their lane (this is generally true of all Korean drivers, and it's something I miss in Hawaii and California... though that's about all I miss of Korean driving habits).

Using taxis as public transport would be another. And off the top of my head, that's what I've come up with in the Manoa Starbucks.

So have at it: what does a true Seoulite do? (And please, dispense with a list of memes, like a true Seoulite spits on the subway platform or something like that.)

* An Angeleno is someone from Los Angeles. Now who uses that term is open to debate. Those from Los Angeles County probably routinely use the word, though those from the City of Los Angeles proper may cringe at that. If you're from an L.A. County city with its own proud identity — Pasadena, Long Beach, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, etc. — you may also eschew the term. More broadly, some might include those from Ventura County, the Inland Empire, or OCers even though many of those places are an hour or more from Los Angeles. For Orange County, I prefer the term orangelenos. It's not a popular term, however, since I just made it up.

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