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매거진 Our Korea

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C.S.Lewis

by 이정환 Sep 16. 2018

First Impression of Korea

As I interview a number of candidates from abroad everyday, I can talk about South Korea. Surprisingly, I and non - Koreans have completely different opinions about South Korea. Some Korean people think that we are living in a small country or we need to escape this poor country. However, there are only 10 countries that are wealthier than South Korea among 237 countries in the world. 


 Most interviewees said that they only knew Samsung, LG and Kimchi, but after they came to South Korea, they realized that South Korea has a huge number of amazing things to do. 


Especially, they were significantly impressed with street. There is no single trash on the street. Some children might throw away on the street for fun, but most citizens in South Korea do not throw it and we tend to grab garbage on the street voluntarily.  


South Korea was not as clean as now in 1970. After the Korean War, people struggled to re - establish South Korea and make enough money to educate their children, so they were unable to learn citizenship. However, the Korean government decided to change the old custom and imposed really heavy fine on people who threw garbage on the street. As a result, no one dumps it and we are keeping Korea clean. 


Second impression they got was uncountable number of cafe along the street. Cafe in South Korea is literally everywhere. People can easily see at least 3 cafes in a block. Coffee has been loved by Korean, since 2005. People started to open their own and franchise cafe. As a result of the popularity, Korean and non-Korean people are able to drink tasty coffee anywhere.


Thanks to the ferocious competition, customers are able to buy coffee at a reasonable price and excellent service.


Yes both Korean and non- Korean people  enjoy not only clean and tidy street but also good flavored coffee everywhere. 

매거진의 이전글 Korea? Corea?
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