To the editor:
I finally have a cell phone. It’s been an interesting experience to try to navigate the peculiarities of Cell Phone World. South Korea has one of the largest cell phone networks around. And for a South Korean, it is a simple matter of going into the store and forking over some cash, some identity documents and leaving with the latest in mobile phone technology. For foreign visitors it is a different question entirely.
It begins with the checking of visas. If you have a teacher’s visa then you can expect to get access to most phones but not all. This is because the visas are good only for a year and require that a renewal take place outside of Korea. So certain phones, notably the I-phone are off limits because they require a two-year residency contract. People do not move around much in South Korea. You will stay in your community for a long period of time. Your family will be there even longer.
After you have established what level of phone you can use, then the fun begins as you pour over nearly a thousand different models in a hundred styles. There are phones clearly intended for the hip youngsters, The knock off I-pods which are available to foreigners because they showcase the Korean phone companies. Lots of phones are the clamshell type, unfolding into a phone and in some cases, flashing as neon beacons to the fact that you are talking to someone. Very cool.
Color is not as dependent on who buys the phone as it is in the US. That is why my phone is a pungent shade of magenta. It’s a touch screen model that is loaded with features including television. Yes, I can now carry a television set in my pocket. Compared to other similar models I got a very decent product at a much lower cost. I have since learned that it was intended for the teen and 20-something professional woman’s market. I figure that if someone is going to try to steal it they have far more problems than I do. I prefer to think of it as the Red Phone linking me to the White House. So far I have not been able to locate the President’s direct dial number, but I am certain I will get a text from him any day.
I even managed to select a phone number that adds up to eight, a very lucky number here in Korea. When choosing a phone number, you can pick the last four digits. Then the clerk selects five or six prefix digits and you choose from these to make an eight-digit number that is your own.
Shopping is an experience here, Most shops are nothing more than tiny little closets with the family sleeping in a back room or upstairs. Plenty of brands are represented with dubious levels of association. However, the pride that that shop owners take in their wares is such that they can usually resolve an issue with something rather than lose you to another merchant, You do have to ask for bags in most shops now and often, they get the bulk pack of basic bags at your local store.
If any readers remember Peterson’s Store up in New Sweden, a really old-time general store, with all sorts of odds and ends tucked away, no prices other than what Mr. Peterson would tell you something cost then you would find a haven here in the shops of Korea. Some of the newer stores are beginning to adopt the wider aisles of their U.S. counterpart but most times these shopping aisles are about half my waist size, about 17 inches wide. This is not a problem though because it is OK to pick stuff up and move it or to ask the clerk for help. Something you need? The clerks will go into the back room and dig it out of storage, carrying it up to the counter as though it were the sacred jewels of a lost empire.
A little imagination, lots of sweat and courage and one can pretty much find something to fit the need for the moment. This is the case with the street food vendors who manage to make some odd objects work in creating delightful treats. But that is another story. For now, its a warm sunny day in the middle of winter. The snow is melting and it is slated to stay warm until Tuesday. This is good.
Sun Chang, South Korea
orpheusallison@mac.com
SELF-PORTRAIT — English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher and Castle Hill native Orpheus Allison sends a profile photo of himself from Sun Chang, South Korea using digital technology.
