I'll Be Watching You

A few months ago I posted about how nice it is that there isn't a huge police presence here.  I rarely see cops, and if I do they certainly aren't arresting or ticketing anyone.  They usually look like they are trying to find ways to kill time.

This is largely due to the fact that there is closed circuit television everywhere here.  Every intersection, every government building, every school, every academy.  Really, it's everywhere.  I'm reminded of this each time I enter my apartment complex.  Two red eyes are staring at me.

Do Koreans see this as a problem?  From my experience they don't.  In fact it's seen as a remedy for lots of problems.  Get in a car wreck and can't tell who hit who?  Check the tape.  Thinking about graffiti in the elevator?  Think twice, there's a camera in there.  Students got in a fight at school and can't figure out who started it?  Look at the CCTV.  It's so much part of life here that schools are actually calling for more cameras, to try and curb bullying (and in turn curb the astonishing student suicide rate).

There isn't much crime here.  There is CCTV everywhere.  This gets to the ol' chicken and the egg debate, but one does wonder...is the loss of your privacy a good thing?

Snack Time

I realized that I've been neglecting this blog recently.  I think that is because a lot of the newness of Korea has worn off.  I've been here for nearly 3 years now, and when I walk down the street and see couples dressed in the same outfits, bizarre configurations of English, and massive heaps of trash it's just part of my day.  No big whoop.

However, I did see something that caught my eye the other night.  A food truck was parked near my apartment complex.  It looked like they were serving up hand-cut french fries, something I knew Beth would flip out about!  There was a massive pile of them just waiting to be bought and consumed.  As I got closer though, I realized it was something else entirely.

Sardines.

Yes, deep fried sardines.  And where did they get these little fishies, from the freezer on the truck?  Oh no, these babies were fresh.  That's right, there was a giant aquarium attached to the truck where they grabbed them with a strainer, battered them, and fried 'em up just for you.  You can see the biker on the left was getting his money out for a bag.

It was fun to see that the newness keeps coming.