One of the things I love most about Korea are all the little restaurants, (if you could call them that) they could be no bigger than a closet but you could still dine in and have a have a half decent meal. And in these resaurants, I love to see old men drinking their soju and enjoying a meal. There´s just something about the camaraderie that they show with every toast and clink of their glasses, even at their age. So tonight I saw two such men smoking their cigarettes, drinking their soju and sharing their meal. It put a smile on my face which lasted until I had to cross the road.
Pedestrians put their life at risk everytime they venture outside in Korea. Drivers are maniacs here. I am not joking. I´ve never seen it so bad before. Using crosswalks can be very dangerous. Every driver knows that you stop on red and go on green. Welcome to Korea. More often than not the drivers here do not even wait for the green. They just go. In broad daylight, they just go. During bad weather, they just go. Sometimes they´ll slow down but it is on the rare occasion. If they see there´s no one on the crosswalk, they´ll just go and if you are walking, you had better hurry up. I´ve asked Korean friends about this several times. Where are the cops? No one seems to have an answer.
So tonight as I waited to cross the road, I was not filled with anticipation. But I had to do it. Once the light changed, I waited a few seconds and checked both ways, and started to walk. As I took about my fifth step, a car came speeding out of nowhere and I had to jump back. My heart skipped a beat. It really freaked me out. But the clincher is the police car on the other side of the road. The cops didn´t even budge an inch. I could have got hit very easily. I am still a little shookened up about the whole thing.