Anyway, transportation aside, it's also a mall with an upscale department store, a movie theater, bookstore, American fast food joints and franchises like The Body Shop and Starbucks. And a bunch of Korean and non-Korean restaurants. My mission was two-fold-- find an Indonesian restaurant I'd heard about and browse the shops. Ok, three-fold, if you count simply needing a change of scene from the Ajou University campus neighborhood.
I took a cab (or "takshi" as it's pronounced here), which is a much more pleasant experience than at home. First of all, they're cheap. Also, there's no tipping, which is true throughout the country (e.g., in restaurants, hair salons, etc.) The drivers are (almost) universally pleasant and polite. And the thing that surprised me most--they seem to undercharge! I don't know if they just do this with foreigners, or in general. For example, if the fare is 7,500 won and I give the driver a 10,000 won bill, he gives me 3,000 won in change! This has happened several times.
I don't know if they just don't want to part with (or don't have) smaller bills and coins, or are taking pity on me because of my lack of Korean language skills, and so not trying to ask me for them. And the cab drivers almost always say "bye bye!" at the end of the ride.
While cabs may be cheap here, shopping in general is definitely not, at least unless there's a sale going on. At Books Libro (the bookstore in the Suwon Station mall) I got a copy of Vanity Fair--not something I would usually read at home, but I wanted some reading matter for company at dinner later. Not being sure of the price, I handed the cashier a 10,000 won (approximately $10). It turns out the cost was 14,000 won! Who knew--$14 for Vanity Fair!!!
My next stop was a cafe overlooking the main area of the station (think a smaller version of Grand Central) for a green tea latte. There was a big band style medium-size band performing an "eclectic" selection of predominantly American standard, some seasonal, some not. For example, a jazzy version of Jingle Bells. My favorite moment of cultural fusion came, though, with their rendition of La Bamba. I found myself thinking how absolutely impossible it would have been for Richie Valens to imagine that scene; decades after he made this song a hit it would be performed in an orchestral version at a train station in Korea. As I write this, I remember dancing to La Bamba at a UAW conference in northern Michigan in the mid-1990s. I couldn't have imagined I'd be hearing it in Suwon in 2007 at that point either.
Feeling refreshed by the green tea latte, I was ready to browse, or as ready as I was going to be unaccompanied by a Korean speaker. Retail establishments here positively intimidate me, especially the upscale ones. Customer service is taken to levels I've never seen in the U.S. Department stores virtually swarm with salespeople. When I walked into this place last night, there was a saleswoman standing at the edge of every little display area and they actually bowed as I walked by. Every single one of them bowed. I felt kind of like I was walking through a military line up. They said something too, which of course I couldn't understand. Probably "Welcome" or "May I help you?" (or, for all I know, "You silly foreigner") The ratio of salespeople to customers at that time of day seemed to be about 20:1. When I stopped to check the price of some bags, a saleswoman instantly appeared and then hovered too close for my comfort level. I nodded and smiled, then ignored her, as I learned to do when shopping with Koreans. I feel a little rude, but fall back on the lack of language excuse. All that bowing is overwhelming to me.
Even the parking garage employees bow here. They're young people dressed in immaculate uniforms, usually reminiscent of doormen and the fancy NY hotels. As you drive in, they bow and do some elaborate ritual of hand gestures that reminds me of guys on airport runways directing the planes into their gates. One place I went there were young women in prim immaculate suits and hats, looking very much like a young Audrey Hepburn. These are parking garage attendants! I have yet to see cigar-chomping middle-aged guys who yell at the customers.
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