This week I want to focus on just one short interaction. Now that I only have two weeks left in Korea, I have started making preparations to return to America — mainly, shopping for gifts and picking up a few things for myself. I’m glad that I decided to do it this way, because I have a much better idea of what is a good deal versus overpriced, and I know of more places to shop even if I haven’t been there yet. On Friday, I went to 쌈지길 (Ssamziegil) with Victoria and Eunji. Monsoon season has really gotten underway, so it was brutally hot and humid. Despite the copious amounts of sweating we were doing, we had a fun time ducking in and out of the many stores all piled together within three floors. After checking out all the shops in this larger connected building, we headed up and down the adjacent street to find some cheaper wares.
At one of the stores, I saw something that caught my eye as a possible gift for one of my friends (I want it to be a surprise in case they read this so I won’t say exactly what it was). The woman working the booth greeted me and began her sales pitch with bits of English. Because the area was known for shopping and is a major place for tourists, it is pretty normal for most of the people working in stores there to speak a little bit of English. If you aren’t Korean (or Korean-appearing) they tend to automatically assume that you don’t speak Korean. Reflexively, however, when she made a remark in Korean about how pretty her wares were, I agreed in Korean.
She quickly was surprised and started to flatter me, telling me that I spoke Korean well, and I got to experience a true Korean reaction — it’s kind of hard to describe, but basically she patted my arm while acting surprised and impressed. Of course, I told her I don’t speak that well, but we continued talking in Korean. She gave me her sales pitch, and asked if I understood at the end. I didn’t know every word but I got the gist of what she said so I nodded. Then I browsed over the different items she had, while she pulled ones out to show me, and we talked about when I had come to Korea. I told her that I was studying at SNU just for the summer. I also told her that I was looking with the intention of giving the items to my friends and she encouraged me to take my time and think of what they would like. I really did like what she was selling, but after our conversation I had to buy something from her, so I did.
We only talked for two or three minutes, but the willingness with which she talked with me, and engaged with me in Korean, made me extremely happy. When we walked away, Victoria was kind of laughing at me and asked what I’m sure many of you may also be thinking right now; “Have you not talked to a Korean woman before???” It was a valid question. After all, I’ve been here for two months now, and it’s not like I stay in my room 24/7. But honestly, I haven’t had a conversation like that yet. Most of my conversations in Korean have been with other people living in my 고시원 or in my classroom. Unfortunately, I’ve had a really hard time having these kinds of spontaneous conversations.
Despite my best efforts to talk with store workers in Korean, they are often resistant. Many will continue talking in English even when I answer in Korean, and some won’t even speak to me at all. Besides that, I always feel conflicted in those situations. I worry that, by continuing to speak in Korean, I am implying that I think my Korean is better than their English (which couldn’t be farther than the truth). The last thing I want to be is rude, so I always panic when this happens. However, in this case, this woman was more than willing to let me practice and it made all the difference. I have a feeling that I will hold that short conversation with me for quite some time. These brief moments of acceptance and simple linguistic success have made all the difference for me, and have made my time here truly memorable.
서울에 여름방학 