Behind the times

Korea always seems to be about 5-10 years behind Japan when it comes to fads and fashion. I blame the Korean War, as it kept them out of development until the mid 1950's while Japan was getting all Westernized the day after Bockscar did its damage.

The fad that seems to have crossed the Sea of Japan this time is upskirt shots. That is when someone secretly puts a camera under a woman's skirt. Classy stuff. I have been hearing about more cases of men doing this at subway stations, so be aware ladies.


I came across this interview (not safe for work!!) of someone caught upskirting in Japan, which was somewhat interesting. I will post the entire thing, since there is a giant shot of school girls in their incredibly short shirts.

Fined $3,500.

How old? Job?

27, IT. Lost my job because of all this. Wasn’t dismissed though – just had to quit for other reasons.

What did you snap?

Upskirts in a Shinjuku department store.

What now?

I’ll be a NEET as I have some savings.

After 3 months I can go on the dole and that’ll pay my rent… then I might look for a new job.

My real name was reported, but it’s the same as a sportsman so if I’m Googled it should be OK.

You habitual?

This was my first time getting caught. But as for upskirts, I’ve been doing it since high school.

So it’s the excitement of the criminal act?

Well, you watch it on Winny and so on, but it’s totally different. Taking the pictures and then taking them home to check if it went well is incredibly exciting.

As far as crimes go, taking upskirt pics is about the most pathetic one out there, honestly.

Yeah, I couldn’t even tell the other people in the cell what I was in for. Told them it was for fraud. Some old guy in for assault told me I was pretty good at lying…

You’re a total tool. Don’t you think it was inexcusable?

Well, I’ll stick with downloading movies for a bit.

For a bit? You’re going to do it again?

When I used a pinhole lens I was never caught, so when things have cooled off I might try that again. For some sad virgin like me, that’s all I have to live for.

Why were you caught?

Basically because I was fiddling with the camera. I wouldn’t get near to the subject, but soon its boyfriend came out of the toilet and started watching me, and I got caught.

You made the news? Local newspaper?

Yomiuri I think. On the 30th page of Google at the moment.

They print your face? If you’ve been at since high school I bet you are grotesquely ugly.

Just the name. My face is a real eyesore. I’m a rank virgin. Seeing this girl I liked go home with a nice looking girl, and then seeing an upskirt video, were the impetus. It’s all her fault.

Tell us how you were caught.

I was peeping. → Boyfriend came out of toilet: “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” → My lens was discovered → 119 →I though I’d run off but her boyfriend was huge and then 3 police came → I was taken to the station.

My friend was busted recently. What happens with the arrest process, how long until you get to speak to counsel?

In my case:

Arrest, prosecution, detention (20 days), simple trial, fine, release. Maybe if you apply for counsel you can get it any time, I don’t know.

What did your parents say?

Mother: I’ll keep giving you an allowance so keep at it!

Father: Well, if you do that you’ll end up caught.

Honestly I think they are spoiling me a bit with level of niceness.

Your parents are total scum aren’t they?

How were you caught? I want to try so give me some tips.

Warnings:

Never make eye contact with the subject.

Avoid trains – no place to run if caught.

Use a pinhole camera, they sell them in Akiba.

Do it in a spot where it’s natural for people to stand, like the back of a conbini.

Was this a fine plus jail or…?

Fine only… I thought I’d be given a suspended sentence or something as it was a first offence, but when they saw the size of my collection it became a fine.

I’m guessing the boyfriend was the worst part…

It was harsh. He was holding me with one arm whilst he abused me, and worse yet everyone was looking at me.

Didn’t you want to run?

The boyfriend was hard, then shop employees came and surrounded me and I couldn’t get to the elevator. I’ve actually been caught and run off OK four times before.

[…]

I had 120 tapes of an hour each. They were all confiscated and that was a bigger shock than being arrested!

You ever do it on a loli? What age ranges?

Not interested in them. My strike zone is middle school girls to house wives.

You’re really weird, treating this like it was nothing. I’d be considering suicide.

I’ve got savings, my real name’s relatively safe on Google, and I quit myself. Those are the reasons. If it was the first hit on Google I might have killed myself by now.

You don’t regret it at all, do you?

Not really. I’m scum, and nobody really got hurt, or something like that.

Thank you all for sticking with a lowlife like me for so long.

Even the rich and famous do it!

I was looking to buy some wifebeaters online as my usual undershirts are too hot for school since school likes to turn of the air-conditioning basing it more on a calendar thing than a temperature thing. I'm planning ahead.

I went to Korea's seizure inducing Amazon (G-Market) and found the quote below.

YOU'LL BE CREATING A RUCKUS IN THIS IRRESISTIBLE PRINT TEE. THE CONSENSUS IS. BABIES ARE CUTE, AND THIS PRINT FULLY EXEMPLIFIES IT.
TRULY, HOW DO YOU RESIST AN AFRO-WEARING BABY? SHEER AND CAP-SLEEVED , THIS ENSURES YOU'LL STAY COOL IN THE WARMING WEATHER. DRY-CLEAN.

I'm teaching a unit on health at school. I had a student draw this up for me to use with my all powerful "PPT" (PowerPoint).

I know some of the words are random, that's how I roll. Can you dislocate your ankle?

the wife

I think she will be my new wife (it's the last part that won me over).

This summer I have 5 weeks off. Unfortunately nobody I know also has time off so I decided to work at an English "camp" part time.It's not a real camp, the kids just come to a local university where I and a few others zip through a book and pretend we are teaching.

Normally I would teach 1 page an hour. That would be the vocab, the grammar and tons of speaking practice for them. Unfortunately the parents want to see something that shows their kid has learned a thing or two. SO we fly through the book and the kids can show them what a great job they did. For my part, I use the book but try more just to get them talking and enjoy the class as much as possible.

One nice thing about this camp (other than it only being in the morning and lasting 3 weeks) is that once a week we have a field trip. Today was ice skating. Little did I know that there was a rink a short 10 minute walk from my apartment! It's on the 5th floor of an empty office building. It has got to have the best view of any indoor ice rink in the world.

The Burning

I heard a loud strange noise that seemed to surround my apartment building after deciding it wasn't a Nork tank I manned up and investigated. Turns out it was the insecticide truck spraying its fumes willy-nilly.

Korean kids love these trucks and inhale all of the fumes they can. The opening scene from the amazing Korean movie Friend (친구,Chingu) shows this happen. Right now my eyes are burning and I am on the 5th floor. I cannot imagine what those on the bottom floors are feeling after they got completely dosed in it.

Though, it doesn't seem to be just a Korean thing...

When will they attack?

UPDATE: Looks like CNN is following my lead!

...

From my point of view, people outside the Korean peninsula seem to be more concerned about impending doom than anyone actually living here. Even though the North has attempted assassinations, blown up a civilian airplane and more recently sunk a South Korean ship, nothing has ever come of it and the people here seem to get more worked up about nonexistent mad cow from America than anything the North does.

My own view, which I have to admit I came up with with some help a few months ago after reading The Cleanest Race (which would have been an alright book if it had been a bit more objective).


Kim needs to keep his people in agreement that a military first policy is the best for the Norks and their safety. He also wants to keep power within his bloodline (bloodline is very important to Koreans no matter what side of the border they live on). For Kim Jong Il to convince his people that his 3rd son (his first 2 must really suck if he is going to his third string) he needs them to think that a military leader is the best for their country. Enter Kim Jong Eun. He is a General in the Nork Army, was Western educated and believes all the bunk his father believes or at least they both pretend to believe.
Anyway, if the Norks are truly to be taken at their word that they will attack if America and the South Koreans were to hold war games (which started this past weekend, and in the video in the link you can see my school during the last few seconds!!) on the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea, then tomorrow (July 27) is the day they should do it.

What happens July 27th? Only the biggest event in Korea since StarCraft! Yes, that's right, StarCraft II is being released. PC bangs (internet cafes) throughout the country will be filled with kids and adults waiting to kill their first Zerg or Protoss. Nobody will be minding the border so the Norks can just walk on over.

a Korean teenager watching one of the StarCraft channels on his cellphone

I have actually thought about what I would do if/when they attack. I like to think that I am relatively safe as I live on the southern tip of Korea and my apartment is surrounded by land mines. I do have bottled water at the ready as well as some ramen to keep my belly full for a few days. I thought I could lay low in the forest near my apartment, but that whole mine thing is a bit off putting.

a sign behind my apartment warning of land mines

Afghanistan

I have been on a bit of an Afghanistan kick as of late. I suppose it all started a few years ago when my parents went over there to work at the embassy and continued with my cousin being deployed there. In one of my cousin's facebook posts he mentioned Harry Flashman from George MacDonald Frazier's Flashman series. The first book has Flashman going to Afghanistan with the British Army in the mid 19th century.

I've also been reading about the Taliban, mujahidin, flying kites (part 2) as well as some books on Iraq. I highly recommend all of them.

I am not sure how I came across this blog, but it is amazing. Adam Curtis has some amazing posts and fills them with interesting video. This page is on Afghanistan and takes awhile to load, but it's worth it.

Public School Life

I am one of the fortunate few that works for a federal school and I don't have to follow the rules that city schools must follow. One such rule is "desk warming". Even though school is out and there are no students or teachers anywhere to be found, the foreign teacher is required to come and sit at his/her desk. This can be anywhere from 2-4 weeks and many will be lucky if the air conditioning is turned on as the school wants to save money.

Like I said, I am lucky and don't have to follow this idiot rule, but here is someone who does...





notes:
Taeyeon is the lead singer in Girls' Generation, a Korean pop group. Many students and teachers will sit around for hours debating who is the prettiest. (my favorite was Su-yeong until I saw a picture of her, looks like she's a Nazi too!)
The Korean writing says "shi-bal" or "fuck"
As for eating in the cafeteria, the food isn't so nice but if you don't eat some Korean teachers take it as an insult (the previous foreign teacher that worked with me didn't eat with us...he was fired)

Contract

I'm teaching at a camp this summer for elementary students. This was part of the contract I had to sign. I particularly like the 2nd #10.


Still trying to figure out why I can't say "fun" or "fabulous~~".

Japan dirty!!!

One thing that really gets my goat in Korea is their hatred of Japan. I jokingly told one student that an island in the distance was Japan. Her reply was "NO!!! Not Japan! I hate Japan!!" She was maybe 10 years old.

In 1910 Japan annexed Korea and while not being very kind, they did modernize the Hermit Kingdom and much of Korean modern life is loosely based on Japan's influence. Korea was finally freed after the Allies forced Japan to surrender.

South Korea recently published a book(s) on those who collaborated with the Japanese during the occupation and are now trying to punish those or their next of kin for what they did. Japan Probe (whose writing is better and more thought out than mine) has some interesting things to say about it. My big question is if they are going to punish the chaebols like Samsung whose founder has also been named.

Here are some school sponsored drawing by children showing their hatred of Japan.

Insurance

While the freshmen were doing their sea training (4 days of military style basic training) the teachers and remaining students went on a field trip to Ulsan to see Hyundai Heavy Industries. There is a huge car factory and a ship yard that builds all types of freighters. The ship yard tour took 5 minutes and was over before I could get my camera out. The car factory was 95% driving around in a disco bus with a tour guide explaining what happens in all these building we weren't allowed in. They did let us in one small factory, but we were forbidden to bring our cameras.

the disco bus, that is a huge tv in the front for karaoke

All the teachers are required to be insured, but since I am a foreigner I got special insurance. Everything in parenthesis is for me.


The circled bit says- hijacking : Scott (foreigner) : ₩70,000. If I am on a plane and it gets hijacked I get ₩70,000. That's $58.

I was more concerned about insurance for a bus accident since our driver was on his phone much of the time.


We also went to some lighthouse...


...which is behind me in the picture above.

I think my old Japanese neighbor moved to Nagasaki.

Elderly woman breaks inconsiderate student's nose on bus

An image from the Korea Times.

Dramaaaaaaa

Wow, what a June!

My school has been feeling the pressure from shipping companies to improve our students English. In response we were given a ton of money to build a new language lab with a $10,000 touch screen TV, and loads of LED TVs for the cafeteria with one just outside the cafeteria (which is actually outside!) that are all tuned to an English learning channel. Oh, and we got one new native English speaking teacher (NET).

There were three scenarios that I envisioned happening: 1. He (we had to hire a male) would be a great guy and we'd get along splendidly 2. He would be a freak and always want to hang-out with me or 3. He would be a freak and not want to hang-out. It turned out that he was #3.

I am somewhat to blame for hiring Roy (not his real name) since I picked his resume out of the few I was shown. He had many years of experience in Korea, taught at a university here, and went to an Ivy League school. If they had let me interview him I would have been able to warn the school of the drama ahead.
On Roy's first day he started an argument with one teacher (we'll call her Ms. Go, not her real name) about how to organize a class and telling her numerous times that she was wrong and making her lose face. This is something that you just don't do in Korea (or in America, at least not on your first day) especially since he is younger than her. He asked for my help and as I agreed with him I was able to sort it the proper Korean way. As soon as Ms. Go agreed to do it our way he started gloating and telling her how she was wrong. This was warning sign #1.

#2 and 3 followed that same day. Ms. Go, much to her credit, invited Roy, myself and Roy's new co-teacher out for dinner. Roy flat out said "no". Again, this is something you do not do in Korea. 99% of Koreans will say yes even though they really don't want to or may even have other plans. We foreigners get somewhat of a pass, but we need a proper excuse so as to save the hostess some face. Roy has been in Korea at least 5 years and should know this by now. I tried to help explaining that Roy just got into town this morning from Seoul and needed to finish unpacking and get settled in his new apartment, all of which was true. Roy followed that up with "No, I'm not tired, I just don't want to go." This was the point where I completely gave up on him.
The principal heard about us going out and invited himself and a bunch of the head teachers to join. That is good for me because I enjoy those teachers company and having beers and soju with the boss is usually a good thing. Also, if the principal is going then we get to eat the good stuff! Galbi (beef)!! This was unfortunate for Roy because now he had to go. It also was not good because he doesn't drink and is a vegetarian.

getting ready for the galbi

At the dinner...
Principal- "how long have you lived in Korea Roy?"
Roy- "I am not going to answer that."
Everyone but Roy- O_@ (that is a WTF face)

This was all on his first day in March.

The next couple of months were not too bad except for the fact that we wore bright orange ear plugs all day everyday, even when he was teaching making him completely unapproachable to the students and teachers. He also covered is face in sun screen to the point where his face was actually white with cream. He would wear a big sun hat and sunglasses when walking from the classroom to the cafeteria, a total of 30 seconds outside. Oh, and he never came to work on time, often running in, grabbing his garbage bags filled with materials and running down the halls to class.


This is all personal stuff, but what about his teaching you ask? Actually, I think he was a pretty good teacher in his own way. He created all of his own activities and was constantly working on new material and getting the students involved. He did have a hard time with discipline and usually bribed them with candy. The students seemed to think he was strange and smelly, but not a bad teacher.

The entire school was going to have an English vocabulary exam. They were given a list of words and told to memorize the meanings and regurgitate wheat they learned at a later date. Roy, trying to be helpful, made a little story that included many of the words the students were expected to know. Unfortunately, his subject matter left little to be desired.

I would post the entire story, but I promised my co-teacher that I wouldn't show it to anyone. So instead, you get the Cliff's Notes version.

Scott is really handsome and has a sexy body. Hyo-ri (ed. note-she is one of the very attractive English teachers at our school,not her real name) loves Scott and is sexy body. Hyo-ri wants to go to an erotic art gallery where there are pictures of nude Scott. Scott is stupid and doesn't know how to please women. Roy knows how to please women. Roy knows where and how to touch a woman to make her feel good.

Scott is crazy. (ed. note- "crazy" in Korea is a huge insult) He likes to get drunk and drive his car. He gets so excited when he drives drunk that he ejaculates in his pants.

Scott is crazy. He loves ham...

He then goes on for half a typed page about how much I love ham. I hate ham.

Needless to say, Hyo-ri and I were both not happy about this. He was immediately suspended from teaching and told to just sit at his desk. He did come to me for advice and promptly ignored everything I said. One thing he really wanted to do was write an apology letter and give it to the students. I said this was a bad idea but he wrote one anyway. Again, Cliff's Notes:

I gave you a study sheet. Some of the things in it weren't true. I guess some people at school are too sensitive and want me to apologize for writing about them. If it was me, I wouldn't care, but I am not as sensitive as some people I guess. I may get fired for this, so hopefully my writing you this apology letter will save my neck.

The next day (around June 10) he was fired but given the chance to resign by June 25 as to save face. What surprised everyone was when he showed up to school the next day. He just sat at his desk making new worksheets for the class. He showed up the rest of the week as well and nobody could figure out why. I am guessing he was hoping they'd see what a hard worker he was and they'd change their minds. Finally, the following Monday he was told not to come to school anymore and I haven't seen him since.

I do have to say that I am very proud of the students. Most kept their mouths shut and even though it was eating them up inside to know what was going on, they knew it wasn't their business and respectfully kept out of it for the most part. I only had one student ask me if I liked ham.

The most surprising thing of all is that Ms. Go, the teacher he was so rude to on his first day, was the only person on his side.

Day off

Today is Children's Day, so I and most of Asia got the day off. Went to town and it was packed with people. Don't want to do that again.

Not sure what Google was trying to show with the picture below. White kids in Asia love to brush their teeth before eating breakfast?

This picture

reminded me of this picture.

found here

The un-boxing

One great thing about living in such a tiny country (the size of Indiana) is that domestic shipping takes no more than a day and is often free when shopping online. So far I have purchased my bed, couch, tv, and oven online. I have also moved to online food purchases, especially for some harder to find international foods.


I eat chicken breasts nearly everyday. After awhile this starts to add up in costs, that's when I came across Gmarket. If you can survive the onslaught of nonstop flash and have a computer equipped with Explorer 6, you are good to go! Oh, you also need to be Korean because you must have a Korean identification number and a Korean credit card (which is difficult to get for us poor expatriots. The banks blame the Chinese).

Even Arnold likes it!

I (well, my Korean friend) am able to buy 10kgs (22lbs.) for $50-$60, that's half of what it would cost in a store. I can order it on a Monday and it will be waiting for me frozen solid when I get home from school Tuesday.

It comes nicely packed in a dirty Styrofoam cooler.

Packed to the gills with chicken breast tastiness.

10 bags, each with 2.2lbs of meat.

It takes up quite a bit of room in the freezer.

BONUS!!

My special marinade-put chicken (2.2 lbs) into a Tupperware bowl. Pour beer (one bottle), soy sauce (two glugs), Worcestershire sauce (five hearty shakes), garlic (to each their own), peppers (the more the better) and let sit for a few hours. If you really want, wrap the chicken in kimchi when you cook it. It doesn't really do much for the taste, but it is messy and makes me feel like I am turning Korean. ASAH!!!!!

On the evening of February 13 I flew to Harbin China from Seoul. As I was flying over China I was amazed at how many blinking lights I saw below me. I assumed that they were all flashing lights that are on top of factory smoke stacks and was surprised by how many factories there were in China. It wasn't until we got lower that I realized that they were actually fireworks...and they were everywhere. Even when we when going in for landing they were zipping past the plane exploding just outside my window.

Driving though town trying to get to my hotel made me think I was in a war zone. There were groups of people everywhere bent over small fires in the middle of streets setting of small boxes of artillery. The sky was awash in flashing colors and the noise was nonstop.


I was able to meet up with my brother just before midnight and was able to partake in festivities.



As soon as the boxes of fireworks shot their goods some recycler would come along and scoop it it.


We went to have some late night food and beer at a local Chinese restaurant with a cute waitress that seemed to take off a piece of clothing every time she came to our table (though she did start off dressed like an Eskimo). Just before we were about to leave a group of young Chinese men came to our table to toast to a happy new year.

When we went into the restaurant the roads were literally covered in ripped red paper that had once covered long lines of firecrackers. By the time we left someone had come and swept the entire city.

Happy New Year!

I just got back from a 2 week holiday in China. Went to Harbin, Beijing, Nanjing and Shanghai. Harbin is located in the Northeast of China and is known for its Ice Festival and Western/Russian influenced architecture.

A hidden gem that many people seem to skip over is the Russian Village, located on the outskirts of the city. For 20RMB you gain entrance and are handed a Russian passport with multiple pages as your entrance ticket. We were greeted at the gate by a real life Russian dressed in a military field uniform.I was quickly pounced on by a Chinese man who wanted to take my picture with his wife, maybe he thought I was Russian. I dutifully complied while trying not to stare at all the hair pouring from his nose. Do people not own mirrors?

The park itself was about 100 yards long and consisted of several Russian style buildings. One shop sold bread and had photos of naked women and "Merry Christmas"(in Russian) written on the wall.

Careful! If you click on the picture (to make it bigger) it won't be safe for work viewing!!

Along the path were giant matroshka dolls featuring past Russian/Soviet leaders.


In addition to the traditional styled Russian homes modeled. they also included a more modern day residence.


Can you guess what they sold in the souvenir shop where this snowbabushka stood guard?


I think the only major disappointment was that we missed out on the mud-wrestling and the chance to lie atop an alligator.

While I may complain a lot about Korea, on the whole I really do like it here. If I didn't like it I would simply leave, but something keeps me here (and I wish I knew what it was so I could hunt it down and kill it).

That being said...

Koreans (that 5% who suck), please don't give me a dirty look and then point and talk shit about me. Believe it or not, I can hear you and understand! Also, when I am walking with a Korean woman please do not call her a whore or throw your cigarette at us and spit at us.

Went to Busan tower today and snapped some pictures. Decided to try my hand at this. Not too bad for my first try.

My last apartment in Korea was in a small but noisy building that housed mostly single people with loud shoes in tiny studio apartments. I lived on the 3rd of 5 floors. At least once a week someone would try to open my door. Sometimes they would knock then turn the handle, other times not knocking at all. It could be at 9 in the morning, 9 at night, or ever 3am. Every so often I could here people talking and mention "foreigner" (weigook-in) while trying to open my door. WTF?

Now I am living on the top floor which is heavenly since it is too high for the Christian missionaries to walk up (no elevator) and I don't have to hear Koreans doing their nightly furniture moving ritual above me. Today though I did get my first attempted home invasion. Some teenagers decided that they wanted in. I have a keypad lock, so you just slide open the cover and punch in the numbers. I guess the beeping noise when they slid the cover open spooked them because I could hear them running away after that and I watched them run out of the building a short time later.

Stay the fuck out of my apartment.

Yie Eun-woong

Here is a picture of Yie Eun-woong. He stalks English teachers hoping to catch a pedophile or rapist expat. While this sounds like a noble cause, imagine some white person following around all the black teachers because they are obviously criminals and need to be watched. He belongs to the group Anti-English Spectrum which he started after seeing photos of white teachers dancing with Korean women. Many times he has been quoted as saying Korean women are "theirs" (Korean men's) and the only way a Korean woman would be with a foreign man is if she was tricked.

You can read more information about him here.

Patagonian toothfish

After eating moksal (pig neck) at a friend's restaurant another friend and I headed off to an izakaya (Japanese style bar) for some beer and more food. Korea is great for giving "service-uh", which is basically free stuff. Sometimes it comes with the meal, other times they give it to you because you are an incredibly handsome expat (well, I like to think that is why). After going out with Koreans, from what they say, service-uh happens more when they are with me then when they are just with Koreans! Yata!!

service

One unfortunate thing about many Korean (and Japanese) bars is that you have to order food if you want to drink. I have gone to empty bars where they refused us service because we only wanted to drink. I guess no money is better than a little money. Often you may see Koreans eating large platters of mixed fruit with their beer, or possibly steamed silk warm larvae! Yum!! On this particular night we ordered maelo 메로 (Patagonian tooth fish) which tasted like an oily halibut and was oh so delicious (if not a bit scary looking!) This particular restaurant serves whale on Tuesdays and Saturdays. I don't recommend it, it doesn't taste very good. How did Korea escape international condemnation in regards to whaling?

a much friendlier looking toothfish

On the way home I saw this advertisement for something or other. I just like his hat! My camera seemed to think it was strange as well since it decided to give the Korean an even larger head than they normally have.

Betas vs. Leukemia=fashion!

Took a walk to break in my new boots and try out some phone apps. I have to enjoy my phone today because I will be kicking myself for not waiting 5-7 months for the new one being introduced tomorrow.






The Sea of Japan is a five minute walk from my apartment.

Love motels

While traveling through Korea there are a few choices of where one can rest their weary had. The first is a regular hotel which what you would expect it to be though somewhat expensive and boring.For bottom of the barrel you can go to a Jimjilbang which is just a public bath house. This may be good if you're too drunk to tell the taxi driver how to get home. One big negative is that you are sharing the room with a bunch of other drunks who may become bi-curious when they see the foreigner passed out in a corner.

A step up from the jimjilbang is the minbak, which is a room in a house that you can rent with blankets but probably no (western style) bed. You may have to share the toilet and I don't remember the one I was in having a shower. The owners may provide some noodles and rice though.

After that we have the love motels. I have stayed in many of these because 1) they are everywhere in Korea and 2) they are cheap for what you sometimes get and may be cheaper than a late night taxi home. Always a hit or miss, it is a good idea to ask to see the room before you agree and pay. My friend Steve and I stayed in one not so clean place in Seoul after a long day of traveling and were too tired to find a better place. We asked to see the room and noticed the bed was still unmade from the previous guests and there was nastiness everywhere. We had to rock, paper, scissor it to fight for the cleanest place to sleep (which was the uncarpeted floor). I lost. The bathroom wall had a hole in the wall in which you could see into another room. Classy.

tiny bathroom door in a disgusting room

Other times you can get a place with a 46" flat screen tv, computer and mood lighting. I stayed in one of these for a few weeks while waiting to get into my apartment this past August. The room was much bigger than a normal hotel and there was a nice big bathtub if the urge was to hit. Some try to be a bit more romantic than others providing heart shaped tubs and beds, Korean porn on the tv (like skinamax, but without the quality acting), king sized beds and glass bathrooms.

Can't say I am a fan of the glass bathroom walls. The shot above was from the bedroom.

In case you need to check your email

If you need to spice things up a bit, in the hallway you may find a small library of Japanese porn or perhaps something else that will tickle your fancy!