Random thoughts about Korea and my life in it:

(I would be glad to read comments, to see your view, opinion. Are there any coincidences with my thoughts😊)
1. I used to idealize foreign countries. After living in Korea, I realized the difficulties that emigrants face. We in Russia love to criticize our country, but it turns out we have many advantages. Everywhere has its own disadvantages and advantages, there is no ideal country. As a child, I thought if I moved to America/Europe, I would live a good life. Now I assess reality more soberly. There is simply a country that suits you better and one that suits you less, and this can also change throughout life.

2. The first time I saw huge washing machines, I was surprised 😲 I fell in love with underfloor heating and combination locks. When choosing a bathroom, the key for me is that there is a window, otherwise there will be super humidity and mold. It turns out cockroaches haven't died out, but quite exist in Korea 🪳 In Russia, I only remember seeing them as a child, and then bam, they were gone completely.

3. I adore Korean nature 🌳🌺🪷🪻🌷Forest, mountains, flowers are love. Although my friend says it's all too prim, well-groomed, and he misses wild nature.

4. It seems good that I have experience living in another country, but on the other hand, in Russia now I miss Korean goodies, and in Korea, Russian ones. You can't please me now😅

5. I feel very sorry for Korean elderly people, hunched grandmothers👵🧓 In essence, they built the prosperous Korea in which it is so comfortable now, but their pensions are very small, alas.

 
6. Now, by speech, I can determine if a person is from Kazakhstan🇰🇿, Uzbekistan🇺🇿, or Russia🇷🇺. There are certain intonations, a manner of stretching vowels, and their own words.

7. The toughest work is in the fields and at sea. 🤕I won't go there again. Thanks to such work, I have lumbar osteochondrosis. I don't particularly favor food factories either; by the time you undress and change, the break (10-minute break) has already passed. Again, I often had to lift heavy things there, my clothes often got wet, and the pepper made me want to sneeze, and the garlic made my hands red and sore. And also, often the bosses there are women, and they tend to shout more often than men. Forgive me, feminists, but I prefer male bosses.

8. I was shocked when I saw how much they love small dogs here🐶🐶🐶 and even take them in strollers. It was difficult for me to understand my colleague (a Korean) who said that her dog was like a child to her, that it was the same thing. Another colleague of mine installed a camera at home and watched what her dog was doing during every break.

 
9. I truly respect those who came to work in Korea💪 It's not easy, it's hard work, it's a certain risk. I love to communicate and often ask questions, I am interested in people, their destinies. Some, before coming to Korea, held good, even managerial positions, some even had their own businesses, but they came to Korea because the salary is decent and because in a managerial position or having their own business there was a lot of stress, and here at the factory, you do the job and go home to rest, not worrying about anything.
It also commands respect that we, guest workers, have still done something to improve our lives, having come to another country. Many people live, complain, blame the state, parents, and circumstances, but change nothing.

10. Macdonalds is garbage, Lotteria and Mom's touch are better, I like Starbucks, but the prices are too high.

11. Why is Korean pastry so beautiful🎂🍰🧁, but not as tasty as in Russia? It really surprises me... is it the flour or what?!

12. All Korean cities look alike, so it's easy to get lost and travel; there's no point in traveling just for the urban architecture. However, traveling to natural sites is great, the infrastructure is well-established. I didn't used to travel much on weekends. But after Korea, I now think that when I have my own family, I will try to get out somewhere for a weekend. In my childhood, it wasn't customary to relax 🤣 if we went into nature, it was for a purpose: for berries, for firewood, for haymaking. And I see how wonderfully children frolic in nature, in parks, and I wonder why this wasn't the case in my childhood? It's so simple to take food with you and just go out to the forest. We had a car, the forest was nearby, but there was never a picnic.

13. Korean delivery is very fast👍 This applies not only to food delivery. With Coupang, the local marketplace, you can receive items the next day. It's incomparable to WB. It's also convenient that delivery is right to the door, you don't have to go to a pickup point. They just leave it in front of the door, and nobody steals it. If you don't like an item, you return it, place it in front of the door again, and they pick it up.

 
14. It's hard to break through in Korea (I don't know the income statistics, this is purely my subjective opinion), I've worked a lot and met people who speak Korean perfectly, not even at a 1-2급 level, but higher. There were even those with Korean education. But they still work in factories; knowing the language doesn't guarantee upward social mobility. Even office workers often have lower salaries than factory workers. Many of our people work in mobile phone stores, but even there, the salaries are no higher than at the factory. Some work as medical translators; there, the salary range is likely large, depending on whether the person works for themselves or is attached to a hospital. I also follow a couple of Russian models. I have about a dozen bloggers in my feed who teach Korean online and offline. Somehow I've heard few success stories, biographies where one could say: Wow, this is success, look what he/she managed to achieve💫 I think this is largely due to the fact that my life passes in factories. But, even on Instagram and YouTube, I more often encounter success stories of our people in America or elsewhere, but not in Korea.

15. "Taste preferences" is an interesting topic 🤔🍽 Koreans praise their food a lot, are proud of it, and often talk about food. There are many cooking shows. Cafes, canteens (shikdans) are in abundance. But, most people from CIS countries don't like it, while Koreans from China, Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Thailand eat well and don't complain. Apparently, the cuisines are similar, well, rice 🍚 is definitely eaten throughout Southeast Asia.
I also saw videos on YouTube of Koreans (Hanguks) eating Russian cuisine, and to my surprise, not all products that I consider tasty appealed to them.
Even before I came to Korea, I noticed that people really love the food they ate in childhood. Probably, childhood is the happiest time for people, and everything associated with it seems good. And at this age, taste preferences are formed, they can change with age. However, few people radically change them.

16. 24-hour convenience stores: GS 25, Seven Eleven, Emart, CU. Not expensive, fast, close to home, has everything you need, you can eat there. 💯 points out of 💯

 
17. Loneliness. Abroad, there are moments when there's no one to talk to, you start looking for friends on social media. Or, like me, go to a Russian-speaking church. I'm not very religious ⛪️, but I went to communicate.

 
18. The assortment in Russian grocery stores is the same. They are like clones. Everyone has the same suppliers, which is disappointing.

 
19. Coffee country. Now I'm a coffee lover too☕️

 
20. Daiso is a lifesaver🪄 Cheap and has everything for household needs. I only shop there; when moving, it's not a pity to throw things away. I sometimes walk around there like in a museum, looking at different things that are not available or rarely found in Russia. I send them to my relatives in Russia to appreciate; lately, I'm pleased with the good selection of cosmetics.

21. Public transport🚌 Convenient, the route number is written in large digits, thank you for that. Buses are different colors depending on whether it's an urban or suburban bus, inexpensive, payment is convenient with a travel card or from a phone. The only thing is that drivers drive in a way that in Russia they would say: "You're not hauling firewood! Be careful!"

 
22. I'm not a lazy girl. I grew up with a strict grandmother and Stakhanovite parents, and complaining about fatigue in my family was almost a sin❌️ In Russia, I worked in factories, in hotels, in sales, and in education, but I've never worked as hard as in Korea. In heat, in cold, day, night, 8, 10, 12 hours, without days off for a month, with a temperature of 38. It turns out the expression "my eye is twitching" is not a figure of speech; I experienced that😅 Now I remember and wonder why I didn't feel sorry for myself...

23. I still couldn't fall in love with K-dramas 💘 For me, they are too emotional. For example, I don't like moments where the hero is angry, silent, endures, and then suddenly shouts.

24.  Did you know that much? In South Korea, plastic surgery is very common, and, according to various estimates, from 20% to 30% of the country's population has had plastic surgery at least once.

25. Korea seems like a golden mean to me if compared to Japan🇯🇵 and China🇨🇳. In China, it's too crowded for me, too noisy from the huge number of cars, too many smells on the street, people talk too loudly, my personal boundaries were violated; in general, it is undoubtedly a great country with an incredibly ancient and amazing culture, but not my country. I haven't been to Japan, but I think they overdo it with etiquette, and this country has a very specific vibe. I think it's not easy for many foreigners to settle there. And Korea is more liberal in terms of freedoms, although it is also difficult to integrate into this society.

26. I am very grateful to Korea🇰🇷 and Koreans for the opportunity to live and work in this country. Heartfelt thanks❤️❤️❤️ to all my colleagues for the kindness and politeness I have met and continue to meet everywhere. On the street, if you need help, they will always help; the service everywhere is at the highest level, the climate is good, the roads are good, there is internet and other amenities of civilization, I feel safe in this country and earn more than in Russia. The work is hard, and I left part of my health here, but it's possible to work😊

And what is Korea to you? What do you like, dislike? Give likes and share your experience, impressions) 

P.S. Don't be stingy with likes (click recommend), I want to win headphones for my boyfriend who has very rarely received gifts in his life, especially expensive ones, especially from a girl. Headphones are, of course, not the sky-blue MacBook M4 he dreams of, but also Apple 🍎