Baby, You Can Drive My Car

Not a whole lot to report from the peninsula, but a couple of things worth noting. Last night I went out with a lawyer from another firm whom I had met through the Brown alumni association. We went for traditional Korean-style BBQ, where you eat slices of meat, usually beef or pork, cooked on a small grill at the table, with a variety of side dishes. It was excellent. Following dinner, my friend took me to a "hostess bar" (this has apparently been a week of exploring the Korean nightlife). Please note--"hostess bar" does not mean what you think it means. It was a very classy bar that reminded me a bit of the bar at the W hotel in Times Square, with nice couches and good drinks. Men come there to sit and have a drink (or five) after work, and hostesses--pretty and itneresting girls who are dessed up fancy--come and sit and talk, and laugh at their jokes and basically make them feel like a big shot. We hung out and chatted for a few hours, although my limited Korean vocabulary was really stretched, and I was forced to give the gesticulations and facial expressions a real workout. I was tired by the time we left.

Here's the coolest part: we had driven to the bar (called a cafe), and had a substantial amount to drink. It wasn't safe for my friend to drive. So the club provided someone to drive him home (dropping me off along the way) in his own car. I think this is just brilliant, especially for people who live in cities with lousy public transportation (like Boston--oh snap!). You don't have to wait for the subway or bus or call for a cab, and you still have your car at your home the next morning. Incredible! If I didn't have law school stuff to do, I would totally set this up as a business when I get back.

One other brilliant (and completely unrelated) innovation in Korea: When you go to buy tickets for a movie, there's a screen flashing above the counter that shows how many tickets are left for that movie. This way, you can see when you get on line if you're going to be able to get into that 4:30 showing of Batman (starring one half of the looniest couple in the world), or if you're going to have to see the crappy horror movie with Paris Hilton instead.