Seoul, by the numbers

Over at the Traveler's Notebook, an occasional series called 'By the numbers' appears talking about one's trip to some far-flung corner of the world. The most recent, from Cuzco, Peru, was fairly interesting - and got me thinking about trying to start counting things myself. Without further ado, here is my first effort in talking about Korea, by the numbers.

The following are the numbers for my average commute to and from work in Seoul, South Korea.

Flyer wavers (ajuma, or older women, who hand out flyers or business cards to passersby): 7

Koreans with dyed blonde hair: 3

Kids trying on adult clothes: 1

People selling something on the sidewalk: 6

Foreigners seen: 3

People wearing masks: 4


Illegal DVD's available from a street seller: at least 100 different titles.

Police officers who passed the illegal DVD seller and kept walking: 2


Ads for English language schools seen: 9

Ads for different English language schools: 4

Koreans seen carrying English books: 5

Koreans heard actually speaking English: 2

Ads that used at least one English word: 6


Ads that used exactly one English word: 3

Motorcycles using the sidewalk as another lane to drive on: 2

Convenience stores passed: 5

Men wearing suit jackets staring at women passing by in short skirts: at least 5


Business cards seen on the street advertising 'massages': at least 50

Number of bars: 4

Minutes spent walking: 14-15