Free time

Koreans don’t loiter on the streets or in parks (unless they’re grandpas playing go-stop or chess then they're parkin' it) and they don’t hang out at home with their friends (since there’s little privacy with 3 generations living in house). A host has more responsibility for the guests here than in present day U.S. Maybe a few decades ago social conventions were followed by more people in the U.S. or maybe they still are and I just never paid attention to those things before. I’ll have to do some comparing when I return. The fun thing is, because of this it’s common to have places to go and hang out and socialize; the dvd-room, the song-room, the game-room, or a buffet.

$9 will get you entry into a buffet and unless you’re a food eating champion you can stay as long as you like. Popular buffet food is Korean “western food" like spaghetti with octopus - veggie options are few but quality in my book. Lots of seaweed, sprouts, braised greens, and rice. The one restaurants name is “Ashley a place for women and fillies”. My friend proposed that the name ‘ a place for women and fillies’ means they are trying to draw the house wife clientel. ...and what better place to meet your girls than at the buffet, belly up to a table and talk for a few hours.

There’s also a vegetarian buffet that we go to weekly, this place is great, all veggie, fake meat, and fruit for dessert. Lots of families go there as do the local monks.

Board game cafes. For the price of a coffee or beer you can sit for hours with your friends and get your game on. Because sometimes a little inconsequential competition can really bring a friendship together. I’ve been going to a place downtown to play scrabble. The drink service is really slow because the guys who work there are really into gaming and they get amped on other peoples games- and sometimes bring you props like wigs and masks and fake hands.