Like this:

Perhaps you’ve heard the saying “rules were meant to be broken.” I often wonder who came up with that rule. I believe the person responsible for this rule did not craft any other rules. It would be counterproductive for the rule you are most famous for to go against all the other rules you worked so hard to develop.
I guess it’s more of an adage; or a saying. Like “Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket,” or “don’t count your chickens before they hatch.” I always thought that if you broke the first rule, you were much more tempted to break the second. In other words, if you do indeed put all of your eggs in one basket, then you will be quite tempted to count your chickens before they hatch.
I have noticed here in Korea, some rules were meant to broken (or perhaps they were never established) and some rules were meant to be ademently followed. Only a true Korean can ever know the differences between the two, but as I spend more time here, I have come to learn a few of the differences. This morning I broke a cardinal rule, and if anyone had seen me do it, I assuredly would have been struck down by the hand of God. I hope my parents are not reading this post, because they will without question be dissapointed with my decision making. My aunts and uncles will murmer under their breath, “I might have expected this from the other nephews, but not Kevin.”
On my way to work today, I stumbled upon quite a dillema. A crosswalk. Not a car in sight, left or right. So…, I crossed the street, at the cross walk, eventhough the red hand was clearly lit demanding I stay put until it deemed it acceptable for me to continue my stroll. In Korea this is a cardinal rule of proper street crossing etiquette. I never thought I had it in me. This is a rule in Korea that is not meant to be broken. The last time I tried this daring “Evil Knievel” type manuever, I was scolded by an older gentleman upon arrival on the other side. I turned, looked both ways down the street… What could he possibly be saying to me? Maybe “Shame on your family!”? Perhaps, “How dare you!”? Possibly, “Are you some kind of super human!”? I mean, there is not a car in sight. As I quietly walked away, I thought to myself “Rules were meant to be broken, I guess.”
Some rules, however, are only there so they can be broken. For example, last weekend I went to a large concrete park to toss the football, play some basketball, and share in a nice day with my fellow Seoulvilians. (Civilians in Seoul) In this massive concrete area, they offer normal bicycles, tandem bicycles, roller blades, basketballs, baseballs and mitts, and soccer balls, all available for rental to those in the park. You might be thinking, “How nice” or “I wish my neighborhood had a park like that.” Perhaps your neighborhood does have a park like this. Perhaps it has an area for those with roller blades to practice skating, perhaps a nice bike path for people to ride that really cool tandem bike, a couple basketball courts for young guys to show their stuff and even a grassy knoll for dad and son to play some catch.
This park had all of those things. Except there was no grassy knoll for dad and son, there was no bike path for that really cool tandem bicycle, there was no rink for the hideously uncoordinated to collide into each other on rental roller blades, (“Hey ya’ll, watch me skate backwards…”) and there were no crosswalks with red hands. Without the red hands, no one was sure when they could walk, ride or run, and when they had to stop and go around. Consequently, everywhere you looked there were people on roller blades crashing into people on bikes. Old ladies accidentally riding a bicycle through the middle of a basketball game. A gangly white 20 something on rental roller blades runs over a small child chasing that was chasing a loose baseball on the basketball court. It’s all concrete, so falling is encouraged. It seemed to be an area where rules didn’t apply.
The lack of rules didn’t end at the parks edge. The anarchy even continued into the parking lot where I saw several people standing, cell phone in hand, trying to call the number of the car double parked behind them. Hopefully they answer so they can come move their car. Good thing no one is in a hurry to seek medical attention for that flesh wound from the park surface.
It makes it quite difficult for me to know what’s right and what’s wrong. Today the road was clear, so I crossed. Yesterday at the park, it seemed similar types of pedestrian rules had no application. You did not have to look far to witness a collision. I even watched a father commanding a tandem bike with his daughter ride right across center court of a basketball game. You would think a dad would know better… maybe he does.
Hopefully as the weather turns, and I spend more time outside, I will come to better understand the “rules of the road” here in Korea; on and off the road. Now that I think about it, maybe that old man wasn’t scolding me at all. Perhaps he was just asking me, “Hey, where is your really cool tandem bicycle?”

Advertisement