Put Beijing and Taipei Together and Divided by 2

I would like to keep a record of my Wakame-chan hair style because I swear I am not going to have any haircut until June. This is my service apartment in Seoul. Brand new building, however, everything reminds me of my apartment in Beijing.
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(Beijing+Taipei)/2 is how I feel about Seoul. The dry chill weather is so much like Beijing. The modern buildings facade the old, running-down low-rise buildings (that's where we had the delicious pork BBQ with IBM Korean folks). I took the subway to the grocery shops, and was amazed by the similarity of Beijing subway. I mean, The ticket office is never located in the convenient location, you would have to walk all the way to the other end of the hall to get your ticket because the ticket vending machine doesn't accept notes. Even the ticket sales' face and attitude were like those in Beijing. People are nice if you first show your friendliness (my way is to smile like an innocent idiot before I use my body language). Nevertheless, people are lazy to put on the welcoming face, however, there is no need to do so because there is no demand! Wow, this is so Beijing. No wonder there are so many Koreans in Beijing,

You can feel the dramatic difference in people's manner comparing to Tokyo. I was pushed away in a crowded supermarket a few times, which is never possible in Tokyo (Tokyo people would stand aside quietly until you realise your stupidness to block their way). In Seoul, people are more direct and blunt (again, just like Beijing).

I have no problem with those, I just haven't learnt how to push people away yet (I guess I never will, I hate to have physical contact with people, perhaps this is what I subconciously try to do exactly the opposite to what my father likes to do). Korean girls are all pretty with elegant facial features. However, they eat standing up in the street vendor, or pick up the snacks from a paper bags while walking on the street. I love that, I start to understand why people in other country mistake me for Koreans from time to time. Another interesting thing to note is that quite a few taxi drivers or shop assistants think I am Japanese.

However, I think Seoul is more refined than emerging Beijing. Somehow it is trying to be very culture (you can see the government's effort by requiring every major building to have some sort of art work display in the open space). Although Koreans are trying to deny their every tie with Chinese root, you can still see a few Chinese character signs. However, I can feel the ambience is very Taipei. I mean, this is an city with a well-establish middle class, who are trying very hard to pursuit a better life.