A Brief Observation...

At the present moment, I am sitting on an unreasonably comfortable couch in a coffee shop called "Coffee and Free Time." I just had a lovely latte, the cream of which was shaped into multiple tiny hearts. I felt guilty about demolishing its artistic perfection. This is my favorite coffee shop in Daegu, not only because it has good coffee and comfortable furniture and is five minutes away from my apartment, but also because they always play an incredibly good selection of music. However, the latter fact is one that kind of bothers me even though it probably shouldn't. You see, I am sharing this coffee shop with 17 Korean customers and 2 Korean baristas. Most of the time, when I go to a PC Bang, grocery store, or bar, I am the only Westerner there or I am there with a few other Westerners. But every time we enter into really any business, the music immediately switches from a Korean pop song to something American or possibly British. I suspect that this isn't a coincidence. Of course, American music is listened to throughout the world, but I would surmise that they probably listen to far less of it than their establishments suggest. And the notion of going out of the way to accommodate to Western desires can be broadened further to apply to a number of situations. I have noticed that, while people are extremely friendly and welcoming, they tend to heavily pour on the over-the-top top gestures that typically just make you feel weird. For example, my friend Katie was walking one day with her shoes untied and a little old lady was practically grabbing at her feet in the middle of the street trying to make sure that she knew her shoes were untied. While walking up a mountain gloveless (because I was hot, not because I didn't have them), a Korean couple insisted that I take their gloves until I showed them that I indeed had my own. The other day, a Korean co-worker asked if I had had dinner yet, and when I informed her that I had not, I found a sweet potato on my desk the next day along with a note informing me that I should have dinner. And while I love the generosity involved in these gestures, it makes me feel guilty. I don't want to be accommodated for; I want to be forced to accommodate. And this is why I am mildly annoyed about the fact that this coffee shop is playing music that I happen to love...