Culture: Do Not Rush!

G, since you missed my Korean commentaries, I dedicate this one to you. :)

A public signage can tell you a lot about a culture... Spotted this at the train station on my way back from Seoul back in January 2006.

~ DO NOT RUSH! ~

Indeed though, that's the impression I've formed about Korea while working there.

Everything is a BIG rush... Everyone is always driving irrationally, and running lights. People sometimes shove their way through queues just so they can be ahead in a line. Jobsites are being run like a military drill, where everything is all about being fast and not about quality. It's all about being "palli palli" (빨리 빨리) ~ FAST FAST!

My take on it... rushing doesn't necessarily mean you're going to end up doing something faster. Worse, you could really get people all fired up emotionaly, works could end up in mistakes, or even cause fatalities.

Instead of rushing, couldn't the focus be more on EFFICIENCY, or just NEW METHODS of doing something, and DOING IT RIGHT THE 1ST TIME? I guess it's hard to drill this mind-set into the population of 49million people in Korea, and change has to start from me.

That being said and done, I'll set my alarm clock 15 minutes early, so I don't have to be rushing like a mad man to the airport tomorrow... *Hint hint ;)