[Korean Culture & Language] Saving seats

Hello, this is Uptempo!


If you have ever lived in Korea, you might have seen parcels left in front of doors. It is completely normal to deliver packages on the outside of a door in Korea to avoid undesired contact, especially due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sometimes these packages are left outside for over a week. 

While most Westerners would be uncomfortable leaving their belongings in public settings unattended, Koreans do it all the time. In fact, they leave their valuables on the table to save their seats when they go to order at a cafe. One of the reasons why Koreans aren’t so worried about the theft is because there are CCTV cameras installed everywhere around the country.

The above video shows how a westerner is trying to protect his stuff from theft, while a Korean guy is more worried about saving their seats. 

The first comment reads: 생수병 같은 싸구려 물건 올려놓고 가면 자리 빼앗길까봐 더 비싼 걸로 자리 맡는, 비쌀수록 더 확고한 자리 표식이 되는 기이한 현상 ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ 

생수 means bottled water
싸구려 means cheap
물건 means a thing(s)
올려놓고 means put something on top of something
가면 means if __ go
자리 means seat(s)
빼앗기다 means be taken away
까봐 means might
비쌀수록 means The more expensive something is
더 확고한 means the stronger or the more definite
표식 means a mark
기이 means strange
현상 means phenomenon

The strange phenomenon, where people leave more expensive items on the table to ensure that they mark their territory (to save seats), because inexpensive things like bottled water aren’t good enough to save seats.

Many people appear to empathize with and laugh at the comment.

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