This morning bus 147 pulled up to my stop completely empty, with another nearly empty bus right behind it. In spite of the obvious availability of seats, as a younger, maybe 30-something man was getting on, an ajumma shoved him aside to get on first.
Really ajumma? Was it that important to be the first one on the empty bus? You were guaranteed a seat. This is something I don't like about Korea. The idea of personal space doesn't exist here, and it's not considered rude to shove someone out of your way. During the after work rush on the subway (which lasts from about 6 pm until well past 10pm) it's not uncommon to be pushed aside multiple times before making your way into the train. When it's really bad, you might not actually have to push to get in at all, as the mob of people behind you will shove as one and sort of carry you into the train. (Whenever this happens to me, for some reason I always think about how much my mom would hate Korea.)
Ajummas are the worst perpetrators of the pushing and shoving. Those of you don't live in Korea are probably wondering what an ajumma is. The word literally means, "married woman," but it's used to categorize a certain type of married woman, usually older. The ajumma is jokingly called "the third sex," by some Koreans because of her(?) fierce demeanor. This is definitely a stereotype, but along with the pushing and shoving, they usually have short, permed hair, wear ridiculously large plastic visors (Koreans fear the sun tanning or wrinkling their skin more than anything) and often sport hiking gear. And according to this blog entry I've been using as a reference, they talk very loud on their cell phones, which for everyone else in this country is a huge faux pas. The rest of us get yelled at, but again, the ajumma is a different breed.
They are also very bossy. When Angie was here, she was using chopsticks with her left hand to eat some street food. (She's left handed) The ajumma working the stand came over to her and placed the chopsticks in her right hand; the proper one. Angie was too scared to disobey so she tried unsuccessfully to finish the mandu. This is just one example of ajummas telling people how to do things.
Even though they can be kind of rude, ajummas are another thing that makes living in Korea a unique and often humorous experience. They were also a very popular Halloween costume among us wagukins (foreigners).
Me dressed as an ajumma for Halloween:
Real live ajumma on my street:
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