Discounts

Koreans are huge on discounts. This is still a somewhat barter-based consumer society. In corporate stores the prices are usually fixed, but in the markets or ma-and-pa type stores, prices are negotiable. I learned about this when I went to the market in Seoul last weekend. The phrase "ka ja jusayo" (give me a discount) is a useful one to learn and memorize. I found a backpack that was priced at 15,000W but the salesman gave it to me for 10,000W because, Rachel interpreted this to me, he said I was handsome. That was my first Korean discount. I've been asking around about where to find a cheap guitar. Susie, a Korean teacher at Swaton, told me she has a friend who owns a guitar store and she might be able to get me a discount. We went there this Saturday. A man and his wife were running the little shop. I told the older Korean man that I was looking for an acoustic guitar and he sat me down and proceeded to bring guitar after guitar until I found the one I liked. As I tested out the guitars, I noticed the couple was listening very intently to what I was playing. And, since guitar isn't nearly as popular here as it is back home, they probably don't hear many good guitarists. So, like basketball, I began to show off a little. The man plugged me into an amp and I was putting on a mini-recital for them and anyone passing by the shop. He told me that the guitar cost 320,oooW- a very modest price for the quality of it. I was pondering whether to buy it and then he said, and this is interpreted through Susie, that, since I was very good at playing, he would give me a discount. Nice! He went and found a case for it, a chord, and some guitar strings. Then he told me he would give the guitar and the accessories to me for 210,000W! Man, I love Korea. This was a rare moment when being a foriegner helped me. The store owner also appeared to be honored that a foriegner was shopping in his establishment. This isn't usually the case. I bought the guitar, thanked him numerous times; this was a time when I really wished I could communicate to him the extent of my gratitude, but all I could do was say "comapsahamnida" (thank you) over and over again. So I now have a guitar, my Bulls are in the Playoffs, and the weather couldn't be any better. I'm regaining a little bit of my identity here in Korea. Now I have to learn some children's songs (thanks Allison) and I will be a favorite amongst the kindergarteners. They really do love to sing. I'm also thinking it might be fun to record the children singing along to my guitar playing. Maybe for distribution, maybe just for my own amusement. We'll see....