Korea’s consumerist theater of intimacy
I am on my annual pilgrimage to Korea with my family, and, once again, I find myself impressed by the array of shops and the impeccable professional courtesy that consistently and constantly greets me. Walk into any store, cafe, or even a tiny convenience shop in Korea, and you’ll be greeted with a polished smile, a respectful bow and a chorus of welcome. When I checked into a high-end hotel in Haeundae in Busan recently, the choreography of courtesy and service was impeccable, rendered with fathomless patience and fixed smiles. The same experience would await me pretty much everywhere I went. From department store clerks who walk you to the elevator after a purchase to hotel clerks who are impeccably dressed in identical uniforms and baristas who carefully hand over a coffee with two hands, the Korean retail experience radiates courtesy and professionalism. Yet, beneath this glittering uniformity seems to lie an antiseptic society where intimacy is simulated rather than lived, and where relationships are increasingly transactional, based on functions and roles — much like a hospi
