Korean Street Markets and Bus Seating

I love street markets and farmer's markets.  I love pretty much anywhere that you can go and purchase products directly from the hands of hard-working folks.  The people who run them are generally really nice and I love that they are out there with their stand and a friendly face.   

There are street markets like this one everywhere in Korea!  Every neighborhood has at least one main street with tents set up like this.  They're usually run by aujummas (aw-jim-ma-s) and ajusshis. (aw-joo-shee-s)  They usually have tons of produce, clothes, SOCKS!!!, and random stuff like knife sharpeners or face masks to keep you from inhaling the pollution and getting sunburned (which would also double as face-concealers if you wanted to rob a bank or scare the living tar out of anyone on Halloween at home - seriously, they make the aujummas look like mummies!)


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Coming from the great state of Texas, gentlemen are required to give up their seat on the bus if there's an older person standing and especially if there's a lady standing.  Here in Korea, it doesn't matter if you're a lady (which is annoying for me, cause of the aforementioned M.O. in Texas), but if there's someone older than you standing and you can easily get up and give them your seat, you do it.  Confucian society, baby.  Respect those elders.

They also have certain seats on buses or subways that are even more specifically reserved, as shown in this picture:

 

I love the reserved seating for injured peeps, old folks, and people with children, but what I really love is the pregnant belly.  What it is saying, of course, is that if you're pregnant, you can sit here.  But is that how I read it? Of course not.  

What I read:  If your belly is radiating, you can sit here.  I would also hope that you're on your way to the doctor's office, cause if you're radiating like that, you're either radioactive or you're about to explode!  Run!!!