I’ve mentioned often in the past how inexpensive things are here in Korea. Sometimes, its a really good deal. Food is cheap, but it’s also delicious and nutritious. They eat relatively healthy stuff and even a really good meal for two is often $20 or less. A good lunch is often less than $4.

Some things, however, are just freakin’ cheap. And cheaply made. Since I arrived here in January 2007 I’ve replaced a number of household items. This house is not even four years old, but I had to replace both the kitchen faucet and the bathroom shower fixture. Both had sprung leaks. The shower is likely to get changed again soon as the one I bought (a measly $6) just isn’t worth a damn and dribbles water like a cow peeing on a flat rock. I had to replace the keyboard on my computer twice because keys simply stopped working. Yesterday, I bought the third mouse of the  year because one of the buttons stopped working. Granted I put my computer parts through their paces as I am an avid user for more than a couple of hours each day. But less than a year’s worth of use is far less than the MTBF (mean time between failure) I’m used to getting on parts.  You get what you pay for, I suppose, because the replacements I bought were all around $10 each.

I had nose surgery last year to correct a diverted septum. Only a couple of hundred bucks – far cheaper than America. But it didn’t do nearly the good I thought it would. I have little recourse but to go to another Doctor. They don’t do medical malpractice suits here unless things are really bad and the expense doesn’t warrant the trouble.

That’s not to say all things that are cheap in Korea are cheap-assed, though. I bought my car last year for $400, and while I’ve had to put a few hundred in repairs into it over the year, that’s not extraordinary given that it’s 15 years old. It still runs well although it, too, is approaching its end of life.  Hyundai cars seem to be decently made and when mine dies I’ll probably get another.

Just thought I’d inject a little realism into things lest folks think its all good and cheap here.  Just mostly good. But always cheap.