'The most wonderful time of the year'

Saturday, on our way home from downtown, we witnessed the aftermath of a fatal crash involving a bus and a scooter.

Pulling up to the busiest intersection in Yongsandong, our taxi driver started shaking his head vigorously and 'tisk'ing. I looked ahead and saw a man lying next to a tiny scooter in the middle of the road, motionless, with a bus stopped about ten feet from him. He was flat on his back with his hands on his chest and it was clear it had just happened. Despite me telling her to do otherwise, Carmen watched as we drove past and noticed the man's helmet was under the bus. I assumed the worst, although we couldn't confirm whether the man had been killed, but passed over the scene the next day in a bus and a chalk outline confirmed what I thought.

In the 45 seconds it took our taxi to pass the scene and pull away from the intersection, no one had gone to help the man. I told my friend, Andy, about the incident. He told me another story about his friend who watched a man get thrown off his scooter by a car. Andy's friend was about 400 yards away - and he was the first person on the scene. By the time the ambulance came, he was still the only person helping the man, who had two visibly broken legs. I'll let you form your own opinion on what all this says about Korean culture. I'd tell you mine but Carmen suggested some people may find it offensive. I guess people have places to be an' all that.

Anyway, the rest of the ride home after seeing a body lying in the middle of a busy intersection was sort of eerily quiet. There's not really much to say about something like that. I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. Sure, people die in car accidents every day all over the world, but you just don't usually see it.

On a cheerier note, Homeplus is currently selling M & Ms, which means we'll have a very chocolaty Christmas. It's very hard to find any kind of Western candy, so the timing is perfect.